Deans of Admission:
Louis L. Hirsh
Director of Admission
University of Delaware
Louis L. Hirsh is Director of Admissions at the University of Delaware. He holds a Bachelor's degree in English and American Literature from Brandeis University (MA) and Masters degrees in 16th and 17th century British literature from Columbia University (NY).
From 1975 until 1983 he served as Assistant to the Dean for Admissions at James Madison College of Michigan State University. From 1983-1984 he was Associate Director of Admissions at the University of Puget Sound (WA). In August 1984 he came to the University of Delaware to recruit students into the University Honors Program, where he was named Assistant Director for Honors Admissions. He also served as an academic advisor to a number of Honors freshmen.
From 1986 to 2002 he was Senior Associate Director of Admissions in the University’s Office of Admissions and was responsible for directing the evaluation of applications for admission and for awarding academic scholarships. In 2002-03 he served as Deputy Director of Admission. Since July 2003 he has been Director of Admissions at UD. He was recognized as the 2005-06 Counselor of the Year for Delaware by the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admissions Counseling (PCACAC).
In 2004-05 he served on the Committee on Postsecondary Success of the State of Delaware P-20 Council. In 2005-06 he served as a member of the State of Delaware Department of Education’s Committee to Review High School Graduation Requirements, which drafted new high school graduation requirements for the state. In 2006-07 he served as a member of the State’s Committee on Dual Enrollment Programs. At the University of Delaware he is a member of the Undergraduate Studies Committee, the Freshman Year Experience Committee, and the Strategic Planning Committee.
He has served as a college panelist for the NACAC's Directing a Dynamic College Counseling Program in 2006 and 2007 and he will be a panelist at the July 2008 program at Stanford University. In July 2007 he was on the faculty of the PCACAC Summer Institute at Goucher College. He has been on admissions panels at PCACAC and NJACAC conferences and at the College Board Middle States Regional conferences.
From 1986 to the present he has also been the faculty advisor to E-52 Student Theatre on the University of Delaware campus. He lives in Newark(DE) with his wife, Margaret J. Hirsh.
Chris Ellertson
Trinity University (TX)
With parents who once worked as college professors, Chris was destined to work in education. He was born in Texas, and raised in New Concord, Ohio, on Muskingum College’s (OH) campus. He graduated from John Glenn High School, and received his B.A. from Otterbein College and his MA from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
He returned to Texas for his first job, working for a decade in the Offices of Admissions, Development, and Financial Aid at Texas Christian University (TCU). As an admissions counselor, he recruited one of his own sisters from Ohio to attend TCU.
In 1993, Chris joined the Whitman College (WA) Office of Admission as Associate Director, and was appointed Director of Admission in 1997. He had the good fortune to be at Whitman during an exciting time, and remains nostalgic about the school and Walla Walla.
After serving three years as director at Whitman, he was named Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Trinity University (TX). At Trinity, he supervises 25 professional staff. In his six years at Trinity, applications have increased by 44 pecent, the mean GPA. by .04, the mean SAT by 24 points, the out-of-state population by 7.4 percent, the international population by six percent, and the student of color population by 4.6 percent. Chris has greatly enjoyed working with the Trinity staff and living in San Antonio.
Chris has presented at numerous workshops and professional conferences, on topics including the role of athletics in admissions, the wait list, issues in financial aid, and the college search and selection process.
Vu Tran
University of California Los Angeles
Dr. Vu Thanh Tran joined University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as its new director of Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools in 2001. During his tenure as Director, UCLA undergraduate admissions have grown increasingly more competitive.
UCLA received almost 51,000 freshman applications for the 2007-08 academic year, and admitted around 12,000 students (approx. 23 percent). In addition, UCLA received over 13,000 transfer applications and admitted about 5,500 students (40 percent.) Recently, Newsweek distinguished UCLA as one of the 25 “New Ivies,” due to its impressive applicant pool and selective admissions requirements among many other factors. It is the only public university in California to earn such a distinction.
Tran has had a long history in higher education that includes 27 years in the California State University system. He held numerous leadership positions at the Northridge and Los Angeles California State University campuses. Prior to UCLA, Dr. Tran served Cal State Los Angeles for six years as the former Director of Student Recruitment and Financial Aid. He also held many professional and managerial positions - Assistant Director, Associate Director and later Acting Director of Financial Aid - at Cal State Northridge during the previous 21 years.
A native of Vietnam, Tran earned a bachelor’s degree in business marketing from Dalat University in South Vietnam in 1973, a master’s degree in business management from Cal State Northridge in 1976 and a doctorate of education in educational leadership from UCLA in 1999.
Professionally, Tran had been active in California Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (CASFAA ). He served CASFAA as the Fiscal Planning Committee Chair in 1997, Reauthorization Task Force Chair, and guided CASFAA activities during 2000 as its president.
Tran is a member of many UCLA taskforce and committees such as: Chancellor’s Enrollment Management Council, Student Fees Advisory Committee, Student Affairs Performance Management Committee. He had made numerous presentations on financial aid and admissions at various forums and conferences
Mike Sexton
Lewis & Clark College (OR)
Mike Sexton grew up in Western New York State and graduated from Kenmore East High School (NY). In 1974 he received a BS in mathematics-secondary education from Buffalo State University (NY).
From 1974-78 he taught mathematics at Thayer HS (NH) where he also coached soccer and basketball. He completed a MA in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University (OH) in 1979 and began in college admissions at Juniata College (PA). From 1979 to 1984 he served there as admissions counselor, assistant director and associate director.
In 1984 he moved to Rhodes College (TN) just as the institution changed to its current name. He served as director of admissions until 1991 when he moved to Portland, OR. At Lewis & Clark College (OR) he has been dean of admissions and, for a time, also student financial services. He has also been an adjunct faculty member in their Graduate School of Education and Counseling.
A frequent presenter at NACAC and other organizations, Mike co-directed the NACAC Mid-level Management Institute and served on the faculty of the NACAC Advanced School Counselor Institute. He served on the NACAC Professional Development committee from 1986-89 and 1999-2001.
He has been on his local high school Site Council and was VP of the district’s Educational Foundation. He has also served on the selection committees for National Merit and Coca Cola Scholarships.
Mike is currently on the advisory boards of The College Guide and the Education Conservancy.
Jean D. Jordan
Emory University (GA)
Dean of Admission
Jean has worked at Emory University (GA) since 1984 in various positions, but all in the admission office. Prior to that, she worked for two years at her alma mater, Stetson University (FL) and one year at Tift College (GA).
She currently serves as Past President of the Common Application Board and as a member of the NACAC Fiscal Policy Committee. She is also very involved with SACAC. She is the SACAC president-elect and has served as secretary/treasurer, delegate and web master.
In her spare time, she serve as a fitness instructor at two local boot camps. She lives close to Emory with her husband and two Jack Russell terriers.