This month’s staff profile features Andy Borst, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management for the University of Georgia.
Borst joined the Office of Instruction in August 2023 in this new role. Borst now oversees enrollment management related to undergraduate, graduate, professional, and online education, and he works with senior leadership to develop strategic enrollment plans, monitor enrollments and matriculation, and plan for resource implications. Read more about Borst in UGA Today.
Q – What are your responsibilities as Vice Provost for Enrollment Management? Why is enrollment management important?
A – My job is to coordinate resources and information between enrollment, revenue, and campus resources. UGA’s enrollment has been growing by about 2% each year for the last decade. As we think about the next ten years, my role as enrollment manager is to facilitate discussions to ensure we are intentional about balancing any plans for future growth to stay within the bounds of campus resources as well as to be creative in looking for new opportunities that serve the State of Georgia in innovative ways.
Q – What are you most excited to work on at UGA?
A – I came to UGA because of the people I met during my interview. I had never lived in the South, but the community of people I’ve met in my short time in Athens has been incredible. There are so many positive things happening at UGA. We have some of the best admissions, financial aid, and online learning staff in the country. They are teams of knowledgeable and caring professionals. The best example of that culture can be seen in David Graves’ admissions blog, giving insightful and caring advice to students and parents during the most stressful times of year. Each unit in enrollment management has a nationally recognized leader and an impressive level of talent across the three teams. I’m excited about supporting each area and challenging them to be creative in serving UGA students.
Q – What first drew you to a career in education, and how has your career led you to the University of Georgia?
A -I never thought I would find my career path in education. After I finished my Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, a consultant recommended that I step in to lead an Office of Admissions at a regional public university in Illinois. I had never worked in admissions before, and I thought I would be doing the university a favor by stepping into a key leadership role to simply keep things moving forward. It ended up being a better fit than I think anyone anticipated, and I was given some hard-earned experiences of presenting to regents, building connections with school counselors, and unifying a team around common goals. In my opinion, this inaugural position at UGA is the best enrollment management job in the country because of a unified central leadership, consistent understanding of identity, strong staff and faculty, a desirable market position, and opportunities to bring people together to explore different data elements related to enrollment management.
Q – How do you enjoy spending your free time outside of the office? Do you have any hobbies, or are you involved in any organizations?
A – I love exploring Georgia with my family. We’ve ventured to various locations throughout the state, with so much more still to see. We love a good college town, and Athens has it all. We love going to football games, exploring new places to eat, and seeing shows. I know we haven’t even scratched the surface of everything that Athens has to offer, and I’m looking forward to more exploring! Our favorite restaurant so far has been the Last Resort Grill, but my boys would eat Chick-fil-A for every meal if we let them.
Q – And last, what is a fun fact about you that you’d like to share?
A – When I was growing up, my grandparents lived in Mississippi. When we would visit from Iowa, my grandfather would take me to buy fresh seafood off the docks in the Gulf – not a common experience in the land-locked farmlands of the Midwest. One of my favorite things about living in Athens is going to the Publix in Watkinsville and buy whatever fresh fish they have that day. I don’t know if it is the fish, the shrimp, or the nostalgia, but I love it all.
The best way to cook shrimp is to boil it with mussels, clam, crab, potatoes, corn, andouille sausage, and a TON of old bay seasoning, dumped over brown butcher paper. Eat with your bare hands!