Cumberlands names new Executive VP for Enrollment Management

University of the Cumberlands has named U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Jonathan E. Shores, Jr., PhD, as the new Executive Vice President for Enrollment Management.

In this role, Dr. Shores  is responsible for providing leadership and overall direction in enrollment planning, recruitment, and admission. In short, he is in charge of the vision, strategy, and implementation of all full-time student recruitment and preparing and managing budgets across departments to meet annual goals.

Dr. Larry L. Cockrum, President of Cumberlands, said, “We are pleased to have Jonathan join our team. His decades of experience in higher education and knowledge about the unique circumstances facing colleges and students are invaluable for our goals as a university. He offers a fresh perspective and knows how to think outside the box to create impactful, widespread, and long-term solutions for students, a mindset which works in tandem with our commitment to always put students first.”

Dr. Shores has spent more than half of his life working in higher education and has experience helping over 200 collegiate institutions reach record levels of enrollment, working both with and directly at numerous colleges. Prior to joining Cumberlands, he served as Senior Vice President of Ardeo Education Solutions in Bloomington, IN, where he developed and implemented new strategies for the company that increased revenue within the company and significantly increased partner colleges’ growth. Dr. Shores has also worked at three different private colleges, including serving as Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing.

A firm advocate for higher education, Dr. Shores has taught as an adjunct professor at Cumberlands and presented and published insights regarding such topics as understanding marketing strategies, improving college recruitment, online adult education, innovating solutions to student loan debt, the value of a college education, the rise of global student mobility, and more.

Within the Air Force, Dr. Shores served as an advisor for a 4-Star General and Command Chief of Air Mobility Command, the largest command within the U.S. Air Force. He is a veteran of Operation Joint Forge, Operation Joint Enterprise, Operation Enduring Freedom, and others, and he served in various logistics, deployment, and fund management positions.