Director of Undergraduate Admissions Dan Saracino will retire from his post after serving for 13 years, the University announced today.
The University will begin a national search to hire Saracino's replacement, and in the meantime, Director of Operations in the Office of Admissions Robert Mundy will serve as interim director.
"It truly has been an honor to have served my alma mater these past 13 years," Saracino said in a press release. "With a passionate and dedicated staff, we have all labored tirelessly to reach those outstanding young men and women who have indeed made this an even better Notre Dame. As an alumnus, I have no doubt that this special place will continue to grow."
During Saracino's tenure, the Office of Admissions has pushed to increase diversity on campus as well as enrollment of international students. Diversity enrollment has increased from 14 percent to 23 percent in the past 13 years.
Yet Saracino has told The Observer that the University still has a ways to go to reach its goals regarding diversity of the student body.
"The two areas where we really came up short were African Americans and the internationals," Saracino said in September of the most recent freshman class.
This Class of 2013 is made up of 23 percent ethnic minorities - 10 percent Hispanic, 3 percent Asian, 3 percent black, 3 percent international students and 1 percent Native American.
The average SAT score of enrolled students at Notre Dame increased from 1325 to 1410 during Saracino's tenure as well.
During his time as admissions director, Saracino alsomoved the University from a specialized application to the Common Application.
"Dan has helped recruit an extraordinary student body to Notre Dame, individuals who have a passion for inquiry, are engaged by their faith and generously use their gifts in service of humanity," Associate Provost Dennis Jacobs said in the release. "By mobilizing enthusiastic alumni and a dedicated team of admissions professionals, Dan is responsible for annually attracting more than 14,000 accomplished applicants from all 50 states and from over 80 countries around the world."
Saracino's retirement is effective June 30.
