Hampden-Sydney College is pleased to announce that Interim Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admission Chrystal N. Russell will become the College’s permanent Vice President for Enrollment, effective immediately. Chrystal has served as the College’s Dean of Admission since May of 2023 and Interim Vice President for Enrollment since July. She brings to her role more than a decade of recruitment, enrollment, and financial aid experience in secondary and higher education that has served the College well in her time as dean.
“I am thrilled to be at the helm of our enrollment efforts as we look to the next 250 years,” said Russell. “To be named Vice President for Enrollment in our 250th anniversary year is a privilege, and I’m excited to continue the momentum we have built over the past few years. Hampden-Sydney and our Enrollment Division are primed for success, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead this dedicated and professional team.”
Chrystal is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and has spent her entire professional career in college admissions, both as a high school counselor and then at respected colleges and universities. She served as the director of undergraduate admission at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, for four years prior to coming to Hampden-Sydney. There, she provided strategic leadership of the admission team and directed its recruiting efforts. Previously, she worked in admission at Rhodes College and Randolph College. Over the course of her career, she has developed expertise in data-driven decision making and the formulation and implementation of recruiting plans.
Chrystal has a lifelong association with and commitment to single-sex education. She attended St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, and she was associate director of college counseling at Montgomery Bell Academy, a distinguished high school for men in Nashville, Tennessee, early in her career.
“My senior team colleagues and I have been impressed by Chrystal. She is an enthusiastic and collaborative colleague,” said president Larry Stimpert. “I am confident that Chrystal, with the strength of our terrific Admission and Financial Aid team and collaboration with colleagues from across the College, will help grow the College’s enrollment even as we continue to emphasize selectivity and the geographic reach of our recruiting effort. We are eager to take full advantage of recent investments like the Citrone Scholars Program and a larger scholarship endowment to recruit the most academically talented high school students and meet more of the financial need of our prospective students’ families.”