Maryville College announced that Cynthia J. “Cyndi” Sweet has been named director of admissions and Matthew Jagnow has been named director of alumni affairs.
Sweet, who most recently was the associate director of admissions at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, joined the Maryville College admissions staff on June 11. Her office is located in Fayerweather Hall.
As the director of admissions, Sweet’s responsibilities are focused on supervising the efforts of the admissions staff to recruit prospective freshmen and transfer students. Sweet also will work with the College’s marketing and communications staff members to oversee the development of the College’s printed and electronic recruitment messages, as well as plan recruiting events such as the “Meet Maryville” open houses.
Sweet earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn., and is currently obtaining a master’s degree in communication information from UT-K, which she is projected to obtain in 2015.
Sweet comes to MC with a great deal of experience working in undergraduate admissions. Before her time at UT-K, she served as an admissions counselor at Carson-Newman. At UT, she began her employment as an admissions counselor before receiving a steady series of promotions that led to her position as associate director of admissions.
“She has an excellent track record of advancement in admissions,” said Dr. Dolphus Henry, vice president for enrollment at Maryville College. “The depth of her responses to our questions during the interview process indicated that she was both knowledgeable and experienced in college recruitment and enrollment initiatives.”
Henry noted that Sweet’s background in admissions at Carson-Newman has prepared her for the broad range of responsibilities that she will encounter at MC, while her experiences at a larger institution will bring valuable insight to the admissions team.
“We are pleased to have her leadership and anticipate that she will take Maryville College to the next level in terms of recruiting,” Henry said. “She brings to us knowledge about what has worked well at other institutions, even larger institutions like the University of Tennessee.”
Jagnow, who most recently was the development manager for the University of Arkansas’ College of Engineering, joined Maryville College’s advancement staff on March 18. His office is located in Willard House.
As the director of alumni affairs and outreach, Jagnow’s responsibilities include planning and implementing alumni programs, including Homecoming and on-campus volunteer opportunities, as well as off-campus social and professional networking gatherings. He also supports development initiatives such as the Maryville Fund campaign, Senior Gift program and the Calvin Duncan Society to increase giving and participation by alumni.
As the liaison between the College and the College’s national alumni association, Jagnow works closely with the alumni board president and organizes meeting dates and materials.
“We are so thrilled to have Matt join our team,” said Holly Jackson-Sullivan, Maryville College’s vice president for advancement and community relations. “He brings with him a passion for and strong understanding of higher education and how to build meaningful relationships with alumni and donors. He also has a wealth of relevant experience in event planning.
“I am confident that, under Matt’s guidance and leadership, our alumni programming will move to the next level,” she added.
A native of Shelton, Wash., Jagnow holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Northern Arizona University and expects to complete a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Arkansas this spring.
As a staff member at the University of Arkansas, Jagnow began his work in fundraising as a fiscal support specialist and was promoted to the position of prospect management manager before being named development manager in UA’s College of Engineering.
In that role, he facilitated a stewardship program, coordinated alumni communications and planned alumni banquets, open houses and employer events that were marketed to students, faculty and external constituencies.
Jagnow also has extensive experience in the financial services industry, including work with JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and Regions Bank.