Alma College names Douglas Freed vice president for enrollment management, marketing, and communications
Freed has a long and successful career at various midwest higher learning institutions, where he has successfully increased student enrollment through his leadership.
On August 1, Douglas Freed will begin his new position as the vice president for enrollment management, marketing, and communications at Alma College. Freed has over 35 years of experience in higher education, and is respected as an academic leader.
In his new position at Alma, Freed will be in charge of the marketing and communications, financial aid, and admissions teams. Together, these teams will work together with the goal of attracting and engaging potential students through the use of strategic campaigns that will shine a spotlight on the college’s experiential opportunities, vibrant campus culture, academic offerings, and distinctive strengths.
In an article posted on Alma College’s website, Dr. Joseph L. Odenwald, who serves as the school’s president, was quoted about Freed, saying, “Doug is a seasoned professional with deep expertise in enrollment, marketing and communications. His background — including work at both two- and four-year institutions across Michigan — will serve Alma well as we continue to expand our reach. I’m excited to bring Doug on board and welcome him back to Michigan.”
Prior to coming to Alma College, Douglas Freed was working at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois, where he held the position of director of admissions and enrollment services since 2019. While there, he was in charge of the development and implementation of recruitment and enrollment strategies for a variety of student groups such as first generation students, re-entry students, dual enrollment participants, adult learners, transfers, Pell eligible, and first time first year students, among others. Freed utilized a data driven approach and focused on projecting enrollment numbers while adjusting communication tools like texts, emails, and print materials.
Western Illinois benefited from Freed’s style of leadership. Incoming first year classes saw a GPA increase from 3.3 to almost 3.5 by the Fall 2024 semester. First year student enrollment rose by 17% in the Fall 2022 semester, and the university saw its first increase in first year students in almost a decade in the Fall 2020 semester.
Freed was quoted as saying about coming to Alma, “I am thrilled to join the staff and faculty at Alma College — this is truly a dream job for me. I see so many opportunities to bring prospective students to Alma and am excited to align our marketing and communications strategies with that vision. Alma has a lot going for it — and continuing our enrollment momentum will take the effort of everyone across campus.”
As his work at Western Illinois illustrates, Freed has a background in strategic direction and leadership, as well as in developing collaborative enrollment strategies. While there he also represented the school at the Chicago Higher Education Compact, at the Illinois state articulations, and at the Macomb Chamber of Commerce. He created enrollment strategies in collaboration with people from across the university, including people from the athletic, alumni, and academics departments, among others.
Before his position at Western Illinois, Freed worked as the founding director of the Transfer Student Success Center at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. While there, he was in charge of the entire transfer student lifecycle, creating a transfer student enrollment plan directing Wayne State’s schools and colleges in their transfer initiatives, and participated in a variety of relationship development with community colleges in order to increase the scope and reach of their partnership opportunities. Under Freed’s leadership, Wayne State saw a rise in applications, admissions, and retention of new transfer students for three fall semesters in a row starting in 2015, due to the implementation of the Transfer Student Success Center. Freed worked for Wayne State University for two decades in several different roles.
Freed also worked at Delta College in University Center, Michigan, where he served as the first dean of enrollment management. There he led the operational and budget processes of a number of enrollment services departments. He also started a strategic enrollment management plan, and managed to surpass the school’s enrollment goal in its first fall semester, which was the first time it had occurred in four years. Freed also worked at Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan in several different positions for over a decade.
Freed has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, he then went on to obtain his Master of Arts degree in public relations and organizational communication from Wayne State University. He is arriving at Alma College during a time of increasing enrollment, with over 350 students expected to enroll in the Fall 2025 semester.
More information about Alma College can be found at the school’s website.