Jessica Lee
Photo by Denise Applewhite, Office of Communications
Jessica Lee, who has served in senior admission positions at Princeton University and Barnard College, has been named director of admission at Princeton, effective immediately.
Reporting to Dean of Admission Janet Lavin Rapelye, Lee helps oversee the operations of the undergraduate Office of Admission and the management of admission staff. In her new role, Lee coordinates the student recruitment and selection process, working with Rapelye to develop long-term goals and policies and to implement recruitment strategies, including those supporting the racial and socioeconomic diversity of the incoming class. Lee will help oversee admission staffing issues and assist Rapelye with strategic planning efforts. She also will work closely with senior admission staff to manage the office's technology systems.
"We are delighted Jess Lee has accepted the position of director of admission," Rapelye said. "Jess has been a valuable member of our admission office and she impressed the search committee with her sharp intellect, deep commitment to higher education and appreciation of the Princeton undergraduate experience. She steps into this leadership role as we begin our deliberations to choose the first members of the Class of 2021, and she brings a dedication to diversity, access and inclusion."
Lee has worked at Princeton since 2013, most recently as associate dean of admission and previously as senior assistant dean of admission. Her work in those roles included serving as a member of the dean's senior staff; coordinating admission officers' travel for recruitment efforts across the United States and world; leading a staff team reviewing applications; managing travel programs for admitted students in need of financial assistance to visit campus for Princeton Preview; leading admission information sessions for visitors on campus; and traveling to events for prospective students in the United States and countries in Asia.
"Each year, the shared efforts of our staff bring in a diversely talented group of students," Lee said. "They have inspired us throughout the admission process and continue to do so on Princeton's campus. I look forward to working with incredibly dedicated colleagues in this new role and capacity."
Before coming to Princeton, Lee worked at Barnard College's Office of Admissions, serving as associate director of admissions and as a senior admissions officer. She coordinated the
transfer admission program, led admission committees, supervised staff members, produced statistical reports, coordinated an alumni volunteer program and collaborated with Barnard's Office of Diversity Initiatives.
She has a master's degree in higher and postsecondary education from Teachers College at Columbia University and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Mount Holyoke College.
Lee succeeds Logan Powell, who is now the dean of admission at Brown University.
