Director of Admissions Deena Whitfield has resigned from her post as Director of Admissions, effective May 13. She has served in the position since fall 2001. "Deena has been a wonderful colleague and a member of the Brandeis community ...most recently directing the University's undergraduate admission efforts through a period of significant transition and marked success," Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy wrote in a campus e-mail announcing the resignation Friday.

"This year," Eddy wrote, "the University received the greatest number of applications in its history, and we presently are on track to enroll one of our finest classes to date."

Whitfield said her decision was motivated by a desire to spend more time with her aging parents in Philadelphia and her new grandchild in New Hampshire as well as her feeling that she had achieved many of the goals she set for the admissions office.

Her decision came as a surprise to most, she said.

"I had certain goals that I wanted to attain when I came here and I've pretty much gotten there in a short amount of time in terms of stabilizing the admissions office, increasing applications and increasing selectivity," Whitfield said.

Whitfield said that she believed her greatest contribution to the admissions process at Brandeis was the founding of the mid-year program, whose inaugural class entered the school in January of 2004.

"I love the mid-year students, I love the idea of a mid-year class and I love the idea of rejuvenating the campus every semester," Whitfield said. "It is great for Brandeis and it is great for the students who get admitted to the program."

Whitfield said that she believes the greatest challenge facing the next director of admissions will be to adapt to the school's rising stature in the academic world. Brandeis is competing for students with better schools each year, she said.

Until 1995, Whitfield was a stay-at-home mother. She then began to pursue a career in higher education, and ended up working part-time running a conference for former Director of Admissions David Gould. In return for her services, Whitfield asked Gould to teach her about admissions.

Whitfield said that she left Brandeis for a few years to work in the admissions department at Lesley College in Cambridge. When Gould stepped down from his post, Whitfield applied for the job and was selected in the fall of 2001.