The new executive director of admissions, Jeff Lochowicz, will be working to reorganize student orientation and onboarding.

Carmen Panlilio, vice chancellor of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, said Lochowicz will bring a great addition to admissions.

“He brings a fresh, new perspective including keen eyesight, candidness in terms of what we’re not doing right, what we should continue and also in terms of what we should amplify,” Panlilio said. “He has an understanding of what students are like out there, what’s changed and what we’re dealing with and persuading.”

Lochowicz said the students the PNW administration is now looking at are continually changing.

“The ways you would talk to students now from five years ago have changed. In terms of young to old recruiters, little exposure to college, family being involved in the process and procedure; it’s all changed,” Lochowicz said. “Communication is very effective storytelling, and the best recruiters are now current students. They’re able to show potential students they belong and fit in here.”

Lochowicz comes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree in business administration in 2001 at Marquette University. He also worked at Marquette University for 20 years, starting as an admissions counselor and moving up to senior assistant dean of Admissions.

Lochowicz said he came to PNW for the challenge and the Purdue name.

“It was an opportunity to interface and meet with some great people,” Lochowicz said. “During the interview process, you really get an opportunity to meet with everyone they’d toss at you. You could tell pretty quickly the feel of it. It was very welcoming and comfortable.”

Panlilio said her team is thrilled to work with Lochowicz and offer their full support.

“In my division, there’s transparency,” Panlilio said. “When I shared with my team my announcement, nine out of ten people said yay and clapped immediately. The one person that didn’t immediately only stopped to ask who it was and then when I told them who, they joined in.”

Lochowicz said he will begin by working with the team closely.

“I think it’s important to bring the staff together, to nurture them, to bring guidance because they need to feel comfortable and ask questions. I hope to mentor the younger staff especially.”

Panlilio said his main focus will be on stability and innovation.

“People may think that’s contradictory, but it’s not as far as I’m concerned,” Panlilio said. “He’ll bring ideas and experience, which is especially great coming from a different school. The danger of doing something too long is that if you’re not aware of the changing and different realms, you’re not aware of what is happening.”

Working on an analytic level has given Lochowicz a great appreciation for his hobbies: sailing and cycling.

“Sailing and cycling are really a chance to decompress,” Lochowicz said. “They allow you to have the time to reflect and think about what you’ve done, how you can do it better. Sometimes it just lets you be alone in your thoughts.”