Hite appointed assistant vice president, director of admission

Julie Hite has been named Rice’s assistant vice president and director of admission, a new position that combines the previous dean of enrollment and director of admission roles.

Julie Hite has been named Rice’s assistant vice president and director of admission. (Photo by Jeff Fitlow)

“With nearly 10 years of experience as the director of the enrollment management operations center at Rice, Julie has led the Office of Admission through implementation of customer relationship management software and data and operations integration over the years,” said Vice President for Enrollment Yvonne Romero da Silva.

Prior to arriving at Rice, Hite was a senior admission leader at the University of South Florida, where she also served as the interim director of admission. Hite has also held leadership positions in registrar and information technology offices at the University of Central Florida and the College of Charleston during her 30 years of work in higher education.

“I am delighted to have the opportunity to work in a new and expanded capacity with our talented team of admission, information systems and operations professionals,” said Hite.

Following a handful of retirements, Romero da Silva saw an opportunity to restructure the Office of Enrollment, specifically admission leadership. The dean of enrollment position, most recently held by Julie Browning, has been retired.

“Since my first days at Rice I have been impressed by Julie’s masterful project management skills, her consummate positive attitude and her sincere desire to see each and every one of the members of the Office of Enrollment thrive,” said Romero da Silva.

As the assistant vice president and director of admission, Hite will lead the Office of Admission and ensure the successful recruitment, selection and enrollment of talented undergraduate students to meet the priorities and needs of the university. “In addition, the director will serve as the key admission liaison with numerous constituents across the university to collaborate on opportunities to promote the Rice undergraduate experience,” said Romero da Silva.

“It will be a privilege to serve our students and the Rice community,” said Hite. “Our teams are preparing for an extraordinary season and we are eager to work with colleagues across campus in support of recruitment initiatives and enrollment objectives.”

“We are so fortunate to have Julie as a member of our division,” said Romero da Silva. “I am thrilled she has agreed to take on a key leadership role to help steward the admission unit toward a new era.”