Wabash College President Scott E. Feller has announced the appointment of Tyler J. Wade as Dean for Enrollment Management. Wade, a 2012 Wabash graduate, has served as interim dean since June.
“One of the things that made him stand out in the field of candidates is the fact that he’s held about every job at every level of the admissions process,” Feller said. “He’s recruited hundreds of young men to Wabash; served as interim director of financial aid; led the implementation of Slate as the College’s CRM; moved to Texas to build our out-of-state pipeline; directed our pre-college programs for the last several years; and served as interim dean.”
“This is my dream job. My mom is the reason I looked at Wabash, and a handwritten note from the president is the reason I came. That tap on the shoulder changed the course of my life,” Wade said. “I’ve spent 12 years trying to be that for young men from Indianapolis to the Rio Grande Valley, and ultimately that’s the job: find the best and brightest young men in the country and show them what’s possible here. The country is asking hard questions about how boys and young men are doing. Wabash has an answer, and we need to be telling that story louder than anyone.”
Wade was a political science major at Wabash and earned a master’s degree in student affairs in higher education from Miami University in 2014. He returned to his alma mater that year as an admissions counselor and quickly moved up to associate director of admissions. In 2019, he took on additional responsibilities as interim director of financial aid during a transition, and he led the implementation and launch of the Slate CRM system to streamline the office’s communications and business practices.
In 2020, Wade moved to Dallas to launch a regional recruitment office for the Southwest. Applications from Texas have more than tripled since he arrived, the College strengthened its long-standing partnership with IDEA Public Schools, and Wabash’s Latino/Hispanic student population grew by 40%. Texas now sends 15 to 20 new students to Wabash each year. Wade returned to Indiana in 2024 and now recruits Central Indiana, while still traveling to Texas to maintain relationships and recruit young men to Wabash.
Since 2023, Wade has also served as director of pre-college programs, supported by Lilly Endowment Inc. The College’s summer programs — Playbook for Life, Molecules to Medicine, and Pathway to Your Future — have served more than 250 high school students since 2022.
When former Dean for Enrollment Management Chip Timmons left the College in June, President Feller appointed Wade interim dean. Since then, Wade has revised the College’s financial aid strategy and partnered closely with the Athletics Department on recruitment ahead of the Fall 2027 class.