Administrator Profile

Daniel Gallagher
Dean of University Admissions

Q: Describe your current role at Stevens.
A: My current role as Dean of University Admissions means that I am responsible for the recruitment of both undergraduate and graduate students. At the undergraduate level I oversee the recruitment, processing, and decision making of applicants, whereas at the graduate level my responsibilities pertain to the recruitment and processing only, since faculty make the admissions decisions. In addition, I also handle institutional research, which means that if you find facts about Stevens Institute of Technology in various guide books, rankings, or reports, most likely I provided the data.

Q: What have you enjoyed most about your career at Stevens?
Many of my colleagues at work are surprised that I commute each day from Queens, New York. The first question is: How? (LIE to BQE to Williamsburg Bridge to Holland Tunnel) The second question is: Why? I sometimes wonder when I am stuck in traffic, but it always goes back to the same thing-the people. Stevens has a wonderful student body of eager, energetic, and motivated students. The faculty is dedicated, intelligent, and gracious with their time. My fellow co-workers are engaged, focused, and hard working. I often work late-less traffic makes a quicker commute-but I am never the last (maybe once in while during file reading season). The student life programming, career development activities, coaches, police, residence staff, and many more work around the clock to make sure this campus is operating at its best at all times. I have spent twelve years at Stevens, I remember the first day I started, and I feel I have been fortunate to work in such a dynamic environment.

Q: What is the most essential element in the admissions process at Stevens?
As a parent of a Stevens student, I am sure you are aware that we interview all applicants. It is a unique touch that separates Stevens from its competitors. For many students it may seem routine, but it is critical in finding the best students. When I started at Stevens we accepted close to 70 percent of our applicants. Now we accept 50 percent, even though we have more who are capable of doing the work and succeeding. Thus, the interview is helpful in determining to which students we offer a spot into the next annual class. I do not personally interview as many students as in the past, but I still manage to squeeze some in, since I enjoy learning about their academic interests, motivation and dreams. I hope it remains a criterion in admissions at Stevens well beyond my years.

Q: Do you have any new and exciting endeavors in you role as Dean of University Admissions?
Recently, I have had the pleasure of sitting in on high level meetings with academic deans, the provost and the President. The discussions revolve around the future of Stevens and what direction it should take. The meetings are on-going and the discussions continue on, but one thing is clear: Stevens is on the rise. Academic departments are making magnificent strides in hiring faculty, developing curricula, and conducting research. Stevens is growing. Luckily people at the top level of the Institute are actively engaged in decisions surrounding this growth; I am confident bold and imaginative steps will be taken to keep Stevens on its path to greater prominence and recognition.