Sinda Vanderpool

Dr. Sinda Vanderpool is the associate vice provost for academic enrollment management at Baylor University where she works collaboratively with academic leaders across campus to leverage the people, processes, and systems to enhance student success. As an enrollment management and academic affairs professional, Sinda Vanderpool advocates and executes systemic change with measurable results to help the institution flourish. Under her tenure, first-year retention rates have increased by eight percentage points and four-year graduation rates by nine percentage points. A large part of these increases resulted from a major change initiative that Vanderpool led on campus to substantially overhaul academic advising campus-wide. This effort included the development of a campus-wide philosophy and outcomes document as well as considerable improvements to the quality and consistency of the student experience. Vanderpool’s portfolio includes oversight of the success center with comprehensive services such as University Advisement, disabilities services, first gen, transfer, and veterans services as well as academic support initiatives. Vanderpool holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and a B.A. from Davidson College in French Literature.

Vanderpool’s student success philosophy: “I am tirelessly passionate about standing for what is possible, especially when it comes to education. When people start talking about why something cannot be done, I like to ask them to reframe the conversation and think about how it can be done. By studying underrepresented students coming to college and working to enhance services to help them be successful, I have become more convinced that any student can find a path to success.”