Colleagues,

Please join me in welcoming our inaugural Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Enhancement, Allan C. Mathew who starts today. In this new Jonsson School position, Allan will focus on all aspects of the graduate student experience, from recruitment and the admissions process through graduation. He aims to help students thrive at the Jonsson School, while connecting them to alumni they want to emulate.

This new position was created and prioritized after meeting with leaders in the School who stressed the importance of recruiting graduate students, and my own concern about enhancing student culture and increasing the number and diversity of our graduate student population. Allan will work with advisors, faculty members and leadership throughout the Jonsson School, as well as with the UT Dallas Office of Graduate Education led by Dr. Juan E. González.

Allan has years of progressive experience recruiting graduate students at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. His most recent position at Messiah University was director of graduate enrollment, focusing on physical therapy programs. Allan analyzed the many aspects related to graduate study such as finances, mentorship opportunities, socio-economic factors and overall institutional climate that influence whether or not a person is able to achieve their potential.

Allan takes an empathetic, holistic approach to the graduate student recruitment experience. An Asian American originally hailing from India, Allan says he directly experienced bias that impacted his experiences. He ultimately explored social issues such as the model minority myth and racial allyship in work toward his PhD in higher education that he expects to complete from Azusa Pacific University this summer following his dissertation defense. Allan earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Messiah University in health and exercise science/pre-physical therapy, and higher education, respectively.

His areas of research include issues of diversity and inclusion in higher education. Additionally, Allan has focused experience on student recruitment with expertise in studying the student life cycle through digital tools including customer relationship management (CRM) software. This experience will play an important role with understanding trends across hundreds of students. In 2019, the Jonsson School had more than 1,500 graduate students.

Once again, I thank the search committee chaired by Dr. Poras T. Balsara, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of electrical and computer engineering, for their efforts in attracting a talent such as Allan to UT Dallas.

I am extremely happy for our School and students that Allan has joined us.