Sean Kaylor
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, NY
Transcribed by William Dougherty
For the Marist College Archives and Special Collections



Interviewee:
Sean Kaylor

Interviewer:
Gus Nolan


Interview Date:
2 August 2017

Location:
Marist College

Subject Headings:
Kaylor, Sean


Marist College Alumni


Marist College (Poughkeepsie N.Y.)


Marist College—Administration


Marist College. Admissions.

Summary:
Sean Kayor talks about why choose Marist and how his time here shaped his career
as the head of Admissions. Kaylor talks extensively about the evolution of where Marist recruits
its student body from and how many students it takes in a year. Kaylor’s long career at Marist
allows him to have a excellent perspective on where the college is going and where it has come
from.


Sean Kaylor 1

Gus Nolan (00:00):
Today is Wednesday, August 2nd, and we're doing an interview for the Marist College Archives.
And we have the great happiness, having with us. Sean Kaylor, who is the Vice President and
Director of College admissions. Sean is a longtime Marist in many ways, as you'll hear. Hi, Sean,
how are you?
Sean Kaylor (00:20):
I'm well. How are you?
Gus Nolan (00:22):
Good. Sean, in a few sentences, could you just give us an overview of your early years, where
you brought up to grammar school and neighborhood and family?
Sean Kaylor (00:34):
Sure. I was born in New Milford, Connecticut, and lived in Washington, Connecticut for, I guess
until I was in fifth grade. And then my parents moved to Mystic Connecticut, and that's where I
went to middle school and high school. I went to St. Bernard's High School in Montville,
Connecticut, probably at this point, most well-known for the casino that's , in that neck of the
woods. But it was a great place to grow up. And I started searching for colleges and narrowed it
down to a handful.
Gus Nolan (01:10):
Okay. Back up, all you went to high school in St. Bernard? Bernard's?
Sean Kaylor (01:14):
St. Bernard High School.
Gus Nolan (01:15):
They had a high school there too. Okay. Yes. Was it big, small, middle?
Sean Kaylor (01:19):
About 1500 students. Okay.
Gus Nolan (01:20):
That's a good size. More than standard. St. Ann's were always familiar with, 1200 was kind of it.
In high school, did you do any activities? Did you play sports? Did you do anything?
Sean Kaylor (01:32):
I did. I played football for a couple years until I hurt. I got hurt and I couldn't play anymore.
Then I did track, I did the pole vault.
Gus Nolan (01:40):
Oh.


Sean Kaylor 2

Sean Kaylor (01:41):
And I was also treasurer of my senior class.
Gus Nolan (01:46):
Okay. Family members. Are you, siblings?
Sean Kaylor (01:50):
I have, well, it was my parents and one sibling. Okay. Her name is Eileen, and she is a Marist
alum as well.
Gus Nolan (01:57):
Oh, okay. Fine. Okay, moving on. Let's talk about colleges. You said you were looking for some
colleges. How did you find Marist?
Sean Kaylor (02:08):
As part of the college search, really? Excuse me. I started out looking at quite a few Yeah. And
narrowed it down to a list of about four or five. And in the end it was between Marist and La
Salle and St. Joe's University, down in Philly, yeah, and UCONN, of course, that was in state for
me, more affordable for my parents and Marist. And when I came to open house for accepted
students and saw the beautiful campus, that's when I decided this was the place for me.
Gus Nolan (02:44):
Give me a year. When was that?
Sean Kaylor (02:45):
So that would be the spring of 1986?
Gus Nolan (02:49):
86? Correct. Oh, okay. And you say beautiful campus, but, it was not anything like it is today,
Lowell Thomas was up, I suppose.
Sean Kaylor (03:01):
Lowell Thomas was just being built, finished. No, you're right. It certainly was not the campus it
is today. Yeah. But it still had the beautiful, the Hudson, you know, Hudson River was there.
And the campus itself was beautiful. And, and to be honest, the people were extremely friendly.
It just had a nice feel to it. That's something that hasn't, that hasn't changed over the years, even
though the physical plan has, has gotten much better.
Gus Nolan (03:27):
Okay. And then you must have lived on campus, I suppose?
Sean Kaylor (03:31):


Sean Kaylor 3

Yeah. So I decided to come here, and then the fall of 1986, I moved in. I lived in Leo Hall on the
fifth floor. I think it was Room 520. I'm not exactly sure. laugh. Every move in day, I go up there
to see who's living in my old room.
Gus Nolan (03:49):
I See. Yeah.
Sean Kaylor (03:50):
Which is fun. But yeah, Leo Hall freshman year. And then, I was undecided in terms of a major,
but I was leaning toward computer science or business or psychology. So, I dabbled a little bit in
each and, ultimately chose business.
Gus Nolan (04:08):
You did.
Sean Kaylor (04:09):
And minored in psychology. And then, you know, sophomore year, I then...
Gus Nolan (04:15):
Who was on the business faculty, there was Jack Kelly here?
Sean Kaylor (04:17):
Jack Kelly was the Dean. Correct. And, is May Force. She has a, a new last name at this point.
But she was my advisor. She was fantastic. And actually, she's the reason, why I got into
admissions.
Gus Nolan (04:34):
I want to get to that in a second. At Marist though, did you participate in activities and what were
they?
Sean Kaylor (04:41):
I did. So and, just to revisit the housing thing again, sophomore year I lived in Champagnat on
the eighth floor. And then my last two years were spent in the town, the Foy townhouses.
Gus Nolan (04:53):
Oh they were up then?
Sean Kaylor (04:54):
A1 and A5.
Gus Nolan (04:55):
I see.


Sean Kaylor 4

Sean Kaylor (04:56):
But yes, I did, I was pretty active on campus. I was a member of the crew team for four years,
and I was captain my last, my junior and senior year. Yep. So that kept me pretty busy.
Gus Nolan (05:09):
Did you start crew here or did you have crew back in high school?
Sean Kaylor (05:12):
They didn't have it at my high school, but I did row over the summer a little bit before I came
here.
Gus Nolan (05:18):
I see.
Sean Kaylor (05:19):
And I liked it. And then I met the coach when I showed up here and I got hooked, so.
Gus Nolan (05:25):
Yeah, yeah. It, I admire people who do that because there's real discipline. I mean, between the
road work in the morning and the rowing and I read that the open boat or whatever it was, the
boys in the boat, you know?
Sean Kaylor (05:39):
Yes. Yeah. That's a lot history there. Yeah. No, it was, it was great. It kept me physically fit and
mentally sharp, but it also gave me structure.
Gus Nolan (05:49):
I see. Yeah.
Sean Kaylor (05:50):
To make sure I was managing my time appropriately. So, it all, it worked out well. Yeah.
Gus Nolan (05:56):
Were you a B+ student? A student? Or I'm C+, as you know.
Sean Kaylor (06:03):
At Marist. Yeah. I was like a B minus. I wasn't setting the world on the academic world on fire.
Gus Nolan (06:09):
Okay. Yeah. No, there would be time for that laugh. Yeah, there's another aspect, or somewhere I
saw that you became an intern in admissions. Is that true?
Sean Kaylor (06:20):


Sean Kaylor 5

It is not actually. I, although we had a very robust admission intern experience here for many
years, started by Dave Flynn. I did not participate in that, only because I was so involved in the
crew team. And I was captain, so I just didn't have time to do anything else.
Gus Nolan (06:39):
To go on the road and do all that other stuff.
Sean Kaylor (06:41):
But it was funny how I ended up in this career,
Gus Nolan (06:44):
Go back into this year. Yeah. You mentioned Dave Flynn. I met him in Florida at, he lives in the,
where everybody lives, the,
Sean Kaylor (06:57):
Northern Florida, right? Yeah.
Gus Nolan (06:59):
Yes. In Florida. And he mentioned though, I brought up to him, and he confirmed that the New
York Times on one given Sunday printed an article on the front page about recruiting at Marist.
Okay. And it had to do with that in beginning of the program was sending students out to
represent the school. You're familiar with that?
Sean Kaylor (07:25):
I am, yeah.
Gus Nolan (07:25):
Oh, yeah. Okay.
Sean Kaylor (07:26):
I think I pretty sure I saw the article and there might be a copy in my files back at my office.
Gus Nolan (07:33):
Well, it's on his wall in his house, so I want you to know that. So…
Sean Kaylor (07:37):
That's great.
Gus Nolan (07:38):
He made the New York Times. Okay, moving on. After graduation, what did you do?
Sean Kaylor (07:47):


Sean Kaylor 6

So, right before graduation, it was February of my senior year, and my advisor, Ismay Force
called me into her office and said, all right, so what are your plans after graduation? And I said,
you know, I haven't solidified those yet. Yeah. But I may move back to southeastern Connecticut
with my parents and apply for some jobs at Pfizer, perhaps in their human resource department.
And she said, well, that sounds like a nice plan. Yeah. Have you talked to your parents about
this? And I said, no. She said, well, you might wanna, maybe they don't want you back,
Gus Nolan (08:21):
[laugh].
Sean Kaylor (08:22):
And I, of course, I laughed,
Gus Nolan (08:24):
You can't go home again.
Sean Kaylor (08:25):
I know [laugh]. But she said, you know, maybe you should look into admissions work. I've
gotten to know you over the years. You love this place. You might be a good ambassador. So go
talk to Harry Wood, who was the vice president at the time. And I did, and Harry is an ex-
Marine, and he used to see me running hills in the morning and rowing. And so I think he
respected that part of my life. And we ended up talking. And the interesting part was he, a couple
weeks later, basically offered me a job starting in July, after I graduated. And I said, that's great.
So I called my parents, told 'em I got a job, and the rest is history. So is Ismay Force is really the
one who encouraged me to go talk to Harry Wood in admissions to see what…
Gus Nolan (09:19):
Did you live in Connecticut or did you get an apartment here?
Sean Kaylor (09:23):
No I just moved out of college housing and moved. I forget where I was initially, but yeah, I
lived locally.
Gus Nolan (09:29):
Okay.
Sean Kaylor (09:30):
Yeah. So it was, the interesting part of it was he had two people in his office leaving to go pursue
other opportunities. One of them was Chris DelGiorno who is now the Vice president for
Advancement. So, in a sense, Chris left and I took his spot, and now we're both serving here as
well. So.
Gus Nolan (09:53):


Sean Kaylor 7

That's, I never heard that, but I'm glad I did. You stayed there, admissions, and obviously you
must have liked it because you've been there for a good more almost 20 years now, I guess,
longer.
Sean Kaylor (10:06):
Then that, ain't you?
Gus Nolan (10:07):
Yeah, and so, well, tell me about the early years when you, it's much different now, I suppose, as
things do change, but when you started, how big was the recruiting team?
Sean Kaylor (10:23):
Oh, small. Less than a handful of people who actually went out and recruited, plus the interns. So
maybe five to eight of us total, maybe, maybe less. Anyway, it was a very small operation. We
were based outta Graystone where the president, lives and occupies now. And our whole
operation was there. And the president was on the top floor.
Gus Nolan (10:48):
Yeah. That was Dennis Murray?
Sean Kaylor (10:49):
It was Dennis Murray, yes. And he would actually come down through the office and meet with
some of the students on his way to meetings. So actually worked pretty well. It made a nice
impression. But it was a small operation. We mostly recruited in the Northeast. Certainly, the tri-
state area, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, where we got most of our students. But the
applicant pool back then was probably 2-3000. And we probably enrolled a class of about 700.
And the 1990, and then it just gradually started to increase over the years.
Gus Nolan (11:30):
Okay. That's a point I want to get to. What do you think of, well, how did it increase? Was it
through publicity? Was it through the sending out of surveys? Was it sending out, visiting the
schools? More of that and talking to student body and,
Sean Kaylor (11:50):
I think a combination of all of those things. I think what was happening on campus with the
physical plant was, was helping, what some of our alumni were doing and success of some of our
alumni, helped. I think the visibility that the basketball team with Rik Smits, gave the college in
the late eighties certainly put us on the map, the Marist Poll.
Gus Nolan (12:18):
Oh yes.
Sean Kaylor (12:18):


Sean Kaylor 8

And some of the work the faculty had done. So all of that stuff was important, but the critical
piece from an enrollment standpoint was we had to get them to campus., our main charge as it
continues to be today, because we don't have the reputation of Harvard.
Gus Nolan (12:36):
If you see this place, you want it, absolutely. I can live here.
Sean Kaylor (12:40):
Absolutely. You come and you go on a tour and you listen to the people, and you meet some
folks, you know, usually jumps pretty high on the student's list when they leave. So that was our
main goal. And I'll tell you, one of the most important things we did was because we wanted to
get people to campus. You know, Monday through Friday is what we usually had open. And I
went to Harry Wood, probably my third year in. And I said, geez, we're missing out on an
unbelievable opportunity. We should open on Saturdays. So, we did. And then a few years later,
when I became director, we opened up on Sundays as well. Cause the weekends are when
families can travel. Otherwise, you're working, you have school, you have activities. So, we've
been open seven days a week in the fall, six days a week in the spring. And now, this is the first
summer we've opened Saturdays as well. So, we're six days a week in the spring and summer,
and seven days a week in the fall. So, it's a really a continual operation to get people on campus
to take a look at this place.
Gus Nolan (13:51):
How do you explain us getting into the major publications, 50 best colleges in the Northeast,
and, what, what's the dynamics and genesis of that? Do they come here?
Sean Kaylor (14:04):
I think it evolved over time. You know, so as our applicant pool grew, as the awareness of the
college had grown, and as our brand had improved and expanded, our reach for students that
expanded, you know, our applicant pool grew from the early days when I was here, in the early
nineties, from 2-3000 to, you know, over 10,000 every year this year hitting over 11,000. For the
third time in, in the school's history. So, you know, clearly the brand is strong enough to start
attracting people from farther and farther away. So you have more awareness. You have a
continued physical plant enhancement, and you have faculty doing great things, publications,
etcetera. You have alumni doing great things. You have our peers starting to recognize that we
have made great strides over the last couple decades and have repositioned ourselves among
others.
Gus Nolan (15:11):
I wanna say something about that too. But in this development kind of thing, well, just on that
now, where we are with Sienna, Manhattan, Iona, Fordham, you know, they, are we in the same
pool?
Sean Kaylor (15:29):
Yes and no. So when we, when I first started in the nineties, we, we overlapped a lot with Sienna
and Iona and, and the like. And now if you look at our top 10 overlap schools, Sienna, Iona,


Sean Kaylor 9

Manhattan, none of those schools are on there. It's Villanova, it's Providence College, it's Loyola
University in Maryland. It's Fordham. So the schools that we compete head to head with now are
much stronger. Villanova is on there. I think I mentioned them. So it's been fun to watch as our
reputation has improved as the applicant pool has improved, as the quality and diversity of the
students coming in has improved as our, rankings and all these guides. Have improved and
inclusion into the Princeton top 50 colleges that create futures. So I think all of that is recognition
of the hard work that everybody here, faculty, staff, students, alums, have, have put into this
place.
Gus Nolan (16:41):
Yeah, just a few words on the alum, when you started the alum was maybe 5,000 or 10,000, or I
mean, there were, there were seven in my graduating class. Okay and we were just brothers.
You, we don't have, we had less than a hundred in the alumni. And then the first years, I
remember Bill Moran was one of the first to graduate from the, we opened up to lay school, you
know? I had got him as a student at St. Sanderson at, so [laugh] interesting thing about him.
When he graduated, he had a degree in English, you know, and he left and he went down to IBM
and to apply for a job. I said, what can you do? He says, I'm a Renaissance man. I can do
anything [laugh], but what he can do for us, he taught Catholic high school for the next two
years, you know, and he started then going into business and, accounting. And, and then he was
hired by one of the big companies, and they said, you're kidding. Why do you want me? He says,
because you one of the few people who can write and explain numbers. Which, where the
English degree came back to his benefit, you know. But, I just thought I'd throw that in as one of
the alumni, now 40,000 alumni
Sean Kaylor (17:55):
Big. Yeah. Big number makes…
Gus Nolan (17:57):
A big difference. Yeah.
Sean Kaylor (17:58):
It does. And I mean, they, their success and their contributions back to this place are gonna be,
are critical for us, now and in the future.
Gus Nolan (18:08):
Yeah. On this last point about change in Marist and development and so on, one of the best
selling points, we mentioned location. How about programs? How about [inaudible]? How
about, you know, they must fit into the mix.
Sean Kaylor (18:27):
They do. So if I, if I gave you, my top few location is critical. You know, we're very well
positioned, not too far from Route 84. Close to New Jersey, Connecticut, and, and basically all
parts of the Northeast. And obviously the beauty of the region and the campus itself are, are
second to very few. So that's one. Two is the programs we offer, you know, there's a nice range
ranging from liberal arts to social sciences to business. You know, so I would say it's, it was to


Sean Kaylor 10

Marist benefit, not just to be a liberal arts institution, that we're grounded firmly in the liberal arts
and people learn how to think critically and read and write and communicate, but having the pre-
professional type of programs like business and communications and other programs like that
where there's a lot more interest and demand, perhaps a lot more jobs. Out there, especially now,
I think it was critical to Marist's continued success. The third thing I would say is the people. So
even when this place in, in the mid-eighties when I arrivedDidn't look like it does now. It was the
people that helped convince me that this was the right place to be. And it was people like Ismay
Force, who took the time to get to know me and understand where I might excel, , and point me
in a direction. And I mean, once she pointed, I went. And the rest is, has been great, great ride,
but it's people like that who make a difference.
Gus Nolan (20:27):
Yeah. One other point though that has to be fit into this, well, actually two, the first is the pool of
students drying up in the Northeast, or we now have to go west of the Hudson. And out to, I
mean, I've heard people question, why do we send a football team to California, you know, 90
guys and two parents and, you know, but then you point out that, we have 90 students from
California here.
Sean Kaylor (21:03):
Yeah. More than that now. Well, this demographic shift that we're experiencing, which is really
hitting the Northeast hard in terms of the number of students coming out of high school is fewer
and going on to college. And the ones that are coming out are much more diverse than they were
in the past. So, we saw this coming, and we came up with a long-term strategy to expand our
footprint outside of the Northeast. So, we did a lot of research and, and found different pockets
throughout the us, where the students had great mobility. They, they didn't mind leaving their
state and traveling far to go to school. And they also were of a certain socioeconomic profile
where they could afford the experience 'cause although we're less expensive than many of our
private competitors, we're still a private school that, that's pretty expensive. So, we've identified
those pockets, and then we executed a plan, and some pockets didn't work out as planned. And
some did California being one of them, So much so that about five years ago, I think we had hit
the peak of what you could do, sending someone out from the office to cover it. And that's when
we moved Corinne Schell out there permanently and made her director of West Coast
admissions. And she covers all of California and Hawaii,
Gus Nolan (22:34):
laugh Hawaii.
Sean Kaylor (22:36):
Tough. I know. It's a tough assignment. But she's done a fantastic job. And we've gone from,
she's 15 years ago, having two kids from California to bringing in probably 70 students a year
between California and Hawaii. I mean, that's a significant amount of students. And we've had
similar success, not quite as big in Minnesota, and parts of Florida and other cities that we've
identified. Around the northeast.
Gus Nolan (23:11):


Sean Kaylor 11

There's a college in Minnesota called Collegeville St. John's College in Minnesota.
Sean Kaylor (23:16):
Yeah, I've heard of it.
Gus Nolan (23:17):
Yeah. My brother's there. [laugh], is that right? Yeah, he's a retired Benedictine, but he Yeah.
Sean Kaylor (23:22):
Division three football,
Gus Nolan (23:23):
Right? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And they, I don't know if that coach retired, but he was
traditional himself. How do you explain the international acclaim that we would have? I mean,
we don't send people to China, to Japan, do we?
Sean Kaylor (23:38):
We do. Now we do.
Gus Nolan (23:39):
Oh.
Sean Kaylor (23:39):
So for a long time, I think the Marist culture or our approach to internationalization was sending
students abroad. Yes. Which wasn't as popular as it is now back in the eighties, but it evolved
over time. And now, as you know, over 50% of all the graduating classes have studied abroad,
which is fantastic. But there's a difference between sending our own students overseas and
actually enrolling students from overseas to stay here for four years. You know, we dabbled in it
in the nineties a little bit, and quite frankly, we just, Marist wasn't ready. We weren't ready as an
institution for a great deal of international diversity. We didn't have the support structures in
place to take care of these kids once they got here. But again, that changed, and I saw the
opportunity. And that's when, Joe Giacalone, who's now the executive director of International
Admission. He had a great passion for international admission and recruitment. So, and he was,
he's a great spokesperson for the college and a great alum. So, I wanted to, you know, tap into
that. So, we started down that road and he kind of coordinated it. We were seeing some moderate
success. And then, as you know, we hosted that big international school counselor conference,
ACAC back in 2013. And that brought, geez, almost 1200 international school counselors from
all over the world here for four days, They lived on campus, they ate the food, they saw the river,
they had a fantastic time.
Gus Nolan (25:28):
You planted the seed [laugh],
Sean Kaylor (25:29):


Sean Kaylor 12

The seed was planted. And needless to say, we have then since followed up with regular visits to
all these places. We have now one other person reporting an alum, , who we hired, who was from
Hawaii originally, who spent his first year in our, at the Florence campus. He is an assistant
director now under Joe, between the two of them and a few other people on campus who help out
occasionally with travel. We probably cover four or five continents and a bunch of different
countries on tours and high school visits. And so we enrolled, I think, about 50 international
students in the freshman class this year. Really? So it's great. It's really exciting.
Gus Nolan (26:16):
A question, I don't know if it, how appropriate to ask it, but, it has to do with this, how do we
manage to keep or to develop the diversity that we have? Is this a, is it luck of nature? Is it, you
know, there has to be some monitoring that's going on, and, a few words on that, if you can.
Sean Kaylor (26:40):
Sure. No, it, well, one, it ties directly into the demographic shift. There's more, a greater diversity
of students coming out of high school pursuing college. So we're kind of helped on that front
naturally. However, it takes a lot of effort on the admissions side to, the same as it would for
geographic diversity or academic quality, is you have to target certain students in certain
geographic areas, or from certain schools or within certain majors. And then you have to do a
good job of communicating with them, you know, over a couple years. 'cause most of the
students start their college search probably the end of their sophomore year, beginning of their
junior year. So you, you've got two or three years worth of communicating to do with those
students as they move through the process. So when we identify certain populations that are
institutional priorities, like maybe technology majors one year, maybe students of color. Maybe
international students might be business majors or liberal arts majors, or history major. You
know, it could be whatever the college is interested in trying to expand.
Gus Nolan (27:58):
What about male or female?
Sean Kaylor (28:00):
Yep. We do that too. Yeah. Same gender balance is important to us as well. Yeah. Now, the
numbers nationally are working against us. It's 60:40Coming into college. So we're kind of
swimming upstream there. And because we don't have an engineering major, we lose out on a lot
of men immediately, , that, so our academic programs do hurt us to a certain extent on that front.
Yeah, but we've…
Gus Nolan (28:27):
But we have baseball.
Sean Kaylor (28:28):
We've added some programs, [laugh], we've added, sports communications, athletic training,
some of the computer programming, and gaming. And now cybersecurity is in the, you know,
being explored. So a lot of those are, are heavy on the criminal justice. A lot of those are heavy


Sean Kaylor 13

on the, on the male side. So we've tried to control that gender balance through marketing and
recruitment, and also program academic programming,
Gus Nolan (29:02):
Turning the focus on, on you. In the time that you've been here, you had many experiences.
There's two categories, just a few words. What were some of the problems or disappointments
that you had? Or can you, there must be something that you, you wish didn't go that way?
[laugh].
Sean Kaylor (29:23):
That's a great question. You know, I've been extremely fortunate here. I graduated from Marist,
got a job right outta school. And three years later, I was promoted to associate director. A year
after that I was promoted to director of admission. And I was 25 at the time. Four years later,
Harry Wood retired, moved back to Albany. And I threw my hat in the ring for the vice president
job in 1998. And I got that, I forget maybe 10 years after that.
Gus Nolan (29:57):
How did you have study through this? You have an advanced degree in something here, do you
not?
Sean Kaylor (30:03):
I am close. Alright. Well, I never finished. I haven't had time.
Gus Nolan (30:07):
You went to school though. I mean, when did you, did you go here?
Sean Kaylor (30:10):
I, well, I actually started at the University of Florida, and there was a master's degree going on
there. And I took a break and they actually did away with the program. So I couldn't finish it.
And I actually started the MPA here, and I think I'm three or four classes away from finishing
that. And it's on my to-do list. But because I continually was promoted. And then of course I
started a family. It's just hard to find the time.
Gus Nolan (30:39):
No responsibilities. Yeah.
Sean Kaylor (30:40):
But, and then when I was vice president for enrollment, actually the first job was Vice President
for admissions and enrollment planning. And then 10 years later, in 2008, I was actually,
afforded the opportunity to take on graduate and adult undergraduate enrollment as well. So they
changed the title to Vice President for Enrollment Management. And then just recently this
summer, President Yellen added marketing and communication for the institution, under my
umbrella. So back to your original question, I've been so lucky that I've never been,


Sean Kaylor 14

Gus Nolan (31:25):
But you had a business here before you started. I'm not gonna marketing and, and were,
Sean Kaylor (31:29):
Yeah. I was a business major. Psychology, everything I learned here. I've put into practice,
which is nice. It's nice to be able to say that. But disappointments, you know, there have certainly
been a few along the way. I would point to…
Gus Nolan (31:45):
Yeah I was just saying probably some students you thought were gonna come, don't come.
Sometimes…
Sean Kaylor (31:49):
That happens every year, and I've learned to live with that. Because there are other great ones fill
in their spots. But, I would say one of the disappointments was, it took longer than I thought to
improve things on the graduate side. That was a challenge. That was a big challenge. And some
of it was just cultural. We are predominantly a traditional undergraduate institution. So, when
you look at what adults need and what graduate students need online or on the ground, it's just
different. And, and we weren't set up to do that. So, part of that frustration, maybe it's a
combination of disappointment and frustration, is I could see where we needed to go, and I…
Gus Nolan (32:43):
Some of the people didn't want to go there.
Sean Kaylor (32:45):
[laugh]. That, that is certainly part of it. And I was unable to get us there. But I think on the grad
side, we're there now and now we're adding new programs that have a lot of demand, like the
physician's assistant program, and soon the doctorate of physical therapy and the new accounting
program. So those are gonna help tremendously.
Gus Nolan (33:06):
Is all that gonna be under your umbrella?
Sean Kaylor (33:08):
Well, the programs aren't, they're under the schools.
Gus Nolan (33:11):
No. Yeah.
Sean Kaylor (33:11):
But yes.
Gus Nolan (33:12):


Sean Kaylor 15

admissions?
Sean Kaylor (33:13):
Yes. Yep.
Gus Nolan (33:15):
You always have a committee that has to look at the registrations,
Sean Kaylor (33:20):
The graduate side? Yeah, so that functions a little differently. Some, it's really up to the graduate
program director. Some of them give us the criteria and allow us to make the decisions. And they
just say, you know, send, let me check off and approve. But you do all the work, which is fine.
And others like to own it themselves. And we just help them move things through the process,
and they do the interviews and make the decisions. So it really depends.
Gus Nolan (33:51):
Turn the page with some of the best things you've had. What would you say is, you know, three
maybe at the high points of your career?
Sean Kaylor (34:01):
Being appointed vice president in 1998 was huge. Admittedly on paper I probably wasn't the
most qualified, but Dennis Murray, President Murray gave me a chance. Something that I will
always be grateful for. That would be one. Two is just taking a look at when I started in 1990 to
today, and seeing how the college has evolved, and grown and improved. And, like you probably
do, you take a look around and…
Gus Nolan (34:35):
I can't believe it. How did this happen?
Sean Kaylor (34:37):
Yeah. It's amazing. Well, it happened because of people like you and a lot of other folks long
before me. But I look around now and I say, geez, you know, I've actually been around long
enough. I had something to do with this. And it, and it gives me a great sense of pride. So those
are the two things. The, geez, there's so many. The third is probably just getting to know a lot of
the students while they're here. And seeing them in the door and welcome, welcoming them on
opening day. And then in getting to see them,
Gus Nolan (35:11):
Four years later.
Sean Kaylor (35:12):
Walk over the stage, you know, get their diploma and just that they had as good of an experience
as I did. That just, you know, gives me great pleasure because I loved it so much, and I want
them to love it so much. And when they do, and most of them do, it just makes me feel good. So.


Sean Kaylor 16

Gus Nolan (35:34):
Yeah. There must be some training period you put through your staff. I mean, there's a certain
quality of spirit. I don't know, maybe one breeds off on the other, like brings in like, or whatever,
you know, there's a certain tenor to the whole operation down there. Is there a session? Is there a
learning session? Or do you go to a review session and to keep them bright and clean? You
know.
Sean Kaylor (36:01):
laugh A lot of training. You know, the first, the first thing is I like to think that I hired good
people. Like Kent Rinehart, the Dean of Admission, and Joe Jacqueline and Brian Atfield and,
and Lisa Magella. And I could go on and on. But they're all good people. They've hired good
people. And one of the things that I prefer, especially if it's a position where they're out recruiting
is, I prefer that we hire an alum. They lived it here. That's one side of the training you don't even
need to do. 'cause they lived here for four years. They loved it. They had a great experience.
They're different majors or from different geographic areas. So that's kind of the first thing is if
you're out recruiting and you have, you know, I prefer to hire alums. I see. If they're not alums,
you know, I'd like them to get a degree here and master's or whatever. But I think we all, we all
run at a certain speed. You know, I hired people who are as ambitious as I am, and they, they
want to keep improving. And I think they've hired the same. So it is, it's weird. Now, we just
hired a young man who just graduated, walked across the stage, and I think, my God, it's he's
2017.
Gus Nolan (37:28):
History repeating itself here. laughs.
Sean Kaylor (37:31):
And he's starting and I'm getting older.
Gus Nolan (37:34):
Oh well, it's hard to prove that. laughs I am watching the clock because I just have so much I
want to get to you on. And or the next is, you have to explain that we talked about the
development of campus. Tell me how in the world we're putting up four new dormitories. You
know, is this your doing or is this what Dennis is doing? Or is this the Ford's doing? I mean,
Champagnat doesn't look that bad. I mean, how come we have to do so much more?
Sean Kaylor (38:05):
I think the part of the challenge is, was that when you look at the whole entire student body,
because we're pulling people from farther and farther away, the size of our traditional commuter
population is pretty small. So everyone, 90, probably 96%, maybe more of the freshman class
require housing. And many of them are coming from overseas or the West Coast. So they can't
even go home on break. So, you know, it's a 24/7, 365 day operation now. Anyway, what was
happening was our overall student body was growing. Right. And the percentage of students who
live in housing was shrinking. Cause we didn't have enough. So to, there was a huge demand. All
the students that we had at the hotel, that was costing us a lot of money. I, you'd have to talk to
John Pia about how much. .


Sean Kaylor 17

Sean Kaylor (39:06):
But we were paying more than we were bringing in. So that was a loss. In addition, there were a
lot of kids off campus who wanted to be on, who weren't even in the hotel. So we studied that
very carefully and, and determined, well, geez, if we build these, they will come. Because they're
here already and they pay for themselves because they're bond issued. So the bonds over time,
you know, they'll pay for themselves. And quite frankly, when you're selling a four year
experience, everything matters. The physical plant, the faculty where you're gonna sleep and eat.
All that stuff is critical. And having facilities like that, when people walk by, they're like, wow,
this makes, it makes a huge impression.
Gus Nolan (39:55):
Yeah. The other part, I just have to interject a few things that I've learned about this, students
have changed. Too many have come from having their own bedroom. To sleeping with another,
it's not exactly, you know, what they had, you know, growing up. You know, so that has to be
part of it. And then the woman, Riley told me this story about some mother who just wanted her
daughter on campus and said, well, there's no room, I'm gonna call her president every day. She
says, you're gonna get me every day. You know, because I answer for the president. And she
says, well, I just want, she says, woman, there was no room for Jesus in the inn, and there's no
room for your daughter, but when there is room we'll let her in. You know, so I thought this
business of people in the town, in the city, in the hotel, you know, and they look here, why can't I
be on campus?
Sean Kaylor (40:47):
Exactly.
Gus Nolan (40:48):
Yeah. I guess that explains it more than,
Sean Kaylor (40:51):
And what was happening was all the transfer students were living in the Residence Inn. So, when
you're trying to attract as high quality and diverse student incoming students for transfers as
freshmen, but you send them down to the hotel. You know, it's hard for us to bring in high
quality kids when they don't have the same amenities. So it did impact our ability to bring
transfers.
Gus Nolan (41:18):
Well, yeah. There was a time when they wanted to be off campus. They don't want to be off
campus anymore.
Sean Kaylor (41:23):
No. I mean, well, listen, it's safe, right? It's safe on campus. The facilities are really nice. They all
study late, so they wanna be able to walk to the, the. Listen, we've, we've created this ourselves.
It's a product of our success. Kids wanna stay on campus. Which is fantastic. So, we're just


Sean Kaylor 18

providing, we're meeting the demand. And quite frankly, even those aren't gonna meet the
demand. We still have people out in the community who would like to be on campus.
Gus Nolan (41:54):
Wow. Let's look into the crystal ball. Where is Marist 10 years from now? Will it be here? Is
there a challenge that, you know, I mean, do, is the future general and oh one college, do they
need four years of college? They on campus, I mean, off campus learning, computer courses?
Where does this fit in?
Sean Kaylor (42:20):
I think it's a combination. I think the way I see us marketing a Marist degree in the future is the
kind of all roads lead to Marist. Meaning, affordability and access are critical issues right now.
So I think the way we need to position it is, listen, you want a four year program, traditional on
campus, you can do that if you can afford it. And if you have the appropriate grades and
credentials, if you can't afford it, well, there's other ways you can transfer in, right? You can
come in after one year of community college, save some money. You can come in after two
years. But I think looking into the crystal ball, that's only one piece of it. I think we could start
adding some online opportunities for pre-college, giving them credit for that right. Perhaps at a
slightly reduced rate since they're not on campus using the facilities.
Sean Kaylor (43:24):
But then you couple all that with accelerated bachelor master's programs. I think that is gonna be
important to people. So if they know, let's say, let's say, they, they do the first year in a
community college, save some money. And then they come here for four years and the three
years, the first three years, or finish your undergraduate degree, and the last year is, and senior
year you would take a few graduate courses and then one year of graduate study and you're out.
Gus Nolan (43:59):
With a masters. Yeah.
Sean Kaylor (43:59):
Right. So I think that's how it's gonna evolve. And of course, the online aspect or component of
that is gonna be critical cause I don't think all of it's gonna be in the classroom like you and I
were used to. I think a lot of it is going to be driven through technology. So sometimes it'll be
face-to-face, sometimes it won't, you know. But I think it is gonna change. I think we're still
gonna be here. I think that we've, we're doing a good job. There is demand. We've got successful
alumni and students are happy. But, if we don't stay on top of our game, we may not be here too
much farther after 10 years. You know? It is, It’s a tough.
Gus Nolan (44:44):
Yeah, yeah. Especially if the state probably starts paying tuition too, you know.
Sean Kaylor (44:46):
That's not helping.


Sean Kaylor 19

Gus Nolan (44:47):
Yeah. Okay.
Sean Kaylor (44:48):
It's a tough environment, but I think Marist is positioned well.
Gus Nolan (44:52):
Yeah. Lastly, is Marist worth the investment? It costs 50, $50,000 a year. 200,000 at the end of
it. You may not have a job. Should I go to Marist? What do you say to that?
Sean Kaylor (45:10):
Yes. It is a tough question. The first thing I tell people is, well, it depends on who I'm talking to,
but only 15% of this population, the traditional undergraduates pay the full freight. Meaning the
rest of the 85% receive some sort of discount. That discount may be in the form of a need-based
grant from the college, or a scholarship of some kind, whether it's academic or athletic or music.
So rarely is someone paying the full vote. The full vote. That said, even if you're getting a
discount, and they do range from minimal discount to quite a big discount. It's still expensive for
most people. It's still a stretch for sure. Is that stretch worth it? I think so. I think, you know,
when I compare us to most of the state schools, you look at the physical plant safety, the
outcomes of our students, the retention, just the amenities that we provide and the faculty and
staff that are very, it's a close knit community.
Sean Kaylor (46:18):
We, we care, we care about what happens here in the student success. The alumni are a tight knit
group. So I think when you take a look at what you're getting for that money compared to what
you would get if you went elsewhere, I do think it is worth the money. And as I mentioned
before, Marist is pretty well positioned in terms of its private competitors. In terms of tuition,
room and board, you know, we're probably, in the 30 that we track , we're in the bottom third of
that school. And most of those bottom third we are far superior to in terms of reputation. So,
Gus Nolan (47:00):
And also, I guess the quality of life that you would have here. You know, and you talk about
safety as one of them. I don't know how we managed to be free of some of the other problems
that colleges have a drug and rape and this and that. I can't say we're innocent entirely. Right. But
certainly, it's, it's not an issue at the time.
Sean Kaylor (47:24):
Thankfully. No. We've had very few incidents over the years, related to the, all those, you know,
tough challenges that you've just mentioned. But you gotta give credit to Deb DiCaprio, and her
team housing, all that, their staff. But the bottom line is,
Gus Nolan (47:44):
Security is around as well.


Sean Kaylor 20

Sean Kaylor (47:45):
Security does a great job. So, you know, you gotta give credit to all those people who, who
execute that every day and deal with those challenges. But the bottom line is, I think Dennis
Murray deserves a ton of credit. There's no question that he set up a culture to be, cognizant of
the small details, you know, make sure you take care of the small details.
Gus Nolan (48:10):
Oh, the lawn laugh.
Sean Kaylor (48:13):
Right. Some we all laugh about, but I think in general, that that culture that he created here with
a lot of other people's help, has positioned us extremely well and created a great experience for
students. So.
Gus Nolan (48:29):
Okay, we could go on with lots of other things about the talent, the students coming in and the
music program and so on, but, I think it's, honoring your schedule. And let me just say, is there
anything I didn't ask you, you would like to say about this interview?
Sean Kaylor (48:50):
No, it was my pleasure. And I'm just curious, how many people have you interviewed for this?
Gus Nolan (48:56):
Okay. I'll end now and I'll give you the list.
Sean Kaylor (48:59):
Okay, that's fine.
Gus Nolan (49:00):
Yeah. I think you're like 90 something.
Sean Kaylor (49:02):
That's fantastic. And what is your plan with this?
Gus Nolan (49:07):
Well, when they say, I went to Marist, I taught at Marist, they pay me to stay home with the
retirement, but I still come. So when they put up the gate and say, you can't come anymore, it
starts on the other page. But that's…
Sean Kaylor (49:30):
So much history here. And you've heard it all. Most of them.
Gus Nolan (49:34):


Sean Kaylor 21

Yeah, I taped it. You've heard most of it. It's on discs.
Sean Kaylor (49:38):
That's great. So what is the end game?
Gus Nolan (49:41):
The end game is when, I don't have anyone else who is interested to come in and, you know,
they are, now I don't, I had, there's like five alumni that Amy Woods has asked me to interview. I
sent them notice. I didn't hear from them. But that's okay. Sometimes people don't get the
message, or I don't send it out correctly, but something goes wrong, you know. But, well even
you, I had to shake, you had to find my email in your.
Sean Kaylor (50:14):
I know.
Gus Nolan (50:14):
So I'm glad that you did find it, because I thought, well, you have a busy schedule, but this, I
think it's important.
Sean Kaylor (50:22):
It is, and I'm happy to contribute and if you need me to come back, if you think of anything else,
I'm happy to do it.
Gus Nolan (50:26):
I don’t know if I'm gonna live that long, but laugh,
Sean Kaylor (50:30):
I did see a few other people who've, who…
Gus Nolan (50:34):
Who passed on.
Sean Kaylor (50:35):
Come and help you twice. Yeah, that too.
Gus Nolan (50:37):
Oh yeah. It some like Foy and…
Sean Kaylor (50:39):
Well, that he has a lot of great stuff.
Gus Nolan (50:42):
That was, he's, and I, Lee off to Dennis and one of the things, so, you know, that's another…


Sean Kaylor 22

Sean Kaylor (50:50):
Is he in there yet?
Gus Nolan (50:51):
No, not yet.
Sean Kaylor (50:52):
Oh man. You better set aside a couple days for that.
Gus Nolan (50:54):
But, yeah, but Lee did in the magazine thing, well, in one of the, okay, I should shut this off
because we're just battering away. Can you see there what? Stop, right. Yeah. I guess that's it.