Peg Richmond’s recent retirement as director of admissions left a hole in the heart of the admissions office, with colleagues beaming with fond memories of her 38 years of service to Keene State College.
At a time when national enrollment trends are struggling to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, finding a qualified director of admissions capable of leading KSC through the new frontier of higher education operations has proven more important than ever. That’s where Sarah Russell comes in.
Armed with a degree from Plymouth State University, a fellow University System of New Hampshire (USNH) member school, Russell was hired as the new director of admissions over the summer of 2025. Russell previously spent decades in higher education admissions, previously serving as vice president of enrollment operations at Global University Systems, working with a variety of international schools.
Russell said she enjoyed working with students from all over the world and seeing their different approaches to education but missed the opportunity to be on campus and embedded with the student community.
“It was wonderful and I got to meet a variety of students from different backgrounds and cultures and how they valued education. The one thing I missed was having the chance to be on campus everyday. Because I worked with so many schools, I wasn’t [in] a physical location. I wasn’t seeing the students walking to class or participating in different on campus traditions, and that’s something I really missed,” said Russell.
Russell decided to make a change and find work where she could have a more connected relationship with a college community. Russell grew up in New Hampshire and her mother attended Keene State. Her decision to return and join her fellow Owls in the nest ultimately brought her to interview at KSC over the summer as one of four applicants selected for consideration.
“When my husband and I decided to come back to New Hampshire, that was a bit of a launching pad to see what might be open. Having gone to Plymouth State and having my mom who attended here, I already knew the USNH system pretty well and it was the natural place for me to start looking,” said Russell.
“Working with [Vice President of Enrollment and Student Engagement MB Lufkin] that day and seeing the campus and getting to meet people really helped solidify it for me. The genuine community feel is what I really missed and I felt that so powerfully here,” added Russell.
According to Lufkin, Russell has already brought a fresh perspective to the role and has shown her commitment to the community.
“We invited four candidates overall and she made an immediate and positive impression between her professionalism and obvious dedication to students. She had a chance to meet with some of the teams she would be working with and the feedback was consistent that this is a person who’s bringing a new energy and a new perspective to campus that will be useful as we move toward the future,” said Lufkin.
“One challenge colleges face is attracting new students. It’s increasingly challenging to attract a first year class because there [are] overall less students to attract. Birth rates are significantly lower than years prior, and one thing that [Russell] articulated really well was how to understand markets and possibilities and places where we may attract students that we hadn’t been thinking of before,” added Lufkin.
According to Senior Associate Director of Admissions Bert Poirier, Russell has already proven to be a valuable asset to the admissions department and the campus community.
“It really feels like the department is going to be in good hands. It’s nice for someone to look at us with fresh eyes and be able to say that this works well, but we may want to try this or that. We’re very excited about having her onboard, and she’s an absolutely wonderful person who cares deeply about students,” said Poirier.
Ryan Pacheco can be contacted at
rpacheco@kscequinox.com
