N.C. A&T Names Nail Interim Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment Management

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Jan. 25, 2022) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University announced Dawn M. Nail ‘93, Ed.D., has been named interim associate vice provost for enrollment management and head of undergraduate admissions.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Nail in this role as our university celebrates its eighth consecutive year of record-setting enrollment,” said Interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Tonya Smith-Jackson, Ph.D. “Dr. Nail already has planned and implemented large-scale, high-impact collaborations with campus and industry partners to boost enrollment, retention and student success. We are confident she will guide our efforts toward achieving our strategic plan enrollment goal of 14,000 students by 2023.” 

This is Nail’s second experience in A&T Undergraduate Admissions, which she served associate director from 2009 through 2015, overseeing the budget, planning, organization and direction of the communications strategies and activities for the Division of Enrollment Management, supervising, hiring and managing admissions processors, administrative and temporary staff, and managing 10 recruitment territories.

She also established and managed the telecounseling program, organized and facilitated recruiting events, including the Aggie Information Series, University Day, Admitted Student Open House and Senior Send-Offs, conducted admissions presentations for prospective students and parents, and coordinated student volunteers and the Aggie Student Ambassador Program.

More than 13,300 students enrolled at A&T for the Fall 2021 semester, marking the university’s eighth straight year as the nation’s largest historically Black college or university (HBCU) and the largest headcount in its 130-year history.

The entering fall class boasted an average GPA of 3.7 and average SAT score of nearly 1,079, and was 37% larger than the Fall 2020 first-year students. With almost 11,600 undergraduate students enrolled for Fall 2021, A&T continued to exceed its Fall 2023 goal of 10,750 undergraduates.

Graduate student enrollment also climbed, from 1,623 in Fall 2020 to 1,726 in Fall 2021 – an increase of 6.35% and A&T’s largest graduate enrollment. A 12% increase in new doctoral students was a principal driver of the growth. This spring, the university will welcome its first students seeking a Ph.D. in agricultural and environmental sciences through its College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, which already produces more Black agriculture graduates than any university in America.

Nail has led A&T’s Center for Academic Excellence, a position she held since February 2020 after serving as associate director for two years. She has been responsible for the center’s strategic planning, including overall program effectiveness, managing its $1.5 million budget, leading a team of 30 professional advisors and administrative staff members, establishing student success metrics and First-Year Experience competencies, and improving advising, retention, persistence and graduation rates.

Nail earned a B.A. in public relations from A&T, an M.A. in corporate communication from Austin Peay State University and a Doctor of Education in educational leadership and management from Capella University. She has been an active member of the National Academic Advising Association and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society since 2016, serving as public relations chair for the latter in 2021 and is a charter member of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Young Alumni Council.