Katherine Dilley, who has been serving in recruiting, outreach, agriculture instruction and science institute director roles with Purdue University's College of Agriculture, has been named coordinator of undergraduate student recruiting for U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Dilley, who started Aug. 16, has been at Purdue since May 2019.

"The University of Arkansas was actually my dream school as a kid," Dilley said. "My grandfather went to school here and he encouraged a love for the school, but being an out-of-state student made it difficult. I'm stoked to finally be able to call myself an Arkansas Razorback! I'm passionate about helping students see the value in higher education, especially Arkansas students who the land-grant university is designed to serve."

"We're really excited to have Katie join Bumpers College and I'm looking forward to her getting started and connecting with students and families throughout the state and beyond," said Dean Deacue Fields. "Purdue has one of the top colleges of agriculture in the country and she has connections to the state and area through her family, so she's a great fit for us. At Purdue, Katie was also a learning community instructor, so she has a good understanding of what students need to transition to college, and she has a strong background in DEI, which is going to help us grow and connect with more potential students."

In her position, Dilley is the initial contact for prospective students interested in a Bumpers College undergraduate major. She develops and manages a pool of prospective students, and plans and implements recruitment strategies utilizing market research and ongoing trend analysis to set goals and monitor progress. She also creates initiatives to promote and encourage interest from prospective students throughout the state, plans and represents the university and college at recruitment events on and off campus, designs and coordinates events on behalf of the college, and serves as a liaison to the Office of Admissions.

"Bumpers College has a place for any student who has a desire to have an impact while working in some of the most crucial industries in life," Dilley said. "Bumpers provides a foundation for an excellent educational experience with the familial experience, opportunities to work with award-winning faculty and college leaders who are always seeking to better student success and experience. Students get the small college experience in a big university setting and will walk away with experiences that will better themselves and their future careers."

"I want to help every student find their best fit and see the value in an excellent higher education experience," she said. "I'm very individualized and want to make sure needs are met, whether you are the student coming to college or the support system who is working to get your student into a great college or have a great experience."

At Purdue, Dilley served as the College of Agriculture's academic programs initiatives recruitment and outreach coordinator, as Agriculture Technology and Innovation Learning Community instructor and as director of the Pre-College Molecular Science Summer Institute. In March 2020, she also began a role as curriculum co-director of the Racial Justice Education Workshop.

As recruitment and outreach coordinator, she streamlined interdepartmental communications for pre-K through 12th-grade outreach initiatives across 92 counties; collaborated with leadership in Indiana 4-H, including Extension and Junior Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences; and advised STEAM educators, counselors and administrators on career and academic opportunities in the College of Agriculture.

As learning community instructor, she taught agricultural technology and innovations in various areas, coordinated with faculty and community leaders on mentoring students and developed learning experiences and service projects for students outside the classroom.

With the Molecular Science Summer Institute, she reconstructed the program, which connects youths passionate about STEAM research to graduate-level programs; led partnerships in the College of Agriculture in hosting students in faculty research labs; and provided distinguished research opportunities for underrepresented minority students.

In her role with the Racial Justice Education Workshop, she identified needs for diversity, equity and inclusion training within the leadership, faculty and staff of the college; developed a year-long curriculum to increase individual and group intercultural competence; facilitated three 12-month pilot programs; and implemented a plan to reach all 20-plus academic and leadership departments.

Dilley also served as the college's Inclusive Excellence Recruitment Committee chair, as Diversity Action Team in Agriculture Undergraduate Student Committee chair and as an Intercultural Development Inventory Continuum Committee adviser.

Before going to Purdue, Dilley was a physics teacher at DSST Conservatory Green High School in Denver, Colorado (2017-19), was a corps member of Teach for America (2017-19) and a teaching assistant and ordinance adviser for the Lafayette (Colorado) Peer Empowerment Program.

Dilley earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado in 2016, double-majoring in psychology and sociology, and her master's degree in teaching: secondary science education from the Relay Graduate School of Education in 2019.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas' flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas' economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the top 3% of U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research News.