St. Onge Named Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs at Kutztown University

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Dr. Stephen R. St. Onge has been named vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs at Kutztown University, announced Wednesday by university president Dr. Kenneth S. Hawkinson. St. Onge will begin at KU March 4, 2024.

St. Onge will oversee the comprehensive enrollment process including recruitment, admission, orientation and will contribute to retention efforts. He will also oversee areas related to student affairs and the quality of student life and success on campus.

“At the time of our recent national search for a vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Dr. St. Onge was recognized and recommended as a top candidate for this position,” Hawkinson said. “I am delighted he agreed to serve in this role. He brings enormous experience, having served as a vice president in the past and in many other roles within his discipline. He also has impressive experience as a teacher, scholar and provider of service in the area of student affairs and enrollment management.”

St. Onge comes to KU after nearly 10 years at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, Calif., where he served as the executive director for Auxiliary Operations since 2019. He served as the chief housing officer for a comprehensive housing operation and oversaw housing business operations, residence life, campus dining, the university bookstore, conference service and off-campus student services. He also served as the Title IX deputy coordinator and on the Campus Clery Compliance Team.

“When I visited campus, the sense of commitment and care that the faculty, staff and administration felt for the success of students has stayed with me,” St. Onge said. “I am looking forward to working with such a talented team.”

St. Onge worked his way through Humboldt’s Housing and Residence Life office, having served as director (2014-18) and executive director (2018-19). He has been published in multiple journals, including the Journal of College and University Student Housing, and has presented at national conferences across the country.

Prior to Humboldt, St. Onge was the dean of the college and vice president for Academic and Student Affairs for two years at Burlington College, Burlington, Vt. He served as the chief academic officer and chief student affairs officer as he was responsible for undergraduate and graduate degree programs, faculty supervision, academic program development, enrollment management, marketing, admissions, housing, residence life, among other areas. He created the college’s First- and Second-Year Experience Programs and developed three master’s degrees at Burlington.

St. Onge spent eight years (2004-12) at Clinton Community College, Plattsburgh, N.Y., as the vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, six years (1998-04) at Syracuse University as the assistant and associate director of Residence Life and two years (1995-97) as a residence hall director at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wis.

While at Clinton, St. Onge worked with the governor of the State of New York to create articulation agreements with the Ministry of Education in China. In addition, he has experience creating educational pathways from high school to college in his home state of Vermont and was appointed by Governor Peter Shumlin to work on an educational pathways program to increase the college-going cohort in Vermont. St. Onge has experience developing learning communities on a variety of campuses.

St. Onge earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Vermont, a Master of Arts in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University and a Doctor of Philosophy in higher education administration from Syracuse University.