Farewell tribute to Carol Rowlands ’81

Carol, despite your brother’s claim that you would never be able to follow in his footsteps and study at Lafayette, you became a student at the College a few years following our launch of co-education in September 1970. After earning your bachelor’s degree in English at Lafayette in 1981 and your master’s degree in counseling at Villanova University, we are so pleased that you agreed to join our Admissions team on July 16, 1984. We are grateful that you returned to your alma mater and allowed us to benefit from your many talents and skills. 

During your tenure on our Admissions team, you were very successful in supporting Lafayette in reaching our goal of recruiting and enrolling the best students. Because of your dedication and effective efforts, Lafayette was able to welcome a new class of students each year.

Your extraordinary service to the College was recognized by your steady promotion within our Admissions team. In 1995, you were promoted to senior associate director of admissions. Just three years later, in 1998, you were promoted to director of admissions operations. In 1999, you were promoted to director of admissions. During your time as our director, we estimate that you personally signed more than 32,000 letters of admission, an admirable feat to be sure! In 2011, you were once again promoted to the newly created role of associate dean, admissions and financial aid operations. In 2014, we recognized your outstanding contributions to your alma mater’s success by creating the position of assistant vice president of enrollment management and promoting you to that position, which you held until your retirement. As you demonstrated your remarkable talent and heartfelt dedication and commitment to the College in these roles, you enabled the College to continually enhance our recruitment efforts and enroll the best and brightest students.  

Your role as chair of the Patriot League admissions directors for a decade ensured that Lafayette and the rest of the league members upheld the high academic standards of the league when admitting our student-athletes. As the College sought to be reaccredited in 2019, you also made a wonderful effort of serving on our steering committee, which made the abundant strides to ensure Lafayette’s reaccreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. 

You and your inspirational integrity are very valued by your colleagues. The Lafayette employees whom you supervised considered you the steady hand at the wheel. They knew that their voice would be heard and that you categorized no question as unwarranted. You set the bar high for all of them but never expected anything of your staff or colleagues that you wouldn’t do yourself. Your ability to maintain a sense of calmness in stressful situations was remarkable and set you apart from others in your profession. 

In 2002, Lafayette recognized your outstanding contributions to the Lafayette College community by naming you as the inaugural recipient of the Cyrus S. Fleck Administrator of the Year Award. In 2007, you were named the inaugural recipient of the Gary A. Evans Administrative Prize, which is presented to an administrator or staff member who has provided a high level of service to the College, our alumni, or our students over a substantial period of time. In 2016, you were recognized with the Leopard Award, which is presented to members of the support, plant operations, and public safety staff who have made an exceptional contribution to the College by working on a special project or event, or providing some type of extraordinary service beyond their normal job responsibilities. You were also a recipient of the Daniel H. Weiss Award for Leadership and Vision in 2019 as a member of the Middle States Steering Committee.

Carol, the hearts of your colleagues were touched when you returned to the Admissions Office after your retirement in August 2019. They were thrilled when you graciously agreed to serve as an application reader in November 2019, and then you accepted an important role on our Merit Selection Committee. In addition to hoping that you will continue as a seasonal member of the Admissions staff, we also hope your retirement will be filled with lengthy and joyful walks on College Hill and visits to your alma mater.