By Silma Suba

Leon Braswell, NU-Q’s newly appointed director of admissions
Photo from flickr user: Djmaynard2012

Northwestern University in Qatar has appointed its new director of admissions, said Dean Everette Dennis.

Leon M. Braswell, who is currently the director of admissions and financial aid at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York, will begin his term as NU-Q’s director of admissions on August 1.

“Getting the right person to head our admissions department is critical to the school in shaping the student body,” said Dennis. “It is a demanding role that involves fostering understanding of NU-Q here, in the region and globally.”

“Leon Braswell is an especially imaginative admissions professional who has an enviable track record. We are lucky to have him joining us,” he added.

The position has been open since last September when the previous director Mounir Ouainaimi resigned to become Director of The Language Center at The Translation and Interpreting Institute (TII) in HBKU.

In an interview, Braswell said he heard of the position from The Chronicle of Higher Education and it piqued his interest because he wanted to return to undergraduate admissions, preferably in an international setting. For him, this position seemed to be the perfect next move for his career.

This is the first time he will be working in the Gulf region, though he has heard about Education City from colleagues and friends who work in Qatar.

 “When I started at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, I was not familiar with the profession beyond my own layperson encounters—that is, reading and watching the news,” said Braswell.

“The importance of helping the public make sense of the plethora of information, the notion of working for a top-notch, undergraduate university that focuses on programs that highlight storytelling – through journalistic or creative means – seemed exciting – an opportunity I did not want to pass by”

“Based on the wonderful congratulatory emails from NU-Q, I guess I am looking forward to a warm and welcoming community,” he said.

Previously, Braswell worked with undergraduates as the director of international and transfer admissions at Tufts University where he had also been senior associate director of admissions.

Other appointments included service as assistant dean of admissions at Bowdoin College and the University of Vermont.  He has also participated in college counseling as director of Edvice, Ltd. in London, England.  

Braswell received his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and did graduate work at Harvard where he was awarded an Ed.M.  He subsequently got a Certificate in Advanced Studies at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education as well.