Kathleen Offer is Notre Dame’s new dean of admissions.
Notre Dame Head of School Fr. Leon Olszamowski said the transition will be seamless: "With Kathleen's five-plus years of experience in our admissions group along with her academic credentials and a genuine rapport with students and parents, we expect the success the department has had under Greg's leadership to continue well into the future."
Offer has been on staff at Notre Dame since September 2008, when she was hired as director of recruiting for the school's lower division. In 2010, she was named associate dean of admissions and took on additional admissions responsibilities for the middle division. Since joining NDPMA, Offer has spearheaded a number of innovative admissions initiatives, including the Parent Transition Assistance Program for new families, Growing Up Day at the lower division and Irish Up at the middle division. In addition to her staff responsibilities at Notre Dame, Offer has been the girls junior-varsity basketball coach for two years and before that the freshman coach for four years.
Prior to Notre Dame, Offer held positions of increasing responsibility at Purdue University, St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind., and Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. A graduate of Yale University, Offer is a native Detroiter, a Shrine High School alumna and a member of the Detroit Catholic High School League Hall of Fame. She also was a four-year starter on Yale's basketball team.
Besides Offer, the school's admissions department now includes Kala Parker, who recently was named associate dean of admissions and diversity, and Emily Giacona, who is IB/PYP coordinator and associate dean of admissions. Notre Dame will be seeking a new associate dean of admissions for the department.