Deana Ison has been named executive assistant to incoming president, R. Owen Williams.
Ison, a 1995 graduate of Transylvania, is currently senior associate director of admissions and has held the positions of admissions counselor, assistant director, associate director and interim director in her 15 years at Transy. In addition, she served as the William T. Young Scholarship coordinator for eight years.
“Deana’s new role will touch on many important areas of the university,” said Williams. “She has been very successful in Transylvania’s admissions efforts and will bring her incredible work ethic to my office. She will not only be a great liaison but will contribute to the management and administrative process as well.”
“I am honored to have such an incredible opportunity to serve my alma mater and our incoming president,” said Ison, who will officially join the Office of the President August 1, when Williams assumes the presidency. She will continue her role in the admissions office and will work closely with the transition team until that time.
Ison is a member of the Kentucky Association of College Admission Counseling, the National Association of College Admission Counseling, the Southern Association of College Admission Counseling and the Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers. She has presented sessions at professional conferences and has served on various panels at high schools across the state regarding college admissions. She was awarded the Les Grigsby Award as Kentucky’s Outstanding Admissions Professional in 2009 and was recently elected to a three-year term on the Southern Region Council of the College Board.
“Deana is well-known in the college admissions community for her knowledge, her dedication, her energy and her enthusiasm,” said Brad Goan, director of admissions. “She will no doubt bring these same traits to her new role, and Transylvania will be well served.”
Williams is replacing President Charles L. Shearer, who is retiring at the end of July after a historic 27-year tenure in the office.
Transylvania, founded in 1780, is the nation’s sixteenth oldest institution of higher learning and is consistently ranked in national publications as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.