Dear Colleagues, 

I am pleased to introduce Dr. Cornelius Darcy, recently named the Interim Director of Admissions. Dr. Darcy, who prefers to be known as Kip, began his Cal Poly Humboldt work virtually on Dec. 12, 2022 and arrived on campus on Jan. 9. 

Kip most recently led sales, marketing, and cooperative education at Kettering University, the former General Motors Institute, located in Flint, Michigan. Kip has more than 20 years of strategic leadership in sales, sales enablement, strategic enrollment, solution development, corporate social responsibility, and organizational leadership. Kip’s areas of expertise and enthusiasm include: enrollment modeling and predictive analytics, demand generation and pipeline management, sales force operations optimization, complex solution sales enablement, early pipeline development for pre-college, and affinity-based recruitment.

Kip graduated in 2022 from Michigan State University with his doctorate in planning, design, and construction. As a student last spring, he taught a 4-credit planning extremes course focused on smart cities, ephemeral planning, and extreme events. 

Kip has shared his enthusiasm for the Humboldt community and the excitement of the Cal Poly transformation. “Contributing to Humboldt’s transformation to Cal Poly Humboldt by leading an accomplished team of admissions professionals in a manner that meets the strategic objectives of Humboldt, is my northstar in this role.”

I am excited to welcome Kip to our campus and looking forward to the enrollment growth I know his work will bring. We are focusing our immediate attention on admissions activities that will enable us to meet the ambitious goals set for our university’s growth, while enhancing the pre-enrollment experience of our potential students. Kip’s commitment to supporting his team and further developing their skills with his extensive knowledge of recruitment and systems planning provides an essential spark for this work, and I am delighted that he has chosen to join the Cal Poly Humboldt team.

Please join me in welcoming Kip to this new role. More information will be shared with campus in the future about the search for the permanent Director of Admissions position. 

Chrissy Holliday

Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success