For Davidson’s Chris Gruber, Admissions Is Personal

As vice president and dean of admission and financial aid at Davidson College, Chris Gruber works alongside 30 colleagues on the recruitment, selection and enrollment of each new class. He has also served as campus liaison since Davidson became a Posse STEM partner in 2014.

A Philadelphia native, Chris says he was raised with a strong work ethic, crediting his parents and schooling, where he had the chance “to learn, to lead, to serve and enjoy my experience.” After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Richmond, he quickly found a calling in college admissions at his alma mater and later at Davidson.

“My drive comes from the investment that exists in our Scholars.”

Chris’s relationship with Posse has become a personal one. “My values and interest in Posse have been shaped by the personalities and stories of those Posses with us already and those soon to come,” he says. “I feel that my true drive comes from the investment that exists in our Scholars. It is real and it is palpable.”

Davidson admitted its third Posse this past fall, with the first class set to graduate in 2019.

“At graduation, you see the students, their friends, their families — you witness the relationships that they created with their faculty — and you clearly see the appreciation that they individually and collectively have for the experiences shared,” Chris says. “I love to stand off to the side, taking this terrific sight in.”