MSM Launches US Advisory Board Comprising New Lineup of Higher Education Leaders and International Student Recruitment Experts to Expand Market Foothold

(Sept 2021) Leading international education platform M Square Media (MSM) has announced the formation of a new MSM US Advisory Board, which will help steer the organization’s growth and strategy in the United States through its members’ collective experience and expertise in the sector. 

The new Advisory Board brings a wealth of experience in higher education, international student recruitment, and leadership in industry associations that will support MSM with expert knowledge and an extensive professional network for its present and future expansion across lines of business in international education. These include building global and in-country offices for partner colleges and universities via its Global Marketing Office (GMO), education management through MSM Higher Ed, international education marketplace MSM Unify and its dedicated recruitment network Abcodo, and other edtech solutions. 

May Arthur, MSM GMO Vice President for the US, said: “MSM’s vision is to make higher education accessible to all, which allows us to focus on the diversity of students and types of institutions we partner with. This advisory board reflects the diversity we are aiming for in terms of their background and functions, types of institutions, and coming from both public and private institutions.” 

“This board understands the current climate and enrollment challenges that COVID-19 brings, along with the limited budgets and resources and difficulties institutions face in allocating resources to deliver results and meet their strategic enrollment goals. It also understands the need for revenue generation and risk management in light of diversification, so it is a suitable fit to our own diversification plan as a trusted partner of HEIs in America, whether big or small, urban or rural, already big in internationalization or still getting there,” Arthur continued. 

Deborah Freund, PhD is a university professor and president emerita at Claremont Graduate University. Prior to serving as a college president, she served as provost of Syracuse University and vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Indiana University in Bloomington. 

Fred Siegel is former director of admissions at Boston University. He successfully led initiatives around enrollment management, admissions, and student affairs at four prestigious universities, namely Boston University, University of Delaware, George Washington University, and Claremont Graduate University.

Vanessa Andrade is director of international programs and partnership development as well as deputy senior international officer at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). She also spent a few years as director of various units at Kaplan International Colleges. She is an expert in the areas of student recruitment, program partnership development, agency screening and management, new program development, and external relations expansion, to name a few. 

Scott Evenbeck is a university professor at Baruch College and a past president of New Community College. He was the first president of Guttman Community College, part of City University of New York (CUNY). He was also a professor of psychology and founding dean of University College at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis.

Geoffrey Foy is associate provost for graduate programs and continuing education at Pacific Lutheran University. He is former director at Central Washington University and started a consulting practice. 

Laurie Nichols, PhD is president of Black Hill State University in South Dakota. She is also a past president of University of Wyoming, the first woman to hold the position. Her prior roles include provost, vice president for academic affairs, interim president, and dean at various prestigious institutions. 

MSM US Advisory Board members have agreed to share their understanding of the breadth and scope of the country’s international education sector, the key goals and objectives of stakeholders such as agents and students, and insights relevant to expanding MSM’s strategy and development in the country. 

According to Arthur, relevant issues and challenges they are keen to discuss include the role of international enrollment amid significant drops in domestic enrollment across regions, recruitment staff reductions during the pandemic, and limited resources in agent vetting and lack of intelligence in emerging markets, to name a few.

Headquartered in British Columbia in Canada, MSM’s global and in-country office model currently serves about 45 partner institutions worldwide. Since 2012, it has processed more than 50,000 applications and enabled around 32,000 student mobilities. It is present in 17 countries worldwide to provide leading-edge international recruitment, marketing, and business development solutions to partners in the UK, Europe, Canada, US, Australia, and New Zealand.