News Release
MaKenzie Cox Named Executive Director of Strategic Enrollment
Buena Vista, Va. — Southern Virginia University President Bonnie H. Cordon has named MaKenzie Cox (‘15) as executive director of strategic enrollment. In her new role, Cox will continue to oversee admissions while assuming management responsibility for financial aid, ensuring a more seamless and supportive enrollment journey for students.
“President Cordon has brought a student-focused vision to our university,” said Cox. “She cares deeply about our students and their experiences with every facet of our university.
“We want to continue building a unified, cohesive, and transparent customer experience throughout our application, enrollment, and financial aid processes,” continued Cox. “We want to gather and uplift our student body in the best and most effective ways possible. And we want to keep our amazing education as accessible and affordable as possible.”
Under Cox’s leadership, the Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid will work to improve and streamline enrollment and financial aid processes, making them increasingly student-friendly.
“As the university grows and matures, we aim to evaluate every process through a student-focused lens,” said Cox. “It’s a full team effort to ensure our systems are modern, effective, and transparent. This will empower us to serve students with the utmost care.”
In this new role, Cox will continue reporting to VP of Strategy Chris Pendleton.
“Kenzie is one of our organization’s most talented and effective administrators and managers,” said Pendleton. “She’s gifted with data and with people, which is a rare and valuable combination of skill sets. Kenzie has excelled as our director of admissions for the past two years, and we are excited to empower her and expand her scope of influence and responsibility. Kenzie has the full confidence of her team members and the university’s leadership.”
During her two years as director of admissions, Cox has focused on upgrading the incoming application and admissions processes, increasing new student enrollment, and providing more personalized student onboarding experiences.
“Our goal is to serve every student with unreasonable hospitality,” concluded Cox.
After graduating with a business management and leadership degree, Cox also served as the university’s assistant athletic director, overseeing the department’s business, finance, and recruiting functions. Cox will complete her MBA from Fisher College this spring (2025).