Professional biography

Cornell University seeks to engage and enroll the most talented students from throughout the African continent and around the world. To do this important and nuanced work in communities around the world, we must partner with schools, educators, leaders, organizations, and advocates who are a critical component and asset in the everyday lives and learning of the students we seek to engage.

Learning Supported by Cornell University – Undergraduate Admissions

Shawn Felton is the university's Executive Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Deputy Chief Admissions and Enrollment Officer. In this role, he oversees the Undergraduate Admissions including prospect management, student recruitment and communication, admissions social media, application processing, admissions data and systems, the prospective student visit experience, yield strategy and coordination, market research, long-range planning, admissions (alumni) volunteer engagement, and recruitment, selection, and enrollment of underrepresented minority students in the US and international students.

As Deputy Chief Admissions and Enrollment Officer, Shawn has responsibility for admissions policy and practice, and broader enrollment management work at Cornell University. Shawn is the lead international recruiter and undergraduate admissions expert for Africa and China, providing significant admissions committee support through international application review and credentials evaluation. Shawn has been with Cornell University for more than 18 years.

Shawn Felton is also the committee expert and lead for Africa for the Overseas School Project (OSP), a grant administered for the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Overseas Schools (OOS) school community in partnership with the College Board and U.S. universities. OSP visits provide opportunities for prominent U.S. higher education enrollment leaders to meet with affiliated OSS school communities through an in-person or online format, allowing the opportunity for questions and sharing critical information regarding the U.S. college and university admissions process. Through the OSP grant, we work to connect OOS school communities to American higher education enrollment leaders. The OSP grant enables affiliated OOS students, families, and faculty to meet directly with chief enrollment officers from bellwether U.S. universities. The higher education leaders for the OSP grant are selected by the OOS and College Board to represent the entire American higher education system and its values. These leaders share current, candid, authentic guidance on U.S. higher education admissions trends. Additional information on the OSP grant is found here: https://international.collegeboard.org/overseas-schools-project