Bobby Gandu ’02/06 is fired up about his latest career move. After serving as WSU's interim director of admissions for the past 10 months, he was named to the position on a permanent basis in early August. “I’m excited about it,” Gandu says, “and excited to work with the staff we have here.”
He says he intends to continue admission’s tradition of top-quality service, while also introducing innovations, including an online social network for admitted students to use to meet and interact with one another.
He also plans to move to a paperless admission process and be “more aggressive” with the department’s off-site presentations to prospective students.
“We have a lot of new ideas to bring to the table this year,” he says, adding that WSU’s mission of serving a diverse population and offering students the potential of hands-on
and work-based training is a prime selling point.
Gandu, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing and a master’s degree in business administration, brings a wealth of work experience to his position. As an undergraduate, he was student coordinator of the National Student Exchange. After graduation, he worked for two years at the WSU Alumni Association, serving as director of chapters and societies and then as director of alumni and student programs. In August 2004, he became assistant director of admissions, a position he held for three years.
Always on the move, Gandu is involved with the Young Professionals of Wichita, is an adviser for the Student Ambassador Society and Phi Delta Theta, and also makes time to serve on a variety of university committees,
including Convocation, Business Week, the Globalization Taskforce and Athletics Compliance.
As director, Gandu is determined to continue the warm, welcoming reception he received as a student. “People I
met at WSU wanted to get to know me and made me feel like I belonged as a Shocker on campus,” he says.
Today, that inclusive, special Shocker welcome remains key to Gandu-led recruitment efforts. After all, getting and keeping students active on campus is, he says, “one of the most important components of enjoying college life.
