Eric Furda won't be making any decisions about the class of 2012, but is already planning how the class of 2013 will interact with Penn.
On Monday, Furda, who was appointed Penn's next dean of admissions in January, began his transitional role as a special assistant to the president. He will serve in this capacity until July 1, when he will take the reins in College Hall.
Furda will use these next few months to become acquainted with Penn's campus and community, which he said would not be possible should he step into an administrative role immediately in July.
"President Gutmann and Provost Daniels saw this as an opportunity for me to learn as much as I can about the institution," he said, adding that he plans to meet with faculty, students and admissions officers so he "truly represent what [a Penn student's] life is like now," to parents and prospective students.
Furda also plans to provide input as Penn's admissions offices make several longer-term changes, including the switch to a completely digital application process - in which all parts of the application, including teacher recommendations and transcripts, are submitted online - and the transition from Penn's own application to the Common Application and Universal College Application.
He said it is a "smart decision" to make these changes at the same time because the adjustments can be made in a "more synchronized fashion."
Furda, the former dean of admissions at Columbia University, led efforts there to move to all-digital applications six years ago.
At the time, he said, Columbia's switch was "really ahead of the curve for highly selective schools."
However, he added that Penn is still an "early adopter" of this new technology.
"As you take a look at the increase in applications for all our schools . there comes a point where you're reaching a level where the amount of time you have to make the decisions isn't any greater but the volume has exploded," he said.
The transition is "really to gain the opportunity with technology and efficiency so more time is spent focusing on the applications and not the process."
And while this new role is a homecoming of sorts for this 1987 College alumnus and former Penn admissions officer, Furda sees Penn as a "very different" place than it was 20 years ago. He also sees his history and prior relationship as beneficial to his new role.
"There is kind of this emotional sense that being an undergraduate at a school . defines your character and who you are," he said. His years at the University show students and parents "here's an individual who [understands] what it's like to be a student at Penn."
