After eight years at NYU, Assistant Vice President and Dean of Admissions Shawn Abbott has accepted a position as Vice Provost for Admissions, Financial Aid and Enrollment Management at Temple University, according to The Temple News.

“My departure from NYU will be bittersweet for sure,” Abbott said in an email to WSN. “My time here at NYU — from Washington Square to Downtown Brooklyn to Abu Dhabi and to Shanghai — has been the best possible professional experience I could ask for. I truly believe that NYU is the most influential university in the world right now and for nearly a decade, I have been nothing short of honored to be a member of this community.”

Abbott also spoke about his enthusiasm in accepting a more senior position at Temple, emphasizing his optimism about the university’s future.

“I am excited about my move to Temple as it will involve the opportunity to not only lead admissions as I do at NYU, but also to play a more senior university role in leading financial aid, student registration and veteran affairs at an urban university that has extraordinary potential,” he said. “In many ways, Temple is a grittier, scrappier version of NYU and is equally ambitious. That excites me.”

A 1992 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, Abbott has since earned postgraduate degrees in Higher Education Administration from the University of South Carolina and Columbia University. Prior to leading admissions efforts at NYU, Abbott served in various administrative roles at Drexel University, Boston University, Columbia University and Stanford University.

Abbott has also worked for the United States Department of State, where he intermittently serves as a consultant within the Office of Overseas Schools. This experience allowed him to travel to the Middle East and North Africa in an effort to increase educational opportunities for dependents of United States citizens.

While at NYU, Abbott oversaw the selections of NYU’s Class of 2015 through Class of 2022. In his tenure, NYU’s acceptance rate dropped from 33 percent to 19 percent. On March 30, NYU sent letters to accepted members of the Class of 2022, which the university touted as the most diverse in university history.

Email Alex Domb at [email protected].