Common Application Gets New Leader From U. of Puget Sound

The Common Application has appointed a new executive director, the organization’s Board of Directors announced on Thursday.

Jenny Rickard, now vice president for enrollment at the University of Puget Sound, in Washington state, will take the helm of the nonprofit group that oversees the widely used admission-application platform in August. She will succeed Paul Mott, who left the organization this year.

Ms. Rickard describes her vision for the Common App in a Chronicle interview.

The Common Application, which recently gained a new competitor, had sought candidates with higher-education experience as well as a background in business and technology. Ms. Rickard, who is widely known as a thoughtful leader in the field, previously served as chief enrollment and communications officer at Bryn Mawr College, in Pennsylvania. She began her career on Wall Street.