Shimabukuro named director of admissions at Washington University in St. Louis

July 16, 2009 -- Julie Shimabukuro has been named director of admissions at Washington University in St. Louis, announced John Berg, associate vice chancellor for admissions.

Shimabukuro

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Shimabukuro, formerly director of international recruitment in the Office of Admissions, will oversee Washington University's team of recruiters and high-school outreach program. She also will manage the application-review process. For the incoming freshman class, Washington University received more than 23,000 applications.

"I am delighted that Julie was willing to take on this key role at Washington University," Berg said. "She is a talented and effective leader, and she is well-respected among her colleagues at the university and among high-school counselors in the United States and around the world.

"The fact that she is also a Washington University graduate and that she has 16 years of experience in the admissions office here is the icing on the cake," he said. "She's a great person and a wonderful citizen of Washington University."

Shimabukuro, who earned a bachelor's degree in psychology in Arts & Sciences from WUSTL in 1987, has focused on international recruitment for the university since 1999. She also worked in various roles in the Office of Admissions from 1987-1993.

"Washington University is such a special place to me," Shimabukuro said. "I remember visiting the university with my parents when I was a prospective student and being immediately drawn to the dynamic and welcoming spirit of the community.

"It felt right then, and it still does now," Shimabukuro said. "I look forward to the new challenges ahead for the university and admissions, and I feel really privileged to work with great colleagues recruiting talented students from around the world to continue to make Washington University a special place to us all."

As director of international recruitment, Shimabukuro directed the university's recruitment and enrollment efforts for international and U.S. students living outside the United States. While traveling internationally, Shimabukuro conducted presentations, interviewed prospective students and established relationships with high-school guidance counselors.

Before returning to WUSTL in 1999, Shimabukuro held teaching and admissions positions in Japan from 1993-98. In 1998, she served as an admissions and recruitment officer at International University of Japan in Niigata. From 1995-97, she worked for the Yokohama Board of Education in Kanagawa as a foreign consultant, developing English language seminars for teachers. Shimabukuro was an assistant English teacher for the Iida Board of Education in Nagano from 1993-95.

Shimabukuro and her husband, Mark Freiman — who graduated from WUSTL with bachelor of fine arts degree in 1986 — have a one-year-old son, Hudson.