About
Bryan Hartwell joined Alderson Broaddus in July 2023 as Vice President for Enrollment Management, overseeing undergraduate admissions, graduate admissions, financial aid, and enrollment operations. He came to AB from Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, where he served for four years as Associate Vice President for Enrollment, and previously held progressive admissions roles at his alma mater, Otterbein, and at Marietta College.
In his first eighteen months at AB, Hartwell led the implementation of a new CRM platform (Slate), the launch of an expanded transfer-admissions team, and the redesign of AB's scholarship model — collectively credited with the 8% increase in fall 2025 new-student enrollment over the prior year. He has personally read every applicant file for the AB Hilltop Scholars cohort since he arrived.
A native of Coshocton, Ohio, Hartwell holds an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Marietta College and a B.A. in History from Otterbein University. He is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and a past board member of the Ohio Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.
Education
- 2014M.Ed., Higher Education Administration — Marietta College.
- 2010B.A., History (cum laude, minor in Spanish) — Otterbein University.
Teaching
VP Hartwell teaches a one-credit Career Exploration short course each spring, primarily for sophomores who have not yet declared a major. He is the only senior administrator at AB who routinely co-leads campus visits.
- CAR 201Vocational Discernment & the Major DecisionA one-credit short course for sophomores. Includes guided self-assessment, faculty conversations, alumni panels, and a one-page written declaration that frames the choice as a vocation, not just a credential.
Professional Practice
Hartwell is a frequent presenter at small-college admissions conferences on topics including the post-FAFSA-simplification financial-aid landscape, regional-college recruitment in a contracting national demographic, and the ethics of merit-aid leveraging at non-elite institutions.
At AB he led the development of the "Promise to a Battler" admissions covenant — a one-page document, signed by the President and the admissions committee, that commits AB to honesty about cost, completion likelihood, and post-graduation outcomes for every admitted student.
Selected Publications & Presentations
- 2025Panelist, NACAC National Conference, "Ethics & Merit Aid at the Small Private College."
- 2023"The Demographic Cliff and the Honest College." The Chronicle of Higher Education, March.
- 2021Co-author, Recruiting in Rural America: A Field Manual for Small Private Colleges. AACRAO Press.
Honors & Service
- 2024NACAC Inclusion, Access & Success Award.
- 2022Otterbein University Distinguished Young Alumnus.
- 2019Promoted to Associate Vice President at Otterbein.
An admissions office makes a hundred moral decisions a week. Every yes is a promise; every no is a door closed. We owe the families we recruit a level of honesty that the industry does not require — only our conscience does.— Bryan O. Hartwell
Beyond the Classroom
Hartwell moved to Philippi with his wife Kelly, a labor-and-delivery nurse at the Davis Memorial Hospital, and their three young children (all under ten). He coaches Upward Soccer at First Baptist Church of Philippi, sings bass in the Concert Choir as a community member, and is on the board of the West Virginia Independent Colleges & Universities consortium.
A serious home cook, he makes the bread for every Sunday lunch at the Hartwell house — a tradition his wife sometimes describes as "sweet but a lot." He is a college-football neutral despite his Ohio upbringing.