Valdosta State University’s Ryan Hogan Joins Spark451

Westbury, NY — Spark451, a Jenzabar company, is proud to welcome Ryan Hogan, our newest Senior Business Development Strategist. Based in Southern Georgia, Hogan will work closely with the company’s partner institutions primarily in the Southeast to help them achieve their enrollment goals.

“Ryan is well-known throughout the higher education community, and he brings a great deal of valuable experience to this role,” says Steve Kerge, Vice President of Business Development, Spark451. “I’m very enthusiastic about the insights and support he will be able to deliver to our partner colleges and universities.”

Hogan has spent 22 years in admissions and marketing at Valdosta State University. He fell in love with higher ed when he started working as an orientation leader during his freshman year at the university. He has since spent the entirety of his professional career climbing the ranks of the admissions office from recruiter, to associate director, and ultimately, to Director of Undergraduate Admissions — a position he’s held since 2015.

Throughout his tenure with Valdosta State, Hogan has become an expert at developing enrollment strategies as well as designing and executing marketing plans for undergraduate students, graduate students, adult learners, transfer students, and other prospective student pools. Along the way, he’s had several major wins, including:

• Enrolling the institution’s largest undergraduate class in history for Fall 2020 — a 9% increase over the previous fall (and he pulled it off in spite of all COVID-19-related challenges)
• Developing and implementing the university’s graduate recruitment strategy from scratch
• Increasing the institution’s Hispanic student population through targeted marketing campaigns
• Helping the university launch an online college for career advancement
• Building relationships with employers who can provide tuition reimbursement for employees who head back to school

Hogan brings a strong understanding of multichannel marketing tactics. He believes in data- driven decision-making and knows the importance of personalized messaging. He also has vast experience with implementing and using a wide range of CRMs, including Slate. Hogan also holds both a B.BA in management and an M.Ed in educational leadership from Valdosta State University.

After two decades of working in-house at a university, Hogan is looking forward to joining the Spark451 team so he can help multiple institutions identify winning strategies and achieve their enrollment goals. “After all of my years working in higher education, I understand the enrollment pressures colleges are facing,” he says. “I am looking forward to getting to know other colleges’ needs, and through Spark451, becoming their partner for success.”