Jack Blackburn Photo by Dan Addison

Jack Blackburn first reported for work as an associate dean in the Office of Admission in 1979. He was hired by U.Va. President John T. Casteen III, at that time the University’s dean of admission, and was appointed dean six years later after the death of then-dean Jean Rayburn.

Three decades and 451,908 applications later, Blackburn, 66, has announced that he will retire in June 2009.

As dean of admission, Blackburn has been responsible for building each entering class of undergraduates for the past 23 years and has been a champion for increasing diversity. He has traveled widely in the United States and abroad to recruit students of many backgrounds.

“Jack Blackburn is one of the most highly regarded deans of admission in the country,” says Casteen. “He is a respected colleague and friend who has spent his career working to build the excellence of our student body and to ensure opportunities to students everywhere. His personal grace, wisdom and generosity of spirit have touched many of the thousands of students he has recruited to the University and who consider him a lifelong friend.”

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