Carella, Kuhn join Pfeiffer staff

Published 2:23 pm Monday, September 7, 2020

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Pfeiffer University has announced the appointment of two new vice presidents as the university continues to re-organize in light of new opportunities and challenges before private universities.

Emily Carella, who previously served Pfeiffer as director of admissions, returns to the Village as vice president of enrollment management. April Kuhn (J.D.) joins Pfeiffer as vice president of human resources, compliance, and inclusion.

Carella, who in 2019 led Pfeiffer enrollment on the Misenheimer campus to 800-plus students for the first time since the dawn of the 2007-2008 “Great Recession,” served an institution in Georgia last year. Even amid a global pandemic, she helped that institution surpass its freshman enrollment goal.

“Numerically, her results speak for themselves,” said President Scott Bullard. “I would quickly add that Emily is a person who loves Pfeiffer, and Pfeiffer employees love her. When Emily departed last summer, in conversations with colleagues, I noted that both the Office of Academic Affairs and Athletics enjoyed working with her, which is something very unusual in higher education.”

Carella has a long history of proven engagement and success with multiple divisions across Pfeiffer.

“She just understands higher education and the kind of education important to students,” Bullard added.

Carella will be joined on the president’s cabinet by April Kuhn.

Kuhn will fill a position combining needs for leadership in human resources, compliance and creating an inclusive environment on campus that welcomes, and seeks out, diversity.

Kuhn currently serves as an assistant superintendent for Rowan Salisbury Schools (RSS), which employs more than 3,000 employees and works with 19,000 students. She has been with RSS since 2015. Kuhn provides legal counsel to school principals and district leaders regarding various educational and legal matters. Her experience and strategic leadership in the complexities of inclusive practices for all students further advance the directional system and core values for the school system.

“April Kuhn brings to the table more than we could have ever imagined as our first Vice President of Human Resources, Compliance, and Inclusion,” noted Bullard. “When we interviewed April, she demonstrated a genuine interest in making Pfeiffer a more welcoming place for persons from a variety of backgrounds and with a variety of gifts and perspectives. She demonstrates patience and a deep understanding of the law in an era when it is utterly necessary to seek, create, and maintain a dialogue about equity. I am so thankful to have a person with her skills, training, character, and vision, joining us in the Village.”

Kuhn is a Salisbury native and a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate. She received her J.D. from Stetson University College of Law in St. Petersburg, Fla., where she served as a research assistant. Kuhn also served as an intern with the Pinellas County State Attorney’s Office. Outside of work, April, her husband and daughter enjoy cheering on the Buffalo Bills, the UNC Tarheels, the New York Yankees and now the Pfeiffer Falcons.