Jenny Rickard
Jenny Rickard is an American higher education administrator who has led the nonprofit college application organization Common AppCommon AppCommon App (The Common Application, Inc.) is a nonprofit membership organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that runs an online platform through which students use one application to apply to multiple colleges for undergraduate admission; it grew out of a common application form launched by 15 institutions in 1975 and had more than 1,200 member colleges and universities for the 2026–2027 application season.Open the full entry since August 2016 and is its chief executive officer; she was previously vice president for enrollment at the University of Puget Sound and led admissions at Bryn Mawr College.
Contents17 sections
Key facts
1986Swarthmore Graduate
Rickard moved with her family from Ohio to Palo Alto, California, at age three; as a child, she said, “I wanted to be a newscaster.”[1]
She grew up near Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityStanford University is a research university in California founded by Leland and Jane Stanford in 1885 and opened in 1891.Open the full entry; both her parents were teachers who stressed the importance of education.[2]
She graduated from Swarthmore College in 1986, majoring in political science. She recalled arriving as “an idealistic and intellectually undeveloped young woman,” making the basketball team as a walk-on and researching nuclear-free zones as a junior.[3]
1986–2002Early Career
She began her career on Wall Street at J.P. Morgan & Co., later worked in admissions at NYU School of Law and Swarthmore, served as PeopleSoft’s vice president for higher education product strategy and consulted for Datatel.[4]
She said, “I didn’t start off in admissions, although I tried,” and that after visiting high schools and seeing the disparity of opportunity, “it really stuck with me.”[5]
2002Bryn Mawr Dean
In 2002, she became dean of admissions at Bryn Mawr College, where she was introduced to the Posse Foundation.[2]
In 2003, as dean of admissions and financial aid, she gave a presentation analyzing U.S. News rankings of the college over the past decade.[6]
She later became the college’s chief enrollment and communications officer.[7]
2007–2008Common App Board President
She held roles with the College Board, ACCIS and the U.S. Department of Education, and was president of the Common App board in 2007–2008.[8]
2012To Puget Sound
She left Bryn Mawr in the fall of 2012.[9]
She then served three years as vice president for enrollment at the University of Puget Sound.[7]
President Isiaah Crawford said she had advanced access and affordability in tangible ways; under her the university adopted a test-optional admission policy.[10]
May 2016Named to Lead Common App
In May 2016, Common App named her its new leader.[11]
She called Common App “an engine for college access,” said “Technology does not replace relationships,” and hoped to “restore humanity to this process.”[12]
August 2016Takes Office
She completed her service at Puget Sound on August 1, 2016, leaving to become executive director of The Common Application in Washington, D.C.[13]
Christine Mica of the U.S. Department of Education became the university’s interim vice president for enrollment from August 15.[10]
Common App dates her arrival to August 2016.[14]
2018Reach Higher
She led the acquisition of Reach Higher, the college access campaign founded by Michelle Obama, oversaw a long-term strategic roadmap and improved financial stability.[4]
2019On Common App’s Role
In summer 2019 she described leading Common App as “an opportunity to really promote college access on a large scale” and said, “We’re a nonprofit, mission-driven membership association enabled by technology.”[1]
2020Grant and Discipline Question
In January 2020 she thanked the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for “this opportunity to invest in our infrastructure.”[15]
On removing the school discipline question, she said, “we just could not continue to ask it as a common question.”[5]
2021Posse Board
In early 2021 she was elected to the Posse Foundation’s national board, saying Posse had “liberated me from the constraints in the admissions process.”[2]
2023Race and Access
In May 2023, Rickard, then president and CEO, said, “we have no plans to remove the optional race and ethnicity questions.”[16]
In October she said disclosure of race had shifted only 1% that season, adding, “By 2030, we’re looking to close our equity gap.”[17]
2025Title and Fiftieth Anniversary
A February 2025 Common App announcement still styled her president and CEO.[18]
When Common App opened its 50th season in August 2025, it identified her as CEO.[19]
She joined past and current board members at the 50th anniversary party during the NACAC conference.[20]
2026Direct Admissions
In August 2026 she said direct admissions helped colleges reach “students who may not have otherwise seen themselves at those institutions.”[21]
As of October 2026: Current Roles
Rickard is chief executive officer of Common App.[22]
She also serves on the boards of the Posse Foundation and College Possible and advises the National Education Equity Lab; Common App says membership grew from 700 to over 1,100 during her tenure.[23]
Common App’s fiscal 2025 Form 990 listed her compensation at $810,169.[24]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Common App: Official website: https://www.commonapp.org/ (opens in a new window)[25]
University of Puget Sound: Official website: https://www.pugetsound.edu/ (opens in a new window)[13]
Swarthmore College: Official website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/ (opens in a new window)[3]
The Posse Foundation: Official website: https://www.possefoundation.org/ (opens in a new window)[2]
Sources
- Ubben Posse Fellow Interviews: Jenny Rickard (opens in a new window)
- Common App CEO Joins Posse Board, Furthers Commitment to Equity in Higher Ed Admissions (opens in a new window)
- That Powerful Sense of Hope (opens in a new window)
- JENNY RICKARD — We Are Family Foundation (opens in a new window)
- Admissions Beat S1E4 Transcript (opens in a new window)
- December, 2003 (opens in a new window)
- The EvoLLLution | Jenny Rickard | President and CEO, The Common Application (opens in a new window)
- Jenny Rickard (opens in a new window)
- Another top administrator to leave Bryn Mawr (opens in a new window)
- Hello Washington? This is Washington. Enrollment VPs Pass on the Road from Tacoma to D.C. (opens in a new window)
- New Leader for Common Application (opens in a new window)
- Common App’s New Leader Ponders College Access — and Holographic Video Interviews (opens in a new window)
- Vice President for Enrollment Search 7/1/16 (opens in a new window)
- Jenny Rickard, Ed.D. | The Campaign for College Opportunity (opens in a new window)
- Common App Earns $1.6 million grant to support access and equity (opens in a new window)
- Colleges will soon have option to hide students’ race and ethnicity information on applications submitted through Common App (opens in a new window)
- Plenary Recap - A Ban on Race-Conscious Admissions: What Now? (opens in a new window)
- Common App welcomes its first cohort of community colleges to the platform (opens in a new window)
- Common App celebrates its 50th anniversary with the launch of 2025-2026 application season (opens in a new window)
- 2025 Common App Annual Report (opens in a new window)
- Common App expands direct admissions program in 2026-27 with 234 participating institutions (opens in a new window)
- Leadership (opens in a new window)
- Jenny Rickard | CEO of Common App (opens in a new window)
- Common Application Inc - Nonprofit Explorer - ProPublica (opens in a new window)
- Apply to college with Common App (opens in a new window)