The Executive Director of Enrollment at Mississippi State University’s office of admissions and scholarships will depart MSU at the end of this month to join the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College staff as the Dean of Services and Enrollment Management.
Phil Bonfanti, who has worked at MSU for the past 15 years, said he is excited about the new position and the opportunity to continue to work with young college students.
“My wife and I are both from New Orleans and are both looking forward to the opportunity to return to the Mississippi Gulf Coast-New Orleans area, to good seafood and to a part of the country that understands Mardi Gras is a real holiday,” Bonfanti said.
Bonfanti started his professional career at MSU as the manager of the English as a Second Language Center in 1999.
“My first semester, the center enrolled only 17 students; however, within a year, we had increased enrollment to over 80 students,” he recalls.
Bonfanti has held several different positions at MSU since then, including interim Dean of Continuing Education, Director of the International Services Office, Director of the Admissions and Scholarships Office and Executive Director of Enrollment.
MSU President Mark Keenum said he has very much enjoyed working with Bonfanti.
“Phil is well respected among his peers and all across our campus for a strong work ethic and commitment to recruiting the best and brightest students to Mississippi State. We appreciate his faithful service and wish him well at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He is native of the area and is taking advantage of a tremendous opportunity to go back home. He will be a great asset to Dr. Mary Graham and her team at MGCCC,” Keenum said.
Since Bonfanti was appointed executive director, MSU has increased the size of the freshman class by 36 percent and grew overall undergraduate enrollment by 23 percent.
“This year, we brought in the most academically talented freshmen class in university history,” Bonfanti said. “I have had a wonderful experience at Mississippi State over the past 15 years. I arrived as the manager of an ESL center of 17 students and leave as the executive director who has overseen the recruitment and enrollment of every current undergraduate student at Mississippi State – all 16,536 of them.”
Naron Remillard, director of student recruitment at the office of admissions and scholarships, said she has had the privilege of working with Bonfanti since 2008, and over the past six years Bonfanti has taught her how to implement different recruitment strategies.
“We both have a love for numbers, more specifically trying to figure out what the numbers mean or what the numbers are saying, which is why from the beginning we established a common bond and eventually has led to a great friendship,” Remillard said. “Most people know that Phil loves numbers, but what many people may not know is that he also loves The Grateful Dead rock band. Everyone in our office knows if you travel with Phil be prepared to listen to one of The Grateful Dead’s many live concerts. After spending many hours in the car with Phil over the past couple of years, road trips to recruiting events will not be the same from here forward without The Grateful Dead playing during the car ride.”
Bonfanti said seeing the excitement of students applying for admission at midnight on Aug. 1, getting their letters of admissions and scholarship offers, visiting campus for the first time and getting their student IDs and enrolling in classes at orientation are some of the most enjoyable moments at MSU, but his most memorable experience in the last 15 years was MSU’s response to Hurricane Katrina.
“I was fortunate to participate as part of the Bulldogs in Response effort. I think it was our university’s finest moment and a personal experience I will never forget,” he said.
Toya Windom, business manager at the office of admissions and scholarships, said Bonfanti has spent a countless amount  of time and effort teaching her how to understand the big picture of the operating budget and how the budget affects each person in the office.
“He has shown me the importance of accountability, which has made me a better leader and a better member for the team in which I serve,” Windom said. “I wish Phil best wishes as he begins a new journey in his career. Leaders like him are rare. We are blessed to have been coached and mentored by the best.”
Bonfanti said he has had hundreds of conversations with hundreds of students over the past eight years about what to major in and about what they want to do with their lives.
“I have shared with them the same piece of advice I have resolutely followed in my own life. Always, always, always pursue above all that which you are most interested in, and you will always find yourself doing the most interesting things in the most interesting of places,” he said. “My experience at MSU over the past 15 years has been more than I could have hoped for, and I will definitely be taking away memories of many wonderful people and experiences.”