Dorothy Durkin was an award-winning continuing education and marketing strategist with 30-plus years of experience and a proven track record to lead an organization toward creative redesign, innovation, and financial success.

Taking the helm of the newly created Office of Strategic Development at New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS), Associate Dean Dorothy Durkin frequently drew on sensemaking tools for designing strategic initiatives using existing transaction data, ongoing research, and Learner Relationship Management (LRM) processes.

During her 30-plus year tenure as chief marketing strategist, the School’s enrollment – now at 60,000 – quadrupled. Income also grew from $3 million in 1970 to more than $105 million today. Much of this growth was the result of her pioneering work in direct marketing, database tracking, and interactive marketing. She also forged new strategies using Learner Relationship Management (LRM) and strategic planning to exploit new opportunities.

As an active member of University Continuing Education Association (UCEA), Dean Durkin chaired the Information Services Division, Council for Management and Administration, and the Futures Committee. She sat on the organization’s Board of Directors and served as Commissioner for Futures and Markets. She was also on the advisory board at American Demographics, assisting with themes for the organization’s annual conferences, as well as the advisory board for the New York Times series "The Presidents Speak", which focused on the challenges of running a university.

Dean Durkin’s efforts consistently won top honors: most recently she was the recipient of the 2007 Walton S. Bittner citation for Outstanding Service to UCEA. She received multiple awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the John Caples Direct Marketing Award, and annual awards from the Admissions Marketing Report and from UCEA. Her writing appeared in several books and many publications.