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PROFILE: Crystal E. Newby, Ed.D. '04, G'08
Student. Alumna. Staffer. Trustee.
Dr. Crystal E. Newby, Ed.D. ’04, G’08 is that rare member of The University of Scranton community who’s been able to see things from all these vantage points.
Now in her third year as a member of the University’s Board of Trustees, Newby uses her position to advocate for issues of access and diversity, equity and inclusion. It’s a role she knows well, since it’s the very basis of her job as senior director of strategic admission, access, and diversity initiatives at the College Board in Washington, D.C.
“I’m so grateful to be able to serve the University in this capacity, considering it’s shaped me so much as a person,” Newby said. “Last year, I served as chair of the board’s education committee, and I felt like I had a little more of a voice in speaking up and sharing my thoughts on access and diversity. Being one of the few people of color who has served in different roles at the campus, I’m OK navigating that space – I know what I bring to the table.
“I really feel like the U is taking the steps to walk the walk; the Class of 2026 is the most diverse the University has ever had,” she continued. “I think that’s a testament to the University trying to make the school attractive to students of color, and goes back to our Jesuit ideals of being of service and men and women for others. We wouldn’t be living up to our Jesuit ideals if we weren’t taking the action steps to address diversity, equity and inclusion in a meaningful way.”
Those Jesuit ideals brought Newby to the University as a teen from the Bloomsburg area. During her four years, she was the very definition of the active student, serving as a member of Performance Music, United Colors, Liva Arts Company and the University Players, as well as a resident assistant, orientation assistant and student teleworker. During her senior year, she received the Lawrence A. Mann Award, which recognizes leadership and service to the University community.
Along the way, she forged close relationships with numerous faculty and staff members, among them Performance Music Conductor and Director Cheryl Y. Boga, Professor Richard Larsen of the Theatre Program, and Associate Vice President for Admissions and Enrollment Joseph M. Roback G’93.
“Those three people in particular really saw me from a freshman onward grow up, so it’s really special when I get to reconnect with them,” Newby said. “Three or four times a year I travel back to the campus for board meetings, and I always make sure to meet up with at least one or two people I knew during my time as a student and staff member.”
Newby majored in communication, with intentions of pursuing a career in broadcast journalism. However, after a semester as a student worker in the Admissions office, she discovered she thoroughly enjoyed promoting the University to prospective students.
“We would call high school students and tell them about the University, invite them to open houses,” she said. “And I would always see the admissions staff coming to and from the campus at all hours. I’d think, ‘Why are they here at night, and why are they carrying those materials?’ And they’d say, ‘We go out and tell people about the University.’ And I thought, ‘That sounds amazing.’”
So, following graduation, Newby took a position as an admissions counselor, remaining at the University until 2009. From there, she moved on to the admissions offices at Montclair State and Bloomsburg universities before serving for eight years as the inaugural director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
In 2021, Newby went to work for the College Board, where every day she gets to put into practice the passion for higher education that was instilled in her at the University.
“It’s so rewarding to be surrounded by people who are so passionate about students being able to access higher education and a fulfilling career,” she said. “I’m just so fortunate to be able to do what I love, and my experiences at the University provided the framework for where I am now. What a journey.”
I’m just so fortunate to be able to do what I love, and my experiences at the University provided the framework for where I am now.
– Crystal E. Newby, Ed.D. ’04, G’08
