Dan Merian

Photograph of Dan Merian

Director of Enrollment Management Analytics and Data

Dan Merian, Ph.D., is the director of enrollment management analytics and data for the Office of Enrollment Management at the University of Michigan. Merian brings a broad understanding of the student lifecycle through a data-informed lens.

With a working knowledge of admissions, financial aid, and student success, he utilizes data to inform enrollment questions and identify trends related to access and affordability. Merian is skilled at developing enrollment projection models and reports, leveraging models to assess financial aid strategies, and working as a collaborative leader within and across organizations.

Merian has worked at numerous institutional types, including private liberal arts, flagship research, and master's comprehensive institutions. Before his current role, Merian was the director of enrollment management strategic initiatives, research, and analytics at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he led the overall enrollment management applied research and analysis efforts for the regional campus. He was the project manager for UM-Dearborn's strategic enrollment management (SEM) planning process and sat on the university-wide data governance committee. In addition to Merian's data and analytics experiences, he has led a student success office, an enrollment technology team, and as an admissions representative, he successfully recruited record-breaking enrollment classes.  

Merian holds a doctoral degree in higher, adult, and lifelong education from Michigan State University, a master's degree in economics from Central Michigan University, and a bachelor's degree in economics and mathematics from Alma College.