Each year Ringling College of Art and Design receives hundreds, if not thousands of families of prospective students here to visit the campus. Of those students, roughly half will see the face of Dean of Admissions Gregg Prigerson at some point in the process. 

Prigerson estimates, “Just this week alone, and it was a slow week, I met with about 25-30 families.” He said, “Around spring break (Feb. and March) that 25 per week expands to probably 75-100 families a week.”

Prigerson is celebrating his 10th anniversary at Ringling College this year, and 25 years in admissions for higher ed. He was born and raised in New York City. He first attended college at Tulane University in New Orleans, and soon after transferred to Clemson University in South Carolina, where he received his undergraduate and graduate degrees. While in graduate school, Prigerson worked in the admissions office and loved it. Working in that department sparked a thought that would stick with him for the rest of his career, “Wow, you get paid to travel around the country and entice people to go to a school you already love. So, you’re selling your school to people that may know it and may not. And you’re going to California and other places you might never have gone to.”

Before his decade tenure in Ringling’s Office of Admissions, Prigerson had already worked in admissions at four other colleges, including Stanford University and University of Miami-Coral Gables, and as the Director of College Counseling at a prep school in Lake Mary, Florida for 2 years. It was during his time in Lake Mary that he was first drawn to Ringling College. Each year a couple of his students would apply, which prompted him to make a day trip to Sarasota to check it out. He was immediately enamored, “I came away with a very positive perspective and knew this was a gem of an institution. The technology I saw, the conversations I had, the facilities that I walked through all convinced me that this was a super choice and one that I would highly recommend. Oh, and Sarasota was not too shabby either.”

His favorite part of the job is hearing directly from prospective students that Ringling is their first-choice school, and when they enroll hearing them mention that he helped them in their journey. He also takes a lot of joy in signing their acceptance letters. 

On Feb. 11 Ringling College will open its campus to hundreds of guests from around the world at its annual Spring Open House. Students are invited to visit the studios, labs, and classrooms of different departments. They can peek into an unoccupied dorm room. They will hear from current students at a question and answer panel session, view first year student work, and watch a presentation on developing a high quality portfolio for their application. Visitors are sure to find Prigerson outside of the Admissions office chatting with prospective students and their families.  

Applications are now open for the 2023-24 school year.

For more information, contact the Office of Admissions at 941-309-0195 or admissions@ringling.edu.