Registrar Lynn Lynch resigns, Marta Moreno takes the helm

  • Post author:
The registrar’s office, located in Palmer D, helps thesis student Anne-Sophie Stabler.

When Kathleen Killion, the Dean of Enrollment Services and Information Technology, sent out a school-wide email announcing Registrar Lynn Lynch’s resignation, many students and faculty were left wondering what had spurred this decision in a time where a knowledgeable and organized Registrar is needed most. Though Lynch declined to comment, Killion and the staff in Enrollment Services are confident that Acting Registrar Marta Moreno can handle the influx of work during this busy time of year.

Moreno, who was formerly the Executive Assistant for Enrollment Services became effective as Acting Registrar on May 13. Fortunately she, along with the rest of the staff in Enrollment Services have been prepared for an occasion such as this and expect the shift to be “seamless.”

“We’re very much – in Enrollment Services – cross trained for events like this,” Moreno said. “There are several of us that know how to do a lot of different things so we can always step in and pitch in whenever it’s needed.”

Enrollment Services is comprised of the Admissions, Financial Aid and the Registrar offices. Moreno has been working at New College for nearly three years. Originally, before she became the Executive Assistant of Enrollment Services eight months ago, she started out as an application reader for the Admissions office and then later became the Campus Visit Coordinator. Through these positions, Moreno was able to meet and develop relationships with many students.

“I think what excites me the most, or what I find most appealing, is that I will be able to be a part of the long life of the student as opposed to Admissions where we only work with the student for a couple of months,” Moreno said.  “Now I will have the opportunity to work with the student for four years.”

Moreno was flattered when offered the Acting Registrar appointment. She added that if she turns out to be a good fit for the job – after having a discussion with the administrative staff – she would like to pursue the position on a more permanent basis.

“I’m very excited,” Moreno said. “I think I can contribute to the wellbeing of the institution. I love New College, I believe in it.”

Associate Dean of Enrollment Sonia Wu (’81) will be aiding Moreno with the workload by taking up the graduation auditing, a task she partook in last year when former Registrar Kathy Allen retired.

“I think it’s going to be fairly smooth, really,” Wu said. Killion also believes that Wu will be able to handle this new workload with ease.

“Sonia knows everything there is to know about the college,” Killion added.

Additionally, the Registrar hired two Other Personnel Services (OPS) employees to help with the extra registrar and liaison work.

“Essentially we are providing students with services from admission until they graduate, so we have a close relationship,” Killion said. She is going to use Lynch’s resignation as an opportunity to restructure Enrollment Services. One of the goals of the restructuring is to move the awarding of transfer credits to the Admissions Office, so students will know how many credits they were allocated right when they apply. These plans will be completed over the summer so they will not affect the office’s normal operations.

The staff in Enrollment Services will also be working this summer to make some improvements to the Student Evaluation System (SES). Killion, who feels that the current system is “clunky,” would like to add new features in the future, such as an automatic credit counter. This will hopefully make the system easier to use. Though SES is useful for the Registrar staff, Moreno believes that there are some negative aspects to the system as well.

“I know that moving to the more electronic process, using the SES and going to the website, has sort of cooled communication, something was lost in translation,” Moreno said. “I know quite a few of the students so I think that will help me bridge that gap and I want to make sure that they know that our doors are always opened and they are always welcome and we’ll try to help them out as much as possible.”

Leave a Reply