Let me begin by thanking everyone who has supported the Registrar’s office over the past 12 months – from the faculty who assist us in collecting thousands of grades each term, to the department admins whose organization and dedication to their students allows for smooth interdepartmental collaboration – and countless others with whom we interact on a regular basis.
With that being said, I would like to introduce you to the Registrar’s office staff, and a little bit about what we do. The Registrar’s Office serves as the infrastructure of student enrollment, and academic record keeping at Clarkson University, and bears responsibility for implementing Clarkson’s administrative policies. The Registrar’s office is comprised of five full-time staff members, located at the Potsdam campus:
Michelle Huto – Registrar Assistant. Michelle joined Clarkson in 1996 and has been with the Registrar’s office since September 2009. Michelle’s main focus is on undergraduate student record management – posting transfer credit, managing grade changes, and coordinating the admission and readmission of special student populations. Michelle’s favorite part of her job is being part of the SAS team.
Caitlin Donnelly – Student Records Specialist. Caitlin joined Clarkson in 2016, and the Registrar’s office in February of this year. Caitlin is responsible for graduate student record management, with a focus on maintaining the program and curriculum information for current graduate students. Caitlin also assists with the creation of the schedule of classes for Clarkson’s Capital Region Campus and is our office liaison with Union College. Caitlin handles the majority of historical record requests from Union Graduate College alumni seeking transcripts, degree verifications, or replacement diplomas. Caitlin’s favorite part of her job is the mutually supportive work environment. She says, “there has not been a single day where I didn’t feel like I could find the help that I needed to perform my duties efficiently.”
Alysson Darrah – Assistant Registrar. Aly joined Clarkson in August 2018 and has been in her current role since December 2018. Aly is the scheduling guru for the office, as she is responsible for creating the class schedules for our incoming class of freshmen students each year, as well as collaborating with the academic departments to put together the master class schedule every term. Aly supports Clarkson’s Veteran population as the primary School Certifying Official for the institution – liaising with the VA on behalf of students using GI Bill benefits. Aly says her favorite part of the job is staying busy, and that there is never a dull moment.
Krista Larock Wells – Associate Registrar. Krista joined Clarkson as Assistant Registrar in February 2016 and was promoted to Associate Registrar in July 2018. As Associate Registrar, Krista’s focus is on data integrity and best practices while managing the collection of grades, and coordinating the awarding of degrees four times per year. Krista has also undertaken the development of the undergraduate academic advising reports. Krista’s favorite part of the job is problem solving.
Jen Stokes – Registrar. Jen has held various roles within the Registrar’s office at Clarkson since 2007, taking over the position of Registrar in July 2018. In this role, Jen handles enrollment reporting for the University and is heavily involved in process improvement and investigating how to leverage technology to redesign core practices. Jen’s favorite part of this role is having the opportunity to think outside the box in order to make the office more efficient, and provide the best possible service to the Clarkson community.
One of the most rewarding aspects of serving the University as Registrar is that, despite Clarkson’s long-established history, we are continually a “work in progress.” People come and go, technology changes, facilities are updated, the University expands; this is what makes our work so engaging and renewing, and I look forward to another year working and collaborating with you.
Fun facts about the Registrar’s office: Michelle is a huge Nascar racing fan, and Krista loves to draw. Caitlin and Jen both enjoy reading, while Aly would rather be kayaking. Jen and Krista have the same birthday and before they were colleagues, they were members of the same book club. The five staff members collectively have six kids aged 10 and under, and three kids in their teens and twenties. Although most of us are new to our current position, we represent a combined 42 years of service to Clarkson University.
