Elon's registrar honored with top professional award

Rodney Parks received the Emerging Leader Award this month from the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

Elon University Registrar Rodney Parks was honored in Baltimore on April 12, 2015, with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers’ Emerging Leader Award during the organization’s annual meeting.

The award is presented to professionals who have made exceptional or unique contributions early in their career and who demonstrate promise as a future AACRAO leader.  Parks was also voted in by his peers to serve on the 2015-16 AACRAO Nominations and Elections Committee.

Parks has served as Elon’s registrar since 2013, overseeing an office that awards degrees, issues transcripts and verifications, prepares and publishes online class schedules, administers academic policies and assists academic athletic support in maintaining NCAA compliance, among other responsibilities.

Since his arrival, Parks has streamlined the process of class registration, making it faster for students. He also serves as a mentor to several undergraduate researchers with 11 peer-reviewed journal articles with students in the last two years.

Parks also has made it possible for students to request electronic copies of their Elon Experiences transcript at the same time they request academic transcripts. Elon students were the first students in the nation to be able to order academic credentials that paint a true picture of the student experience.

Parks earned his doctorate in counseling from the University of Georgia, as well as an educational specialist degree and a Master of Social Work. Prior to coming to Elon, he was employed at the University of Georgia as a senior associate registrar.

He is a decorated Navy veteran, earning the Navy Achievement Medal twice during his eight years of military service.