Parks comes from the University of Georgia, where he led planning and implementation of a new student and financial aid information system.
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Provost Steven House has named Rodney L. Parks as Elon University’s new registrar. Parks comes to Elon from the University of Georgia where he has been serving as senior associate registrar.
He will succeed Mark Albertson, one of Elon’s longest-serving administrators, who retires at the end of the month.
“Rodney Parks has all of the skills and experience to continue Elon’s legacy of excellence in registrar services, leading a student-centered office that places a priority on innovation,” House said. “He has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to each and every student, which is among the hallmarks of Elon’s approach to higher education.”
In the Office of the Registrar, Parks will oversee seven staff members to issue transcripts and verifications of student records; conduct class registration; prepare and publish an online schedule of classes and the university catalog; administer academic policy; award and post degrees; assist academic athletic support in maintaining NCAA compliance; provide individual student data and decision-support information to the academic community; manage academic facilities by assigning classrooms; certify veterans benefits and records; and provide leadership for the summer program.
He will serve as a member of the Admissions Committee, Curriculum Committee, Academic Standing Committee, Graduate Council and Academic Affairs Advisory Council.
At the University of Georgia, Parks has led planning and implementation of a new student and financial aid information system, and he has worked with the university registrar to review, develop and implement strategic and administrative plans for the office. Parks joined the University of Georgia in 2001 as an employment counselor in human resources, and was later promoted to assistant registrar, associate registrar (operations) and, earlier this year, to senior associate registrar.
Parks is active in several professional organizations, including the Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, and he has been an adjunct faculty member for four state colleges and universities in Georgia.
Parks earned his doctorate in counseling from the University of Georgia, as well as an educational specialist degree and a master’s of social work. He completed his undergraduate studies at Old Dominion University, where he also earned a master’s degree in applied sociology.
Parks is also a U.S. Navy veteran and served as a naval medic stationed in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm as well as other duty stations in Europe and the United States. He was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal twice during his eight years of military service.
During his 34 years at Elon, Albertson has led the campus through numerous changes and witnessed unprecedented growth. He has personally certified 26,330 Elon students for graduation, a number that represents 76 percent of all graduates in the university’s history.
Albertson oversaw the transition from manual course registration to a modern online process in which students can register on campus or abroad. Albertson has been tireless in his support of the institution, adding supervision of Winter Term and Summer School in 2000, when he received the additional title of Assistant to the Provost.