the minaret

A new registrar has been chosen to oversee the records of more than 5,000 University of Tampa students.

Michelle Pelaez was appointed to the position by a committee of UT administrators just four months after Leslie Sutton-Smith announced she was leaving the registrar position.

Sutton-Smith’s departure prompted Pelaez to automatically become the acting registrar where she was trained for one month until July when Sutton-Smith left.

Pelaez had previously worked with the former registrar for seven years.

“It was an easy transition for me to step in as acting registrar,” Pelaez said.

After being informed about the search for a new UT registrar in early July, Pelaez went through a series of interviews starting in September.

The initial interview was conducted on the phone by a panel of UT administrators while the second was an in-person interview with the panel.

The last round was an all-day event where Pelaez and another candidate were interviewed by UT staff, faculty, deans, and Student Government.

After fulfilling the role of acting registrar, Pelaez stepped up to be the associate registrar until October, when she learned she was chosen to be the new registrar.

Meanwhile, Pelaez’s new position has added responsibility.

She now oversees six employees, an increase from a previous two employees.

She also now manages the configuration of class scheduling for nine semesters.

This entails scheduling classrooms and compiling the list of classes offered from each department.

“I’m very pleased because it is something I was comfortable with,” said Pelaez. “There are many aspects that are exciting and many aspects that I felt comfortable with so that it was not a complete new experience. Many of what a registrar does needs a split-second answer on very time-critical issues, that I can offer because of my experience here at UT.”

Under Pelaez’s new appointment, she will be in charge of all student records and registration – totaling 5,600 UT students.

In a recent interview with The Minaret, Dr. Joseph Sclafani, Interim Dean of the College of Social Sciences, Mathematics, and Education and Associate Professor of Psychology, commented on Pelaez’s recent appointment.

“She impressed us,” explained Sclafani. “Her general information was great and the fact that we knew what abilities and experience she has with UT made her the perfect fit.”

The UT official added that only one other prominent applicant had applied for the registrar position, but he insisted Pelaez fit the job perfectly.

Pelaez has quite a history at UT. In 1996 she earned her BA in Management, while in 2003 she earned her MBA.

Since then she has worked as Assistant Registrar for Transfer Evaluation from 2000 to 2004.

Shortly after the four-year stint leading up to July 2007, she acted as associate registrar.

That same year she started the position of acting registrar.

According to Barbara Strickler, Vice President for Enrollment at UT, Pelaez was chosen for the registrar position after the university conducted a search that spanned the country.

“After a national search was conducted, Michelle [Pelaez] was determined to be the best candidate,” said Strickler. “Based on her experience and familiarity with the university, she was the best candidate.

UT Provost Janet McNew also weighed in on Pelaez’s appointment.

“In regards to Michelle we had someone who was certainly capable and I am delighted,” said McNew.

As registrar, Pelaez also has the responsibility of managing and protecting all academic records.

Such records include: transcripts, grade processing, auditing for graduation, and transfer credit evaluation.

Along with those tasks the Registrar’s Office upholds the rules of the college catalog.

“We don’t implement the laws of the catalog, we enforce them,” Pelaez said.