SACRAO Post-conference/Spring 2024 Newsletter

SPRING 2024 NEWSLETTER

Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers

President's Update

Ed Trombley SACRAO President president@sacrao org

Spring is traditionally a time for new beginnings, and so it’s appropriate that this is my initial newsletter as 2024-25 SACRAO President First, let me express my thanks to the membership for allowing me the opportunity to serve in this capacity for the coming year – I look forward to working with the new and continuing members of the Executive Committee to provide solid leadership for the association, interesting programming throughout the year for our member institutions, and a great conference experience in 2025!

While we ’ ve just returned to our offices following SACRAO 2024, please allow me to share some of the stats surrounding the conference, and also my gratitude for the many contributors to its success. We ended the conference with 366 registrants and 143 scheduled speakers offering over 120 roundtables, meetings and sessions, including a no-cost preconference workshop. I want to thank our session presenters, moderators, and coordinators for sharing their experiences and assisting in offering a very strong and diverse program, giving all attendees something to take with them and share back home. My thanks also go out to our valued corporate partners and sponsors, without whom we would not have been able to offer the quality conference that we did. Many thanks are also extended to our tireless LAC Chair Nathan Congleton and to the entire Kentucky LAC team. The work of the LAC behind the scenes, so necessary to make a successful conference, is often unnoticed by those who attend, and I want to assure each of them that their efforts were seen and are greatly appreciated

WHAT'S INSIDE THIS ISSUE: TO UPDATE

President's Update

Immediate

Past-President’s Update

Conference Stats

Past-President Report

Treasurer's Report

Finally, we thank the city of Lexington for opening its arms to us, as well as the multiple venues that hosted us, including the Central Bank Center, the Honeywood Restaurant, the Graddam Restaurant, the Bluegrass Hospitality Suite at the Hyatt, and the Alltech Arena Kentucky Horse Park where the Big Event was held The Parade of Breeds and the karaoke at the Big Event live in our memories as conference highlights!

And so, with Lexington in the rear-view mirror, we turn attention to the year ahead Our plans are to offer continuing opportunities for education and interaction throughout the membership year via a series of SACRAO webinars under the guidance of President-elect Sofia Montes. Additionally, the 78th Annual Meeting in 2025 will be held in Lubbock, Texas, and the Executive Committee is just beginning to set up plans for our Summer Planning Meeting visit to Lubbock to assess the venues and accommodations and set plans in motion for a robust and educational conference next year.

Our first SACRAO post-conference activity will be a gathering at AACRAO the week of April 7 in Columbus, Ohio. SACRAO@AACRAO has become a popular event at the national meeting, allowing SACRAO members to meet and mingle, share food and drinks, and provide an opportunity to interact with other state and regional associations Our planned venue will be Howl at the Moon, Columbus, on Tuesday, April 9, from 6-8 pm Described as a “total entertainment experience,” Howl at the Moon boasts a high-energy live music show that is sure to get the crowd involved! We extend special thanks to David Haynes and International Education Evaluators (IEE), who is providing the generous sponsorship for our gathering!

Finally, some quick reminders to bring to your attention:

Voting for Nominations and Elections 2025-2026, is open until April 30 Please log in to the SACRAO website and cast your ballot for any four of the qualified nominees

Don’t forget to fill out your session evaluation forms in GoEngage if you attended the Lexington conference – the presenters really do appreciate reviewing your feedback A full conference evaluation will be distributed soon, which will allow you an opportunity to comment on the conference as a whole and share any suggestions that you might have.

SACRAO membership reminders will be coming out over the summer, so take the opportunity before the cycle beings to identify your key institutional contact, and make sure that your institutional membership roster is updated, so reminders get into the correct hands when they are distributed. Remember that membership in SACRAO is open to everyone in your institution, so don’t hesitate to ask your key contact to add additional staff members!

If you are interested in taking an a more active role in SACRAO, please make use of the “I’m Available” form on the SACRAO website to share your area of interest You can review a list of committees and their descriptions on the website for consideration

Once more, on behalf of myself and the entire Executive Committee, many thanks to all who made SACRAO 2024 in Lexington so memorable, and I look forward to getting to work on the year ahead!

366

143 scheduled speakers

120+ roundtables, meetings, and sessions

Past-President Report

It’s hard to believe that another Annual Meeting has come and gone already! It seems like just yesterday when we announced that we would be in Lexington, KY for the 77th Annual Meeting. And now here we are looking ahead to the 78th Annual Meeting in Lubbock, TX! The same can be said for our own jobs. We plan and plan for open house events, commencements, and so much more. Then in the blink of an eye the event has come and gone and we ’ re already planning for the next event If only we were all able to take just a few extra moments while an event is taking place to appreciate the successful completion of the event, without the instant need to look ahead That is why I want to take a moment to look back at this year ’ s Annual Meeting for those in attendance and for those that weren’t able to join us this year before we look ahead to the next meeting

I can’t think of a better way to kick off an Annual Meeting than with an energetic and engaging personality like Gerry Brooks! Like Gerry said, we are all responsible for our own “Personal Climate Culture” You need to have a support system for yourself outside of your family and coworkers Whether it is a professional mentor, or someone on the same campus in a different office, or someone within your own office that you can trust to confidentially share the struggles that you face in your job. But don’t forget about your SACRAO colleagues! We are here for each of yo support network that you need within this profession. And you can fear of the Resolutions Committee reminding you that you fo yourself at the start of each meeting (thanks Melissa)!

A big thank you for this year ’ s program goes out to Ed Trombley an Vice President’s for their hard work in fielding such an amazing gr everyone to attend throughout the conference. This year ’ s sessi areas such as stress management, One Stop support, mentor exper agreements, trends in admissions and recruitment, and so much looks for ways to engage our members throughout the year, I wou some of these sessions are reprised as webinar opportunities for engage and learn! I would also like to take a moment to thank presenters The Annual Meeting would not be as successful as willingness to share your own experiences and expertise with members

This year we had a wonderful Big Event experience at the Kentu the Parade of Horses! One of the things that I love about the Big that it gives us an opportunity to learn more about the region o are in that year, and this year ’ s event didn’t disappoint. A spec Corporate Partners that sponsored not just this event, but s throughout the Annual Meeting. SACRAO would not be the org today without the support and relationship that we have wi Corporate Partners. We appreciate each and every one of you.

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to send a big thank you and all of the Local Arrangement Committee members! congratulations! Because you did it. Your hard work and effort Annual Meeting experience for all involved and we appreciate the t you put into this year ’ s event.

As we turn the page and look ahead, I would like to remind everyone that SACRAO is more than just one Annual Meeting each year. SACRAO is an opportunity for each and every one of you to build a professional network of your own It is an opportunity to grow both professionally and personally through the many sessions and committees that we have for you to be a part of It is an opportunity for you to learn from others in the field, and to share your own knowledge SACRAO is what you make of it, and I hope that you will continue to make it a part of who you are professionally Over the next few years as SACRAO continues to evolve in an ever-changing world, I hope that you will find ways to become involved so that we can continue to grow

I would like to conclude with one final thank you I would like to thank all of you, our SACRAO members, for allowing me the opportunity to serve as your President for the past year It was an honor and privilege that I will always cherish My goal for the past year was to keep the organization moving forward and help to create a foundation for future success. I hope that I was able to succeed in that goal. As our closing Keynote speaker Silas House talked about his foundation and the influences in his life, SACRAO has been that for me. It has been a professional foundation that I look at with joy and comfort. Is it a perfect organization? Of course not. But do we strive to be better and improve each year? Yes, we do. And I am proud and honored that you all gave me an opportunity to lead the organization over this past year as we continued to grow and become the type of organization you all can continue to be proud of in the future.

Past presidents that attended this year's conference (L-R): Chuck Morgan, Andy Green, Steve McLeod, Dave Stones, Joe Papari, Jon Reece, Susie Archer, Patrick Frazier, Kim Taylor, Paul Taylor, Ed Trombley

Patrick Frazier, Ed D SACRAO Immediate Past President

Treasurer's Report

The finance committee for SACRAO puts together a proposed budget each year which is presented to the membership at the annual conference The 2024 proposed budget approved by the membership at this year ’ s conference is on our website The last few months have been very busy for your SACRAO treasurer, receiving and depositing membership dues. Thank you all for your support of SACRAO!

Dues collection is one reason you may notice a change in our bank accounts. The second is the generous funds the 2023 conference returned to SACRAO. After a reconciliation of income and expenses, $67,462.88 has been returned to SACRAO from the conference. Kudos to all involved for a fabulous conference and a nice profit!

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have about SACRAO’s accounts or financial processes.

Amy Gleason Duke University