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Pacific Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers |
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Dear , Spring is in the air, and with it comes our latest newsletter, a showcase of the opportunities and developments within our PACRAO community. As you review the newsletter, I invite you to explore ways to enrich your membership experience.
The Program Committee and Local Arrangements Committee are meticulously crafting an unforgettable PACRAO 2024. Meanwhile, the Board is advancing our organization’s future, having recently refined our conference site selection criteria to ensure every venue celebrates the rich diversity of our members.
We value your insights and invite you to share them through a brief survey. Your perspectives will be instrumental as the Board embarks on crafting a strategic framework this summer, shaping the future of PACRAO. Spring also provides the opportunity to see many of our PACRAO Pals at AACRAO. It was a joy to connect with so many of you in Columbus. I extend heartfelt thanks to Marc Booker for his generosity and all of you who were able to attend the PACRAO @AACRAO Social.
Our presence at AACRAO has been a testament to the influence and achievements of our members, including the distinguished Helen B. Garrett (University of Washington), recipient of the Outstanding Mentor Award, and Marc Booker (University of Phoenix) and Erin Mason (University of Utah), honored with the Thomas A. Bilger Award. Our region’s influence continues to flourish, with members like Hala Abou Arraj (Idaho State University) and Julia Pomerenk (University of Oregon) serving on the AACRAO Board of Directors, alongside many of our members in AACRAO leadership roles as chairs and members of Caucuses, Action Groups, and Committees.
PACRAO ROCKS! Alex Underwood
PACRAO President University Registrar | The University of Arizona |
PACRAO Board members at the PACRAO@AACRAO event |
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Christine Lee 2024 Program Committee Chair Thompson Rivers University |
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Jeff Hill 2024 Local Arrangements Chair
DigiPen Institute of Technology | |
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Jeff and Christine here and we are busy planning a conference you’re sure to cherish - PACRAO has Heart 2024! We want to make sure you know about some interesting Seattle facts, and also guide you with information about the conference. The Fun Facts: -
There are more library card holders per capita than any other US city. Bookish!
- Lots of popular bands got their start in Seattle, and one of them MIGHT be at the gala
- The band Heart, beloved of Seattle, originally launched and earned their fame in Canada, even billing themselves as a Canadian band in their early days!
- While Seattle is famed as a rainy town, apparently its residents purchase more sunglasses per capita than any other US city.
The Conference Scoop: -
Are you a Veteran, or work with Veterans? The conference takes place during Veteran’s Day in the US, and we’d love to hear your story! Please register to present or contact one of the Chairs.
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The Hyatt Regency in Downtown Seattle is pretty new, built in 2019, and has 3 restaurants. Its meeting spaces have been intentionally named to reflect the region, with monikers such as Deschutes, Duckabush, Tolt and Tahuya.
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Thanks to everyone who has submitted session ideas to date. Conference discounts are still available for early session presenters until April 30! Submit your session proposals!
- Registration will open in June - mark your calendar now, and tell all your friends.
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Priority Deadline for Session Proposals is April 30th |
The first 25 presenters with accepted sessions will receive a discount of $60 from the annual meeting registration! |
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It's Almost Time to Vote for the 2024 Nominations & Elections Committee! |
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Kristin Benson N&E Chair
PACRAO Past-President |
| It is with great pleasure that Sarah Strickler and Kristin Benson, vice-chair and chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee (N&E), present the nominees for the 2024 N&E.
One of the N&E’s responsibilities is to solicit nominees for the following year’s N&E committee; each spring, those nominees are voted on by membership to determine who will comprise the new N&E. When you elect the N&E, you are selecting the representative body who will speak on your behalf when creating a slate of Executive Board positions and recommending an Audit Committee nominee. We rely on all members to vote to create the most diverse, qualified, and overall excellent leadership team possible.
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The 2023 N&E brought forward 10 nominees for membership to consider this year. Please review the nominees below and check out the PACRAO website to read their bios.
Voting for the 2024 N&E will take place May 1 - May 31, 2024.
In the coming days, you will receive an email to announce that the ballot is open for business. You will select six candidates from the list below and the top six candidates will serve on the 2024 PACRAO N&E. The seventh and eighth candidates will serve as alternates if an elected member cannot serve. The top candidate will serve on the 2024 N&E and continue to the 2025 N&E as that committee’s vice-chair. |
Sincerely, Kristin Benson, N&E chair
Sarah Strickler, N&E co-chair |
Nominations & Elections Committee Candidates |
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Kelly Aquina The University of Arizona | Bryant Bradt Utah Valley University |
Josh Hibbard Whitworth University | Christopher Rallustian University of Hawai'i at Mānoa |
Christian Sweatt University of California, San Francisco | |
Gaby Asamsama-Acuna Ventura College | Jenna Childers The University of Arizona |
Sean Pattison University of California, Los Angeles | Mayra A. Segura
Roseman University |
Jarrell Townsend Oregon State University | |
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Please vote, your voice matters. |
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UPCOMING WEBINAR Joining Forces: Building a Stronger Future for Veteran Students through Interdepartmental Collaboration
May 29th @ 12pm Pacific |
Starting education after military service can be challenging for some. In this interactive presentation, you'll learn Green River College Veteran Services' process that helps ease the transition from military to higher ed. This is an opportunity to learn and share your own institution's best practices for assisting these unique learners. |
| Presenter Karen Khuu
Green River College |
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DIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE UPDATE |
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Some PACRAO members might have Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) top of mind in all of their daily activities. For others, they might just be starting their journey to learn more about these critical issues. Wherever you are on this spectrum, PACRAO’s Diversity and Inclusion Resources page is a helpful springboard to increase your awareness and understanding on a variety of important topics. The resource page contains links to books, articles, podcasts, videos/films, websites and other resources related to EDI. Whether you are looking to gain practical knowledge to help with your role in post-secondary education, or are simply looking to expand your awareness of EDI, there are dozens of resources that PACRAO has highlighted on the resource page that could be of interest. The following is just a very brief introduction to a few of the many informative resources you will find on this page.
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| Diversity Development Committee Book Club Book! |
“He/She/They: How We Talk About Gender and Why It Matters” by Schuyler Bailar. Schuyler discusses definitions, pronouns, and how being transgender is not a choice. He also delves into larger, complex issues about gender-affirming healthcare and connects with the reader to question their own assumptions about gender identity. This is written both for transgender people and for allies, and readers will enjoy this important book as they go along with Schuyler who weaves his own personal journey into the engrossing narrative.
This book was selected as the Diversity Development Committee Book Club Book for PACRAO 2024! |
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Maybe you only have a few minutes, so it’s worth checking out the many articles in the resource page for shorter reads. For example, Amanda Dodson tackles a topic that unfortunately many people can relate to. “Existential Anxiety and 4 Ways to Cope” addresses some practical ways to deal with those large, anxiety-inducing questions that sometimes plague us (or those we care about) and have no easy answers. One suggestion to cope, for example, is to be more mindful about the media that we consume and also limiting our media intake if we find that the sites we visit and the information we access is having a negative effect on our mental well-being.
Another incredibly worthwhile page to visit is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk “We Should All Be Feminists”. Chimamanda delivers a powerful talk to challenge people’s perceptions and understanding of feminism. With humour and engaging story-telling, Chimamanda takes the viewer on a wonderful journey that tackles masculinity, oppression, gender and more.
This is just a small introduction that hardly does justice to the wide variety of resources you will find on PACRAO’s Diversity and Inclusion Resources page. |
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CONTACT THE DIVERSITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE |
| If you have suggestions for resources to add to the page contact us at VP-DD@pacrao.org. |
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PACRAO's Past | Dateline 1960 |
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The Pacific Coast Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Offices (PCACRAO) met for their 34th Annual Meeting in Sacramento, California from Nov 6-9, 1960. The conference site was the Senator Hotel just across the street from the State Capital Building. The nine story, 400-room hotel opened in 1924 and operated as a hotel until 1979. It was modeled after the Palazzo Farnese in Florence Italy, and cost $2,000,000 to build. A postcard from the opening boasted “all outside rooms” and “each room with a private bath.” The Senator Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and closed that same year. It was later renovated for $15,000,000 as office space for lobbyists and was reopened in 1983 as the Senator Hotel Office Building.
A total of 164 PCACRAOns were on hand at the 1960 meeting, with David P. Arata, PCACRAO President and Registrar at the University of Santa Clara, overseeing the proceedings. |
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Sunday’s events began with registration in the hotel lobby followed by a workshop in the Empire Room for new members. Later, a reception was held in that same room with music by Norma MacIvor Bailey, a gifted lyric soprano (according to her obituary). She earned multiple music scholarships to several institutions and eventually became a soloist with the Philadelphia Philharmonic. She gave all that up to return to Sacramento and raise her two small daughters. She was 40 at the time of her PCACRAO performance. She sang three musical numbers and was accompanied by Miss Dorothy Noonan on the piano.
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Monday morning, there were three workshops: - “Today’s Admissions” by two experts from the College Entrance Examination Board.
- “Records and Office Procedures” by colleagues from Stanford, Cal Tech, Long Beach State, and UCLA.
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“Foreign Credentials” by colleagues from UCLA, University of British Columbia, Cal Berkeley, University of Washington, and the California State Department of Education.
These workshops were repeated on Wednesday morning to allow attendees a chance to attend more than one workshop. |
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At 11:45 a.m. on Monday morning, PCACRAO attendees boarded buses and left for the UC Davis campus, about 15 miles from Sacramento. They had lunch and heard a welcome address then took a tour of the campus on Elephant Trains (example in picture here). Afterward, the buses departed campus for a tour of Sacramento. |
Monday evening, at 7 p.m., the “Question Box Session” was held, followed by a social hour with bridge, canasta and conversation. |
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Tuesday morning began with a welcome by Dr. Guy West, President of Sacramento State College, followed by two plenary speakers – first Mr. Charles E. Harrell, President of AACRAO and Registrar at University of Santa Clara. Then Dr. Robert E. Burns, President of the College of the Pacific.
After lunch, the attendees split up into three groups for round table discussions: junior colleges, private four-year colleges and universities, and public four-year colleges and universities. The Dinner Banquet was held Tuesday evening in the Empire Room.
The banquet tables were decorated with historical artifacts from the Hamlin Pony Express Museum, College of the Pacific. For entertainment during dinner, folk ballads of early California were performed by Richard Cruser, a student in Music and Vocal Performance at the American River Junior College in Sacramento. Mr. Cruser later went on to study theater arts at Sacramento City College and then worked a radio personality and station manager in the Sacramento area. He now is retired and lives in Walnut Creek, CA. (I connected with him on Facebook!!!!)
Finally, Dr. Robert G. Hazo, University of San Francisco addressed the attendees with a talk entitled “Liberal Education Today.” The evening was concluded with the Initiation of New Members (not sure what that was!).
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PCACRAO Banquet Menu Supreme Sea Food Cocktail
Tossed Salad New York Steak Maitre D’Hotel Green String Beans
Baked Potatoes Vanilla Ice Cream Chocolate Sauce
Rolls & Butter Coffee |
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On Wednesday morning, the three workshops from Monday were repeated. Lunch was served at noon followed by the business meeting, introduction of new officers, and reports. It is interesting to see the various committees and their sizes; many of these are still in existence in PACRAO today, and others have dissolved. |
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- General Conference Committee
- Howard Shontz, UC Davis and 10 committee members
- Program Committee
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F. Philler Curtis, Menlo College and five committee members
- Hospitality and Local Arrangements
- Mary Crane, Sacramento City College and four committee members
- Banquet Committee
- James Booker, American River Junior College and three committee members
- Conference News Committee
- Wallin Carson, Chico State College and three committee members
- Nominations Committee
- Edgar Lazier, University of California and five committee members
- Reception Committee
- Louise Hallberg, Santa Rosa Junior College and four committee members
- Registration Committee
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Harold Soeters, San Francisco State College and four committee members
- Resolutions Committee
- C. Paul Winner, California State Polytechnic College and four committee members
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| - President
Past President - First Vice President
Secretary Treasurer
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Following the conference, a newsletter went out to the members with a listing of all the conference attendees and some newsy tidbits about PCACRAO members:
Clarence Byrd, Registrar and Director of Admissions at University of Nevada, had a heart attack the prior summer and was unable to attend the meeting; Jewel McCay, Director of Admissions at UNLV, landed and deplaned in Sacramento, but her luggage “went on without her;” Mary Crane, Registrar at Sacramento City College, acquired a new Mercedes-Benz – cream colored with a red interior; Tom Ordeman, Registrar at Oregon State College, was a rockhound and carried a moss agate around with him during the conference.
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SUE EVELAND PACRAO ARCHIVIST |
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PS: Special shout-out and thank you to Stuart Lau, (now retired) University Registrar at the University of Hawaii, for sending in a PACRAO historical item – a scarf from the Program Committee in 2011. The Program Committee wore these scarves to be easily identifiable to PACRAO Attendees. In 2011, Helen Garrett was PACRAO President, James Crane was Program Committee Chair, and Stuart was a Program Committee Member. The 2011 Conference was in Seattle and the theme was Unplug. Reconnect.
Please contact me if you have PACRAO archival items! seveland@uoregon.edu |
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Find your next opportunity and the best talent in the region! |
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2023 - 2024 PACRAO Executive Board |
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Alex Underwood President
The University of Arizona |
| Kristin Benson
Past President Oregon State University |
| Tina Miller President-Elect
University of Washington |
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Alisha Higley Vice President, Professional Development Southern Oregon University |
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Gaby Asamsama-Acuna Vice President, Membership Ventura College | |
Michael Davenport Vice President, Publications & Information Technology The University of Arizona |
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Laura Schonberger Vice President, Diversity Development University of Phoenix | |
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Erin Collins
Secretary Pomona College |
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Karen Khuu Treasurer
Green River College | | Max Xiong Treasurer-Elect University of Hawai'i at Mānoa |
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Chelsea Peoples Business Partner Liaison University of Nevada Las Vegas | |
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