Pikowsky takes over as registrar

Reta Pikowsky recently took over as head registrar after Jo McIver, who had been working at Tech for 25 years, retired on May 31. Pikowsky assumed her duties on June 20.

She came from the University of Idaho, where she also served as head registrar. Pikowsky said that she is excited about working with the administration at Tech.

"Tech is a very interesting institute with a long history," she said. "It has always been a leader among institutions and a very cutting-edge place. It's very exciting to work at a university with creative people that value quality. Also, Atlanta is a great city to live in. Everything considered, it's a very comfortable position to be in," Pikowsky said.

Pikowsky worked at the University of Idaho for the last nine years. She has also worked at the University of Michigan at Flint, Golden State University at San Francisco and the University of Illinois. She began working in 1977 at Illinois, where she said that she first became interested in working as registrar.

She said that even though she gained valuable experience by serving as registrar at the University of Idaho, many aspects of her job at Tech may be new to her.

"It will be challenging because Tech is a different kind of institution than the ones I've worked at," she said. "Idaho is a doctoral, comprehensive university whereas Tech is more specialized."

According to Pikowsky, the Office of the Registrar has changed significantly over the years.

"This is a very interesting job these days, especially with all of the technology that we have. It's not the same as it used to be," she said.

Although she has twenty-seven years of experience, it will still be challenging to become accustomed to the environment at Tech, she said.

"The biggest challenge is the learning curve," Pikowsky said. "It takes time to get to know the institution, and learn the culture of the institution. The years of experience will make it easier, but there is still a lot to learn."

Pikowsky said that one of her goals as registrar is to offer new services or modify existing services to better serve students.

Since beginning at Tech in late June, she has been meeting with faculty and administrators on campus to discuss these matters. She said that she also hopes to meet with student leaders.

"We are thinking of offering new services and or improving the ones we already have," she said.

"We will be looking at these services, and asking for suggestions about what we should do. Any feedback we can get would be very helpful," Pikowsky said.