Rhonda Kitch has been appointed the new university registrar. She will assume the post Jan. 13.

Kitch comes to Cornell from North Dakota State University, where she served as registrar since 2014.

“Rhonda has amplified her significant experience as a university registrar with extraordinary and national professional leadership,” said Jonathan Burdick, vice provost for enrollment. “Cornell in the next 10 years has an ambitious aim to improve services and increase its efficiency. Both students and faculty expect to benefit from academic innovations, including blending learning experiences in-person with thoughtful uses of technology.

“Our new university registrar and the talented employees she leads, both centrally and across the colleges and schools, will bring a new energy and focus to help us achieve those goals,” he said.

The university registrar is the official custodian of the academic records for all students enrolled at Cornell – a group numbering more than 23,000 each year – with exclusive responsibility for issuing official transcripts and certifications of enrollments and degrees, and distribution of diplomas. As registrar, Kitch will provide leadership regarding the use of technology to support enrollment, registration and the academic program, both in Ithaca and for Cornell programs across the country and around the world.

She also will work closely with college registrars as they support their faculty and students.

Kitch worked at North Dakota State for more than 20 years, first in admissions, then in the registrar’s office as both assistant and associate registrar, before becoming registrar. She received her Ph.D. in education there in 2015.

Before arriving at North Dakota State, Kitch held roles in admissions and financial aid at Minnesota State University, Moorhead, and Mayville State University in Mayville, North Dakota.