Dittman to Step Down as University Registrar

By News Office
September 19, 2019

Scott Dittman, longtime university registrar at Washington and Lee, will step down from that post effective June 30, 2020. He will continue working at W&L as special consultant to the provost during a six-month transition period before retiring in December 2020.

Dittman’s retirement coincides with the university’s implementation of Workday, an enterprise resource planning platform that will manage W&L’s Business Office, Finance, Human Resource and Student Information functions. The student information implementation phase, which begins next September, will be led by Dittman’s successor.

“While Scott will be stepping down as university registrar at the end of June, he will remain with W&L through December 2020 to provide continuity and support during this critical transition period,” said Conner. “This will be particularly important given Associate Registrar Barbara Rowe’s retirement this December. The six-month overlap with a new registrar will help us assure a smooth transition both in the registrar’s office and with the implementation of Workday. We are enormously grateful for Scott’s willingness to stay on and assist in this capacity—it displays the generosity of spirit and commitment to W&L that has defined his work for decades.”

An eight-member committee will begin the search for a new university registrar in the coming weeks, with an anticipated start date of July 1.

Dittman was appointed W&L’s ninth registrar in 1985, and he began his job in the same week as W&L’s first undergraduate coed class. The university’s longest-serving registrar, he serves as secretary of the faculty and as a member of several standing committees, including the Faculty Committee on Courses and Degrees, the International Education Committee, the Registration and Class Schedules Committee and the Automatic Rule and Reinstatement Committee. He has been a member or chair of many others. He created W&L’s first office of institutional research and has served as advisor to the Generals Christian Fellowship, as well as performing with a number of musical ensembles on campus.

Within his profession, he has served on the board of directors for the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the executive committee of the Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and as president of the Virginia Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

A member of W&L’s Alpha Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, Dittman and his wife, Susan, were recognized with the university’s Anece McCloud Excellence in Diversity Award in 2007.

“It’s hard to step away from a job that I love,” said Dittman. “I continue to enjoy my work with students and colleagues every day, but I can’t wait for the next round of discoveries—new interests and relationships—and the opportunity to deepen those at hand. This seems like the right time for this transition, and I’m looking forward to helping W&L move into this new era.”