Registrar Shannon Penn Focuses on Providing Excellent Service

“I care about our students and the product we’re putting out. Because I’m a part of it,” says Shannon Penn, the registrar at the University of Dayton School of Law.   

When Penn says she’s a product of the University of Dayton, she means it. She received both her bachelor degree in English and her master’s degree in education from the University of Dayton, and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in higher education management.   

“I owe a lot to this university,” she said. “I have extreme fondness for it.”  

Being a student herself, Penn said, helps her with her day job. “It helps you do a better job,” she said. “Sometimes we forget what it’s like to be a student.”

Penn joined the School of Law as its registrar last summer, succeeding Linda Cole when she retired.

But Penn isn’t new to UDSL. She worked at the School of Law as assistant registrar for seven years, before joining the School of Business Administration about three years ago. “It feels like coming back home,” she said. “I grew up here.” 

As registrar, Penn is responsible for student registration and academic records, exam administration and management of bar registrants. She also assists the associate dean for academic affairs in preparing academic calendars and course and exam schedules as well as counseling students about the School’s academic policies and procedures.

Penn said that she wants to “provide excellent service customer service to students and everyone who comes on campus.”

She is also putting a priority on engaging students. “The registrar position is so administrative that you can lose touch with the students,” she said. “I want students to know who I am.”

She also wants students to know that “she’ll be honest with you, let you know what you need to do so you can graduate on time, and if you have a problem you can talk to her.”

“I like getting to know the students,” she said. “I like the academic rigor here. I like the polish and professionalism that’s here. And I like helping students develop into who they will be.”

During her time at the School of Business Administration, Penn served as academic success specialist. She provided academic support and counseling to all business students. She also had the opportunity to teach an orientation program for new students and help recruit and retain students of color in the school. She described as rewarding the opportunity to work one-on-one with students.