University Times

Associate registrar Ralph Hertel has been named interim registrar, replacing long-time University registrar Samuel D. Conte, who retired from that position in December.

The University Times got no response from the Office of Public Affairs as to whether a search for a permanent registrar has been initiated.

In a Dec. 10 memo to academic units and the Council of Deans announcing the administrative moves, Provost Patricia E. Beeson said, in part, “Dr. Conte has served the University of Pittsburgh with devotion for more than 40 years. … Sam’s dedication to the University has consistently benefited many of us during his decades of service.”

Beeson noted that Conte was the project team leader for the implementation of a new student information system and recently led an effort to implement additional features of that system on all of Pitt’s campuses.

The memo is posted at www.provost.pitt.edu/announcements/12-10-2010.html.

Prior to being named the University registrar in 1986, Conte worked for Management Services, Student Business Services and the Department of Public Safety.

He left Pitt in September 1998 to take a position as associate vice president for enrollment services at Florida International University, but returned here as registrar in July 1999, citing a preference for living and working in Pittsburgh.

In her memo, Beeson said that Conte has agreed to continue as co-chair of the steering committee overseeing the working groups that are preparing Pitt’s Middle States accreditation report. (See Sept. 30 University Times.)

Hertel started working at the University as a systems analyst in 1978. In that capacity, much of his work was related to the functions of the Office of the University Registrar. In 1983 he transferred to the Registrar’s office, continuing his work as a systems analyst.

Later, he was promoted to the position of manager of information resources in the Registrar’s office, where he served until his promotion in 1994 to associate registrar. In that role, he managed several areas, including information resources, records and graduation, budgeting and personnel and purchasing.

Hertel earned his BS in business management from Robert Morris University.

—Peter Hart