Community - Meet the registrar team
The Registrar team is Lucas Merchant, Dora Jacks, and Portia Wilkes.
Meet the registrar team
The office helps students succeed from day one
When Loyola University Chicago School of Law Registrar Dora Jacks joined the department in 1986, things looked a little different. From searching filing cabinets full of student records, to proctoring hand-written exams, to sending type-written messages through interoffice mail, the job required a lot more paper. These days, the office is much more digital, but through the years, one thing hasn’t changed: the Law Registrar remains the central hub for information that keeps the School of Law running.
The Law Registrar team is small but mighty: Jacks is joined by two assistant law registrars, Lucas Merchant and Portia Wilkes. The office oversees and protects the school’s records, but the team’s responsibilities span far beyond. They arrange class schedules and academic calendars, verify degrees and class ranks, administer final exams, prepare state bar certifications, provide alumni services, oversee Commencement—and much more.
Because of the wide range of work, the registrar’s office is often working on projects involving the current semester and the following semester simultaneously, while also fulfilling alumni requests that can span decades. “I like the fact that each semester is unique,” says Jacks.
Loyola’s School of Law, like most law schools, has its own registrar who works adjacent to the University registrar. That’s because law school students have unique needs related to everything from bar exam certifications to character and fitness standards. After graduation, alumni often reach out to the registrar for proof of their degrees. The team works to continually update their processes: they’re in the middle of digitizing all of their alumni records now.
“My favorite part of my job is the complexity of it,” Jacks says. “It allows me to interact with the administration regarding academic policies and practices, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and campus partners.”
“I love to see a student’s growth from their first semester until Commencement.”
Merchant appreciates that his job has two distinct sides that complement each other. “I like nerding out about data and having that big-picture understanding,” he says. “But I also like the opposite–that we are a student-facing position. We work really hard with individual students throughout their time here, whether it’s enrolling in a class or applying for the bar.”
The Law Registrar Office gets to witness each student’s progress through the School of Law, from their first class to their graduation. “My position allows me to contribute to the School of Law mission by being a valuable resource to students during their law school journeys,” says Wilkes. “I love to see a student’s growth from their first semester until Commencement.”
Loyola University Chicago School of Law Registrar Dora Jacks
In fact, it is mandatory for every Juris Doctor law student to meet with the Registrar before they graduate. During their last year, each student meets one-on-one with Jacks to ensure they’re on track for graduation and to discuss what they need to know for Commencement and state bar certification. “I dedicate 15 minutes to each graduate, and it takes me approximately four weeks to meet with each person,” says Jacks. “I appreciate the opportunity to meet with students in person, considering that so much is now automated.”
The Law Registrar team hopes that current students see their ties to the office as the beginning of a long relationship—one that continues after they graduate. “It’s a lifetime thing. We get requests from people who graduated 30 years ago,” says Merchant. “It’s basically impossible to go through your time here without in some way interacting with our office.” –Megan Kirby (July 2024)
The Law Registrar team is small but mighty: Jacks is joined by two assistant law registrars, Lucas Merchant and Portia Wilkes. The office oversees and protects the school’s records, but the team’s responsibilities span far beyond. They arrange class schedules and academic calendars, verify degrees and class ranks, administer final exams, prepare state bar certifications, provide alumni services, oversee Commencement—and much more.
Because of the wide range of work, the registrar’s office is often working on projects involving the current semester and the following semester simultaneously, while also fulfilling alumni requests that can span decades. “I like the fact that each semester is unique,” says Jacks.
Loyola’s School of Law, like most law schools, has its own registrar who works adjacent to the University registrar. That’s because law school students have unique needs related to everything from bar exam certifications to character and fitness standards. After graduation, alumni often reach out to the registrar for proof of their degrees. The team works to continually update their processes: they’re in the middle of digitizing all of their alumni records now.
“My favorite part of my job is the complexity of it,” Jacks says. “It allows me to interact with the administration regarding academic policies and practices, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and campus partners.”
Merchant appreciates that his job has two distinct sides that complement each other. “I like nerding out about data and having that big-picture understanding,” he says. “But I also like the opposite–that we are a student-facing position. We work really hard with individual students throughout their time here, whether it’s enrolling in a class or applying for the bar.”
The Law Registrar Office gets to witness each student’s progress through the School of Law, from their first class to their graduation. “My position allows me to contribute to the School of Law mission by being a valuable resource to students during their law school journeys,” says Wilkes. “I love to see a student’s growth from their first semester until Commencement.”
In fact, it is mandatory for every Juris Doctor law student to meet with the Registrar before they graduate. During their last year, each student meets one-on-one with Jacks to ensure they’re on track for graduation and to discuss what they need to know for Commencement and state bar certification. “I dedicate 15 minutes to each graduate, and it takes me approximately four weeks to meet with each person,” says Jacks. “I appreciate the opportunity to meet with students in person, considering that so much is now automated.”
The Law Registrar team hopes that current students see their ties to the office as the beginning of a long relationship—one that continues after they graduate. “It’s a lifetime thing. We get requests from people who graduated 30 years ago,” says Merchant. “It’s basically impossible to go through your time here without in some way interacting with our office.” –Megan Kirby (July 2024)