Jennie Brackett has worked at Notre Name for 22 years, the last 13 years as an associate registrar in the Office of the Registrar. Her position involves writing reports involving student data and records. But she sometimes takes on additional responsibilities. We caught up with Brackett as she prepared for the Inauguration.
How would you describe your job?
The Office of the Registrar is the data steward and “keeper” of the student records and provides data for a variety of customers across campus who ask questions about student data. I write those reports for our office. It’s always interesting to see what questions are being asked and how we can use data to help us make the right decisions. I also manage all of our federal enrollment and Veterans Affairs reporting. Additionally, I manage a team of five within the office that oversees GPS (degree audit), bulletin production and curriculum management, student address maintenance, and graduation reporting and diploma production.
When an inauguration or another special academic event takes place at another institution and the University is asked to participate, the Office of the President notifies me who the attendee is. I send out academic regalia across the country and the world including most recently to Rome, Italy.
Can you elaborate on what you did for the Inauguration?
Planning for the Inauguration started months ago by the Inauguration Planning Committees. There are so many things that just "happen," and that is largely due to planning that starts months earlier and paying attention to the details.
My primary responsibility for the event is the Robing Room for the Platform Party participants. This group includes approximately 100 people including the deans, the President’s Leadership Council, Board of Trustees, as well as guest speakers that all will be wearing academic regalia. I am in charge of making sure each of these participants has a correctly sized gown, an academic hood, and a tam (hat).
Additionally, we have some in these groups that will be wearing regalia from their alma mater, so we go around campus and collect those so all of the regalia is in one place. I oversee the details of this process from scheduling the pick-ups, to steaming the academic hoods, to putting labels in each gown.
Management of the Robing Room also means having all of the supplies—for example, having an umbrella for each participant in case of rain. Being in a central location for the event means a lot of things are happening near or around the Robing Room, so I try to stay apprised of as many details as possible, even those that do not pertain to the Robing Room. For example, just yesterday, during a walk-through, I pretended to be a trumpeter from the Flourish Band—with my hand trumpet sound—to start off a walk of the procession route. I timed the entire walk so I could provide that detail to those overseeing the procession. I also assisted in proofing the Inauguration Program, paying attention to all of the content, spacing, commas, and special characters. It all comes down to the details.
Where do you work?
Most days, you can find me working at my desk in Grace Hall. During commencement (or inauguration), I may be out on campus doing a walk-through or setting up the Robing Room in Notre Dame Stadium, Joyce Center, or Main Building. I love going out on campus and meeting with my colleagues from a variety of different offices and divisions to talk through projects and needs.
What do you like most about your job?
I love that I always have something different to look forward to or work on. Right now, my focus is the Inauguration. In April and May, my primary focus is on Commencement, including overseeing diploma production and the Robing Room. During the rest of the year, my responsibilities include a variety of things, most recently including the dataND rollout, reports for various campus customers, projects, or working on process improvements in the office. The variety of my responsibilities keeps things fun and exciting.
What makes you feel appreciated?
The leadership in my office always makes me feel appreciated, which is very rewarding. The “thank you” that I get from those that I provide reports or answers to—just those simple words—can be very rewarding as well.
What do you like most about working at Notre Dame?
I love working at the University because of the people. In my 22 years, I have had many colleagues who have become more like family to me. Through all of the things that happen in life, my University family has been by my side. I love working with my colleagues because of the collegial approach we have to each other. I love our office because of the amazing leadership we have. When you are surrounded by greatness, how can you not love working here?
Do you have a fun fact you’d like to share?
My family and I are very musical! My husband and I are high school sweethearts and have been married for 23 years. We met in high school choir—the Redbud Chorale in Buchanan, Michigan. Our three children are all musically inclined. Our son, who is a junior in college, is studying audio engineering. My husband, my twin daughters (seniors in high school), and I all sing on our church praise team and in the choir and one of my daughters is in her school’s marching band.
