An office that impacts nearly every department on the University of Wisconsin campus will soon have a new leader, as UW officials announced finalists for the Registrar position Wednesday.

The Registrar oversees the Registrar’s Office, which is responsible for protecting student academic data, handling the final grading process, maintaining official transcripts, posting degrees to record and scheduling and organizing classes, interim Registrar Dan Edlebeck said.

The four candidates vying for the position include University of Wyoming Registrar Tammy L. Aagard, University of Idaho Associate Registrar Heather A. Chermak, University of Iowa Registrar Larry Lockwood and Michigan State University Associate Registrar Scott Owczarek, search committee chair Jocelyn Milner said.

The final four were narrowed down from a pool of about 25 candidates, Milner said.

The committee conducted phone interviews with eight candidates before selecting four who will have interviews on campus in November, Milner added.

While on campus, candidates will meet staff in the Registrar’s Office and members of the search committee, among others. Milner said those who meet the candidates will then have the opportunity to give feedback at an open forum.

Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Joanne Berg will ultimately decide who receives the position, and Milner said she believes comments at the forum will play a large role in determining who gets the job.

“[Berg] is a very collaborative person, so she’ll consider that feedback very carefully,” Milner said.

Berg held the position previously, but Milner said after about five years as both Registrar and Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management, she decided doing two jobs was too overwhelming for one person.

Edlebeck stepped in as interim Registrar in Feb. 2010 and UW established a search committee, which Milner said worked through the summer to develop position descriptions before the position opened officially Aug. 1.

Milner said the committee stopped accepting applications Sept. 15 and spent the time since reviewing applications. Fifteen people served on the committee, including two student representatives.

The committee did not have a specific number of finalists in mind when narrowing down the field, Milner said, but the four selected most closely match the position description put out by the committee.

The committee wanted someone student-focused who is able to demonstrate their ability to work well across units and who would work well with the staff in the Registrar’s Office, Milner said.

Working well with staff in the Registrar’s Office is particularly important, Milner added, because the candidate needs to advocate for and mentor the staff to help them fulfill their duties to the best of their abilities.

The obstacle of overseeing the Registrar’s Office is working with so many different units on campus, Edlebeck said.

“We work cooperatively with just about every office on campus for a variety of reasons to help students succeed,” Edlebeck said.

Now that the process is nearing completion, Milner said she cannot wait until a candidate is chosen.

“I’m really excited that we have four candidates for this position,” Milner said.