Student support professional Morganna Payne appointed YDS Registrar

Yale Divinity School Greg Sterling made the following announcement to the YDS community today.

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Dear Colleagues,

I am happy to inform you that YDS has a new Registrar. Please join me in welcoming Morganna Payne to our community. She will join us on September 15th. 

Dr. Payne comes to YDS from Gateway Community College in New Haven, where she has served as Guided Pathways Advisor since 2022. In her role at Gateway, her responsibilities have included collaborating with faculty and others to identify strategies to support student academic progress; developing strategies and practices to address barriers to learning; and advising students in academic and career-exploration, planning, and goal-setting.

Prior to that, Dr. Payne served from 2003 to 2022 at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, in positions including Associate Registrar, Director of Academic Advisement for professional and graduate programs, and Student Success Coach.

An Albertus Magnus graduate, Dr. Payne earned an M.A. in psychology at Fairfield University and a Doctor of Education degree in individual and institutional development at American International College in Springfield, Mass. Her dissertation explored the challenges faced by African American women in higher education and their strategies for persisting.

I am confident that with Dr. Payne’s arrival at YDS, the Registrar’s Office will be in good hands for many years to come. She is exceptionally well qualified. In the words of the person to whom she will report—Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Joyce Mercer—”Dr. Payne brings the right combination of skills, experience, and personability to this position. Our search committee is confident that she will be a bright light and a welcoming, helpful presence for students and faculty alike in their dealings with the YDS Registrar’s Office.”

Many thanks are owed as we bring the Registrar search to a successful conclusion and reach the end of an unexpectedly long period without a registrar. First, I want to thank the search committee: Joyce Mercer (chair), Renee Kamauf (Deputy University Registrar), Vicki Flippin, Lynn Sullivan-Harmon, Bryce Tapp, and John Stachniewicz. Second, I want to convey my deep appreciation to several members of our community who generously went outside their job descriptions to help fulfill the office’s functions last year and this summer, especially Bryce Tapp, Michael Droege, and Roslyn Evans.  

Best wishes,

Greg Sterling