Sent on behalf of Olufemi Ogundele, Associate Vice Chancellor of Enrollment & Dean of Undergraduate Admission
Dear Campus Community,
I write to share the news that Walter Wong will be retiring in early 2022 after more than 32 years of service to the UC Berkeley community.
Since 2012, Walter has served as University Registrar and has been a consistent advocate and resource for students, staff and faculty. During his time at Berkeley, Walter has been dedicated to enhancing the student experience and developing a talented and collaborative team. Under his leadership, the Office of the Registrar has introduced and expanded the use of technology to improve service to students and re-engineered numerous business processes.
During Walter’s tenure, the Office of the Registrar has made a number of significant achievements that include: large scale classroom renovations, building preferred names into our systems, launching the online Berkeley Academic Guide and Berkeley Class Schedule, and supporting the growth of self-supporting and non-traditional programs.The campus has benefited from Walter’s leadership in initiatives that support staff. Walter was the first chair of the Berkeley Initiative in Leadership on Diversity (BILD) Steering Committee in 2006, an initiative to improve campus diversity for staff. Walter has received multiple Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Team Awards, and he is a two time recipient of the Excellence in Management award, most recently in 2021.
Walter has served as chair of the campus Census Work Group, chair of the Classroom Study Group, chair of the Student Systems Policy Committee, and chair of the Colleges and Schools Committee. Walter has also served on a wide variety of campus committees including from 2000 to 2002 when he was one of two staff members chosen to serve on the Academic Strategic Planning Committee charged with developing a long-term academic vision for UC Berkeley. Walter is currently serving on the Asian American and Pacific Islander Standing Committee and is a past recipient of the Sunny Low Award
During this past year and a half of constantly changing circumstances, Walter has modeled resiliency and adaptability for the campus at large. He has worked tirelessly to support the campus’s sudden shift to a remote environment and then, to begin a return to primarily in-person teaching and learning. Sitting at the crossroads of the university’s academic and administrative core, Walter has served as a vehicle for thoughtful decision-making through his engagement with campus partners. He is respected for his extensive campus experience, for always pushing beyond the status quo, and for creative problem-solving when roadblocks emerge. His work has laid the foundation for an Office of the Registrar that is equipped to focus on the campus mission with the best interest of students, faculty, staff, and the campus community in mind.
Please join me in congratulating Walter on his exceptional career and well-deserved retirement. We are beyond grateful to Walter for his many contributions to the Berkeley campus.
Information about interim plans and the search for Walter’s successor will be shared in the coming weeks.
If you are a manager who supervises UC Berkeley employees without email access, please circulate this information to all.
This message was sent to all faculty, students, and staff.
