Associate registrar Tricia Rackliffe (B.A. '89) (right) talks with students during spring registration. Rackliffe retired after graduation.
Patricia “Tricia” Rackliffe (B.A. ’89) has scheduled her last exam, input her last grade, counseled her last student. After a 32-year career at Georgia State University, including 28 years as the registrar for the College of Law, Rackliffe has retired. Her favorite part, hands down, has been working with the students.
“I love my students,” she said. “They’re fabulous.” For the past 28 years, Rackliffe has tried hard to make the registrar’s office a friendly, welcoming place for students.
“I don’t want to be just a faceless office,” she said. “I want our students to feel like they can actually speak to someone or just come in to chat and have tea.”
Former Associate Dean Roy Sobelson has witnessed the effects of Rackliffe’s positive attitude.
“Tricia makes everyone — students, faculty and staff — feel special, treating their issues as her own,” he said. “She has a delightfully quirky sense of humor, which helps reduce the stress her constituents often feel. She is the reason students feel so at home in a place that could otherwise feel very intimidating.”
Some of those students have formed lifelong friendships with Rackliffe, who keeps in touch via Facebook and occasional coffee dates. She’s even had two generations of law students come through her office.
“I knew Keith O’Daniel (J.D. ’91) when he was here, and then his son Clay (J.D. ’06) and daughter Ashley (J.D. ’12) both came here,” she said. “They’re all wonderful. I have an orchid at my house from Ashley — my kitchen window is full of orchids from students.”
Rackliffe has seen a lot of changes at the school over the years, from gradual shifts in technology and registrar procedure to the big move to 85 Park Place last year. But despite all the good times, she’s ready to hand over the reins and pick up a leash instead. “I want to play with rescue dogs,” she said about her upcoming free time.
“But what I’m really looking forward to is not having to check my calendar whenever my husband wants to travel and say ‘Oh I’m sorry honey, I can’t go with you because we have exams, we have registration, we have this and that.’ I don’t have to check with anybody!”