Associate registrar Will Espin once worked for Donald Trump—and he’s quick to point out he wasn’t fired.
The former Trump Taj Mahal vice president actually retired from the casino industry and returned to North Carolina. He enrolled at UNC Charlotte to finish an undergraduate degree he originally started at UNC Chapel Hill. After completing his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, he earned an M.B.A. in 2007.
“I loved being here as a student. I was a volunteer note taker for disability services and a graduate assistant in the Belk College of Business,” said Espin. “At my age, I truly was a nontraditional student.”
Born in Quito, Ecuador, Espin considers himself a native Charlottean. His parents moved to the Queen City when he was nine months old.
In the Registrar’s Office, the “keeper of all student records,” Espin has been able to utilize his management and student experiences, along with an avid and long-term interest in technology, to help improve various processes.
“Technology moves quickly, and the challenge, for this or any university, is to keep pace with it,” said Espin. “Email was a change that has virtually eliminated sending letters to students, but recently, we’ve re-evaluated how we use email. Students are using more short-message applications like Twitter and Vine, so our emails have more direct subject lines to deliver the message. We keep the body of the emails succinct, and we use links for them to find more information.”
Online ordering of transcripts by students and alumni is another innovation the office has implemented recently.
“We need the help of the faculty and staff to let students and others know that they can order a transcript, pay for it and have it sent somewhere online through the Registrar’s Office website,” Espin stated.
Change, which can be daunting, is enabling the Registrar’s Office to serve greater numbers of students more efficiently and without additional resources. In the last five years, in-person visits and calls have gone down, a result of improved, clearer communication, said Espin.
“I’m very proud of our staff and our office to be able to implement a number of changes to improve customer service during a tight budget environment,” he added. “We, Registrar Chris Knauer and I, have created an atmosphere of support here. We help our people grow and advance in their professional careers. As a University, we have a tremendous opportunity to improve processes under fiscal challenges. It’s easy to throw a lot of money at a problem, but it’s more satisfying to solve a problem with what you have.”
Computers and technology continue to be interests for Espin outside of work, along with golf, fishing and shooting pool. He and his wife Helen also enjoy gardening.