Rita F. Dunston has been named registrar for the University of Mary Washington. She begins work on June 1 overseeing
the operations of the Office of the Registrar, including registration, student
records, transfer credit evaluation and certification of degree completion. Dunston has more than 15 years of experience in higher education. For the past eight years, she has served as registrar for Germanna Community College, which serves approximately
6,000 students in the Fredericksburg and Culpeper areas.
Rita F. Dunston has been named registrar for the University of Mary Washington. She begins work on June 1 overseeing the operations of the Office of the Registrar, including registration, student records, transfer credit evaluation and certification of degree completion.
Dunston has more than 15 years of experience in higher education. For the past eight years, she has served as registrar for Germanna Community College, which serves approximately 6,000 students in the Fredericksburg and Culpeper areas.
At Germanna, she coordinated the operations of the Admissions and Records Office, managed the student information system and played an active role in the development and implementation of academic policies. Since 2003, she also held the position of student development instructor, working with students making the transition and advising them about effective study habits and career and academic planning.
Before arriving at Germanna, Dunston served as program information coordinator for George Mason University’s Graduate School of Education. There, she coordinated, developed and implemented admissions and recruitment services to prospective students.
Also, Dunston held the positions of assistant director of admissions at Elizabeth City State University in Elizabeth City, N.C., and career counselor with the federally funded outreach program TRIO at the Educational Opportunity Center in Norfolk, Va.
Dunston earned a bachelor’s degree in management from Norfolk State University and a master’s degree in human services from Old Dominion University.
In addition to serving on a number of committees at Germanna, she is a member of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers and the Virginia Community College System Admissions and Records Peer Group. A Chamber of Commerce Leadership Fredericksburg Fellow in 2008, Dunston is a member of the leadership’s alumni and advisory boards.
She and her husband, Bryant, have a 15-year-old daughter.