Steve Lindsey
If you’ve ever registered for classes, puzzled over degree requirements, or wondered how your exam stays anonymous, chances are you’ve benefited from the work of Steve Lindsey — even if you didn’t realize it at the time.
Lindsey, assistant registrar at Mercer University School of Law, has spent more than seven years in the registrar’s office, helping keep the academic side of student life running smoothly. His path to Mercer Law, however, began long before he ever set foot on campus.
A native of Swainsboro, Georgia, Lindsey earned a BBA in Business Management from Georgia Southern University before launching a long career in state government. He retired after 34 years with the State of Georgia, splitting his career between two major agencies. “I worked the first half of my career with the Georgia Department of Revenue,” he says, where his final role was supervisor of the Georgia Withholding Tax Section. The second half of his career was with the Secretary of State’s Professional Licensing Boards Division, where he served as executive director to several licensing boards.
That role also connected him to a familiar Mercer Law name. “The Secretary of State at the time of my hiring was Cathy Cox,” Lindsey notes, “who later served as dean at Mercer Law School.” Years later, that connection would come full circle.
As retirement approached, Lindsey began thinking about what might come next. “I think God gave me a dream years ago before I retired,” he says. “I began to have a desire to do something in an educational institution. I knew I was not qualified to teach, but I wanted to be a part of such an institution.” A registrar position, he recalls, was “a regular thought of a position that might appeal to me.”
Shortly after retiring from the state, he saw an opening at Mercer Law for an administrative assistant supervisor. “Although the job was not exactly what I wanted, it was in an educational institution, and I applied for and was hired,” he says. “A big draw to the opportunity was a chance to work again for Dean Cathy Cox.” In November 2017, he joined Mercer Law, and by the summer of 2018, he had moved into the registrar’s office as assistant registrar. “The dream I had years ago had been realized,” Lindsey says. “I’m thankful for it every day, because I know I am where I am supposed to be.”
Today, Lindsey’s responsibilities touch nearly every Mercer Law student, often in ways they may not see. “Each semester, I create the schedule of classes in our system, assist students with online registration issues, and register students for externships, law review, and MAC competition teams,” he explains. He also generates anonymous grading numbers for exams, updates student degree audits, and works behind the scenes on commencement. “Preparation for commencement begins in December,” he says. “It is a long process with a lot of preparation.”
While the start and end of semesters are especially busy, the registrar’s office never really slows down. “The busiest times for the registrar’s office are the beginning and ending of each semester,” he explains. Summer, in particular, is far from a break. “We must get spring grades posted and transcripts sent to all the bars that the graduates are taking. On the heels of the bar preparations, we must group the incoming 1L students and register them for fall classes. The work is ongoing.”
Much of that work involves direct student interaction, something Lindsey genuinely enjoys. “Our office interacts with students on a regular basis, and it is a joy to get to know many of them,” he says. “Registration time brings the most interaction, but we have students coming to us every week with questions or concerns. I enjoy helping them.”
Those questions often center on requirements and progress. “The most frequent questions students ask us involve registration for classes,” he says. Students want to know, “Does a particular class count toward the advanced writing requirement or toward experiential learning credit? How do I register for an externship? Am I on track to graduate on time?” At the heart of it, Lindsey says, “Students just need assurance that they are doing everything they are supposed to be doing.”
Helping provide that reassurance is the most rewarding part of his job. “I find joy and satisfaction in helping the students,” he says. “Whether it’s helping them register for classes, figure out their schedules, or just answering questions, that’s what gets me up each day.”
Over the years, Lindsey has also watched the registrar’s role evolve with technology. “As technology has changed, we have begun to do more in a paperless environment,” he says. Transcripts are now sent electronically, grades are submitted through Canvas, and the office is close to completing a major digitization project. “We are very close to completing the process of digitizing old student files for easier retrieval and preserving those documents, some of which are 100 years old.”
For Lindsey, the human side of the work remains just as important as the technical. He emphasizes that “attention to detail is critical,” along with confidentiality and communication skills. “Confidentiality is also a must, not only because of federal FERPA regulations, but also out of respect for the people we deal with.”
Asked what stands out most about Mercer Law, his answer is immediate. “The best thing about Mercer Law School is the people,” he says. “From the administration to the faculty to the staff members, Mercer Law School has a host of people who work hard to provide the educational opportunity that keeps students coming here.” And, he adds, “I can’t leave out the students, the purpose for which we are all here. We have an excellent student body.”
Lindsey, who has been married to his wife, Kathy, for more than 38 years and is the proud father of three children and grandfather to six grandchildren, hopes students carry one key impression with them after graduation. “I hope they can say that the registrar’s office was always helpful,” he says. “I hope they walk away from our office a little less stressed and a lot more knowledgeable about what they need to do. I hope they remember that we cared about them.”
For many Mercer Law students, that steady, behind-the-scenes care is exactly what helps carry them across the finish line.
