News

Schumacher named staff person of the year for N.C. community colleges

By Lightning Reports, Published: January 21, 2020

Blue Ridge registrar Sara Schumacher was recently named recipient of the 2020 North Carolina Community College System Staff of the Year Award. 

Schumacher was chosen after an application and interview with members of the State Board of Community Colleges for her commitment and contributions to Blue Ridge Community College, not only through her role as registrar, but also through her work as an adjunct faculty member. 

Prior to working at Blue Ridge, Schumacher attended the College, where she graduated with an Associate in Arts in 2006 before transferring to Western Carolina University. There she earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2009. She is a graduate of North Henderson High School. She was a graduate of VISION Henderson County and is currently a member of the North Carolina Community College Leadership Academy. 

Before becoming the Registrar in 2017, Sara worked as Registrar Clerk and Assistant Register. She was named in 2018 by Blue Ridge as the recipient of the Dr. Molly A. Parkhill Staff Person of the Year Award. She has served on numerous Blue Ridge committees every year since 2009, and currently serves on the College’s Hiring Committee, EAGLE-Internal Auditing Review Committee, Advising Council, RISE Committee and Graduation Committee. 

“We are so proud of Sara for receiving this well-deserved recognition!” stated Blue Ridge President Dr. Laura B. Leatherwood. “She has consistently been a staunch student advocate, team player, and problem solver and goes above and beyond to support the mission and values of Blue Ridge Community College.” 

Through collaboration and dedication, Schumacher successfully implemented the online application process through College Foundation of North Carolina in 2007. She also successfully led and implemented the Residency process in Oct. 2017, as well as streamlined the data retrieval processes for internal needs, federal and state reporting needs including daily requests for faculty, staff and Institutional Research. 

Schumacher coordinated and implemented Parchment, an electronic transcript sending service to provide faster service to Blue Ridge students, as well as to cut costs for the College. She also redesigned and implemented the new Admissions Brochure process to provide higher quality communication for new and returning students.