Alex Underwood

Alex Underwood is the University Registrar at The University of Arizona. He champions the Office of the Registrar’s commitment to serving as a campus thought partner by designing efficient, student-centered processes that uphold the integrity of the academic record and advance student success. 

With more than 20 years of experience in higher education administration, Alex is known for driving strategic, equity-minded leadership across complex academic and operational environments. Before joining Arizona, he served as the Executive Director of Academic Systems and Student Records for City Colleges of Chicago, the largest community college district in Illinois, supporting more than 80,000 students annually. His earlier roles there included District Director of Academic Systems and Registrar of Malcolm X College. Alex began his professional journey as an Academic Advisor, an experience that continues to energize his student-focused and service-oriented approach. 

Alex is an active contributor to the registrar profession. He is a former President of the Pacific Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (PACRAO), serves on the Board of Directors for the Association of American Universities (AAU) Registrars, and contributes to the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) as faculty for Registrar 201, a member of the Curriculum Committee, and a former elected member of the Nominations and Elections Committee. 

He is currently a doctoral candidate in the Ph.D. program in Higher Education at the University of Arizona, where his work focuses on organizational effectiveness and the evolving role of the modern registrar.