After 25 years of service at the University of North Alabama, Kim Mauldin will serve her last day as director of admissions June 30.

Mauldin said she turned in her retirement notice hours before the deadline for the special voluntary retirement incentive. The SVRI was offered to full-time employees with 25 years of service at UNA or full-time employees over 60 years of age with 10 years of service at UNA.

“The decision to retire has tormented me for months,” Mauldin said. “Everything about this position still totally excites me, motivates me and makes me smile, but I felt it was time to move on.”

She said the SVRI program was a big part of her decision to retire, but the pressure and responsibility of the position helped her make the final decision.

“After living through 20 fall registrations in this position, I felt it was time to pass the torch and let someone else bear that responsibility,” she said.

Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management Vince Brewton said the admissions office will greatly miss Mauldin.

“We probably won’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone,” Brewton said. “She’s created a healthy culture in the office, and that’s an important thing to preserve.”

Brewton said the admissions office is looking for tech-savvy candidates who understand the resource management software that drives admissions offices today.

“The ability to make strategic use of data is going to be critical,” he said. “It’s a big job, and there’s no more important role on our campus.”

Brewton said the director of enrollment position has been reconfigured, requiring the director to also take responsibility for student records.

Mauldin said she signed a contract to come back and work part time in the admissions office this fall.

“I’ll be more or less the ‘Wal-Mart greeter’ for UNA,” she said. “I want to come back and utilize my skill set and my knowledge. I want to do what I love best and that is to interact with students.”

Mauldin said she encourages the next director to get involved on campus so he or she can understand the dynamic of UNA.

“UNA is an amazing place to work,” she said. “I encourage them to engage in every aspect of campus so they can fully understand how amazing the school is.”

She also said the next director needs the passion to persevere through good times and bad, and needs a good sense of humor to keep it fun.

“If you can’t laugh, it’s not fun.”