The annual award recognizes advisers who, among other things, are committed to integration of academic advising with career and life planning goals, and embrace a teaching and learning advising model.
Recipients were:
- Kandi Walker, Undergraduate Faculty Adviser Award. Walker is an associate professor and undergraduate faculty adviser in the Department of Communication in the College of Arts & Sciences.
- Kathy Baumgartner, Graduate Faculty Adviser Award. Baumgartner is a faculty member and instructor in the Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, in the School of Public Health & Information Sciences.
- Matt Bergman, Professional Advising Award. Bergman is a senior academic counselor in the College of Education and Human Development Education Advising and Student Services Center. He is the primary adviser for the Bachelor of Science in Workforce Leadership Program and has been advising students for 5 years.
All three recipients will receive a paid trip to the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) annual conference in October.
Nominations for the awards come from faculty, staff and students. A selection committee makes the final selection based on these criteria:
- Advocates for students
- Perception by colleagues of nominee’s advising skills
- Effective interpersonal skills
- Meeting advisees in settings outside of the adviser’s office
- Mastery of institutional regulations, policies and procedures
- Mastery and use of appropriate informational and referral sources
- Participation in and support of intrusive advising to build strong relationships with advisees
- Commitment to integration of academic advising with career and life-planning goals
- Embraces a teaching and learning model of advising
- Participation in and support of adviser development programs
- Supports university-wide and unit-specific advising initiatives, especially those that are designed to help the university improve student retention
- Commitment to accessibility of adviser to advisees and frequency of contact with advisees
- Has made a major contribution to the improvement of the quality of academic advising within home unit and/or campus wide.