Lorie Felton, Assistant Professor of Environmental Horticulture at Abraham Baldwin College, recently attended the annual conference of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Felton, who received the Excellence in Advising Award during ABAC's annual Honors Day ceremony last April, was invited to attend the conference in recognition of that award..
According to Phyllis Bennett, Director of Advising and Academic Assistance at ABAC, a committee of faculty and student representatives selects the advising award recipient from those nominated by students. The award is based on qualities such as being available to advisees, exhibiting a caring attitude toward advisees, and demonstrating a mastery of institutional regulations, policies, and procedures.
In addition, strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work with students in career and life planning, not simply course scheduling, are evaluated. Student assessments of advisors completed each semester are also taken into consideration when choosing the recipient of the award.
Felton said she felt honored to receive the Excellence in Advising Award during the Honors Day ceremony.
"I was very pleased," Felton said. "I was sitting among some of the best advisors in Georgia. I knew I had been nominated but had no idea that I would be selected. Ms. Bennett had told me that I was the only advisor to have been nominated by a student, and it made me feel great that a student took the time to nominate me."
Felton said she learned a lot during the three-day NACADA conference.
"This was the 25th annual conference of NACADA with over 1,700 people in attendance," Felton said. "These advisors, faculty members, and administrators were from all over the United States and Canada. We seemed very different in many ways, but we had a common goal: to give our students the best possible advisement. I brought back several ideas dealing with one-stop advising centers, career fairs, and advisors training."
Bennett said Felton is very deserving of the Excellence in Advising Award.
"Professor Felton has established a rapport with her advisees, and her students feel comfortable coming to her for help--not only for course scheduling, but also for advice in career choices and job searches," Bennett said. "ABAC is very fortunate to have academic advisors like Professor Felton who put a priority on helping students in the achievement of their academic and career goals."
Felton also accepted an Outstanding Program Award on behalf of Beth Saxon, ABAC's Interim Registrar and former Director of Retention Programs, for the development of the AIM (Academic Intervention Management) program.
"I did not know what an honor it was for ABAC to be selected until I saw all the major colleges and universities that competed for the awards," Felton said. "Out of many different advising program awards, ABAC was one of four selected."
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