Charlie Nutt, NACADA Executive Director

Thirty years ago, in 1979, a small group of professionals made a bold step for the future of student success and academic advising by chartering a new higher education association, the National Academic Advising Association. In the past 30 years, NACADA has grown substantially to nearly 11,000 members internationally and has become one of the key associations in all of higher education. Our members, consisting of college and university Presidents, Chancellors, Provosts, Vice Presidents, Deans, professional advisors and counselors, faculty advisors, and graduate students, touch every aspect of our colleges and universities and our students’ lives.

As we move into our 30th year, a year of financial challenges in higher education, what are the ways in which we can celebrate this important milestone in our association’s history? How can we benefit the most from our membership in NACADA and become part of NACADA’s history in the next 30 years?

First, how can each of us celebrate NACADA’s 30th year?

• Share a NACADA publication (monograph, Academic Advising Today issue, Journal issue, or Clearinghouse article) with a key campus administrator to celebrate NACADA’s 30 years of focusing on student success and academic advising. What a great way to inform a decision maker of the value of NACADA and its connection to the success of students!
• Invite a colleague to join NACADA! Share the NACADA resources and benefits you have found so helpful to your advising practice.
• Host a campus brown-bag workshop for the academic advising community to celebrate NACADA’s 30th anniversary.

And, how can you benefit the most from your NACADA membership during this 30th Anniversary year?

• Attend one of the outstanding professional development events that the Association will offer this year, including one of the ten Regional Conferences, one of the two Summer Institutes, and our Annual Conference in San Antonio this fall.
• Utilize a NACADA Webcast, CD recording of a Webcast, or the professional development DVD for a campus, college, or department-wide professional development workshop.
• Initiate an Institutional Common Reading program utilizing an article from the NACADA Journal, Academic Advising Today, or the NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources.
• Subscribe to the NACADA Podcast series to grow professionally in your own knowledge and skills.

And, last, how can you work during the 30th Anniversary year to become part of NACADA’s history for the next 30 years?

• Write an article for the NACADA Journal, Academic Advising Today, or the NACADA Clearinghous e – become part of the literature in our profession.
  Run or volunteer for a leadership position in the Association – become a part of our association’s future leadership.
• Mentor a new advising professional or graduate student as he or she moves into our profession – become a part of the development of our future advisors.
• Apply for a NACADA research grant, graduate scholarship, or institute scholarship – become a part of insuring your own professional growth for your future.

For some of us, remembering being 30 years old is a distant memory; for some of us imagining being 30 years old is a nightmare! But for all of us – NACADA’s 30th anniversary is an awesome opportunity to celebrate, grow, and prepare for our next 30 years.

Charlie Nutt, Executive Director
NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising
(785) 532-5717
cnutt@ksu.edu