Kazi Mamun, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

Past Involvement in NACADA:

Years in NACADA: 13 years

National Offices Held and Accomplishments Achieved While in Office:

• Regional Division Representative (elected) 2004-2006 -
  • Worked closely with the appointed representative to bring about a formula that would apply across regions in certain issue areas while allowing the uniqueness of each region to be celebrated.
  • Brought about a regular consultation process through a teleconference of all region chairs throughout the year to exchange views and deal with complex issues.
• NACADA Council member, 2004-2006
• Region Chair, Region 9 2001-2003 -
  • Increased membership by 10 percent during my tenure. Worked hard to get community college advisors on board but was unsuccessful for a variety of reasons that are too difficult to deal with but at least got conversation started.
  • Communicated with each member through electronic means at least 4 times a year. Managed to put together a joint conference of Region 8 and 9 in Vancouver in 2002. It was so successful that the next joint conference was held in Hawaii in Spring 2006. This enables members to network with members outside their region and share experiences. 

Regional Activities/Offices Held, including accomplishments achieved while in office:

• Member, Region 9 Steering Committee, 1999-current
• Regional Conference committee member - Pasadena, 2004; Oakland, 2005
• Presented at regional conferences and won Best of Region in 2003 (with Monique Sosa) on "Transition Advising: Advising Students into a Second or Third Choice Major."
• Presented the Administrator's pre-conference workshop with Charlie Nutt and Jeanette Wong in Vancouver, 2003; with Jeanette Wong in Pasadena, 2004; and in Oakland, 2005.
• Chair, 1999 Region 9 Conference, University of Southern California

Committee/Task Force/Advisory Board Activities and Accomplishments:

• Member, Awards Selection Committee, 2005-2006 — selected Pacesetter, Service to NACADA and Virginia Gordon awards
• Member, Geographic Region Committee in 2003 — to determine whether or not regions were unique enough to have different organizational structures.
• Member, NACADA Journal Editorial Board, Spring 1996-1998

Commission/Interest Group Activities and Accomplishments:

• Current Member -- Advising Administration Commission, Advising Business Majors Commission, Theory and Philosophy of Advising Commission
• Current Member -- Advising High Achieving Students Interest Group
• Former Member -- Multicultural Concerns Commission

Other:

• Activities at University of Southern California:
  • USC Provost's Advisory Committee on University-wide System Access
    • Access Advisory Committee, 2005-present
    • Ethical Use Advisory Committee, 2005-present
  • Member (ex-officio), Committee of Academic Policies and Procedures, 1996-present
  • Member, Student Affairs Council, Academic Petitions Panel, Retention Committee, Advising Redesign Team, and several other campus-wide committees, 1993-present
  • Original Member, USC's SOS (Student One-Stop Shop), 1994-2003
• National Activities:
  • Presented at several NACADA national conferences — Salt Lake City, 2003; Kansas City, 1997; Washington, DC 1996.

Platform Statement:

• Highlight the goals you accomplished and the work you did while serving as a Unit Chair or Division Representative. In addition, highlight your involvement in all areas of the Association, demonstrating your experiences that make you qualified to serve in this position on the NACADA Board of Directors. 

When I was Region Chair (Region 9), I took a proactive role in promoting NACADA and its principles to the advising community in California, (and Nevada and Hawaii) increasing membership by 10%. I believed that the situation in California was unique with the community college advisors officially appointed as faculty. Since they had their own organization it was difficult to join NACADA. As Region Chair, I raised this issue in the meeting of the Region Chairs and made them aware of it.

I also made it a goal to communicate with the membership electronically at least four times a year. I am proud to say that at regional (and national conferences) people sought me out to meet with me since I had communicated with them. I really care about students and believe in advising as teaching and am not shy about expressing my ideas to the NACADA leaders. I am a very capable leader.

At my campus, I have been recognized as a leader. At a university primarily dedicated to research, it is an accomplishment to be accepted as a leader without being directly involved in teaching. I believe that I have the conviction and the persuasive ability to make a difference.

• What do you believe are the most important goals and initiatives for the Association in meeting its strategic plan and what do you feel you can contribute to this position in meeting these goals and initiatives?

There are several goals that we need to pursue simultaneously:

1) An important goal is to make ourselves known to senior academic administrators in America's colleges and universities and push forward the idea that advisors play a vital role in the development and education of our young men and women. The role of advising is central and not peripheral to the education of our youth as well as returning students.

Initiatives: The Administrators' Institute and the Summer Institute that are currently being conducted by NACADA is a great step in the gaining and enhancing NACADA's national recognition.

The Advising Degree that NACADA is offering through Kansas State is another great development. We need to formalize the relationship between the Kansas State and NACADA with regard to this degree. We should explore possibilities of partnering with other institutions as well.

2) Another goal is to attract faculty to the organization. Faculty are an integral part of the higher educational landscape. By involving more faculty, we can get access to the corridors of power in our institutions. Faculty are key in producing research, teaching students, and very influential with senior administration on our campuses. Some of them, like Condaleeza Rice, also become very important policymakers on the national scene.

Initiative: We need to ensure that we continue to attract and generate more attention toward our faculty institute. We need to make more of an effort toward getting administrators and faculty from R-1 institutions.

• Why are you interested in serving in this leadership position or what influenced you to run for this leadership position? 

I have been a member of NACADA since 1993 and with each passing year have progressed up the leadership ladder. I am not afraid to make decisions, share my ideas and vision, and lead the organization. The Board is where most of the important decisions are made and I want to be part of it.

• Provide any additional comments or information (either personal or leadership-related) that you want potential voters to know about you that is not covered elsewhere in your platform information. 

I have been passionately involved in higher education in the United States. I migrated from a very poor country but was fortunate enough to receive a Western Education. Naturalized as an American citizen, I have been able to observe first hand, how a democracy works and how decisions evolve taking into consideration the views of the many, as opposed to the few.

While this was something I dreamed about in my country, I was fortunate enough to be able to get the opportunity to come to the United States, get a graduate education in International Relations, and participate in several decision making roles at a top university. I like the participatory nature of NACADA and the bottom-up approach to making decisions. While I am aware that often, this ends in "soft" solutions, in the end the process itself is worthwhile because in order for a decision to be accepted by a majority, it must address some of their major concerns. After the restructuring of NACADA I feel that there is great opportunity and avenues for concerns of the membership to filter up to the leadership. As someone who has come up through the ranks and who is still an advisor, I can articulate some of the concerns. I can assist is shaping overall strategy that will incorporate the needs of the advisors.

I am not afraid to make tough decisions and look forward to the challenge of leading.