Sarah Naylor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

Past Involvement in NACADA:

Years in NACADA: 6 years

National Offices Held and Accomplishments Achieved While in Office:

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

Committee/Task Force/Advisory Board Activities and Accomplishments:

• Member, NACADA Research Committee, 2006-present

Commission/Interest Group Activities and Accomplishments:

• Current Member — Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commission, Distance Education Advising Commission, Theory and Philosophy of Advising Commission

Other:

• NACADA Research Grant recipient, 2006
• Presented Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commission-sponsored sessions at national conferences in 2005 and 2006
• Attended NACADA National Conferences in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006
• Attended NACADA Summer Institute in 2000  

Platform Statement:

• Highlight your previous involvement within this unit that will help you in leading this unit. What roles have you played within this particular unit as a member thus far?  

As a member of the Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commission, I seek to highlight the importance of academic advising for graduate students. My doctoral research is focused on this population, and I am committed to disseminating my findings to graduate student advisors and administrators. To this end, I have presented research on graduate advising at the last two NACADA national conferences and plan to continue to present at future regional and national conferences. In addition, I attend the Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commission meetings in order to learn and share new ideas and skills for advising graduate students from fellow advisors.

• What do you believe are the most important goals and initiatives for this unit in meeting the strategic plan for both the unit and the Association?

Ideally, the Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commission will continue to raise its presence at NACADA conferences and in advising literature and journals. In order to promote effective and rewarding graduate advising experiences, the Commission should cultivate an environment that encourages discussion of presentations, research, and literature related to advising graduate and professional students in order to build awareness, knowledge, and skills related to advising this unique student population. Understanding the role of graduate advising is essential in this increasingly diverse and complex higher education environment.

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

My passion for advising graduate students led me to become an academic advisor, and my desire to improve advising services for graduate students led to my enrollment in a doctoral program in higher education. I am committed to transforming my enthusiasm for graduate advising into useful contributions to both graduate advising research and graduate advising practice.

Serving as the Chair of the Advising Graduate and Professional Students Commission would enable me to bring attention to the growing population of graduate and professional students by encouraging a deeper understanding of graduate advising. Such an understanding will enable graduate students, faculty, advisors, and administrators realize the rich potential of the graduate advising relationship.

• 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.