Pat Folsom
	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA
	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 current member of the Professional Development Committee, I participated in the 2007 Committee meeting at the national level and have provided feedback to the chair as questions or requests have arisen; however, I believe it is the insights and experiences I have gained through my participation on the Advisory Board for Publications, the Administrators' Institute, the content advisory boards for two CDs, as well as creating professional development materials on advisor training and development for NACADA members (e.g. monograph editor for The New Advisor Guidebook and webinar presenter for "Ensuring Advisor Success"), that will most help me in leading this unit.

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 ?

The most important goals for the Professional Development Commission are to: 1) identify the professional growth needs of our membership; and, 2) provide the programming and resources to meet these needs 3) encourage NACADA members to avail themselves of these resources. We need to meet these goals in a way that addresses the diversity within our membership-regardless of institutional type for advisor type (e.g. faculty, professional, peer).

Current (2008-2009) goals include:

1. Continue pursuit of Career Ladder research and advocacy.
2. Incorporate LEAP into our pursuit of professional development.
3. Monitor the impact of fiscal constraints on NACADA's professional development activities and provide recommendations for adaptation, if necessary.

These are important goals. If elected, I would continue to view them as a focus for the committee and I have some experience in all three areas. I just completed implementing an Advisor II career ladder at my home institution. I am familiar with the American Association of Colleges & Universities LEAP programs and materials: we are incorporating aspects of LEAP into the learning outcomes for our advising center; and we used LEAP as resource material in the task force I served on to revise our current general education program. In addition, during the early years as director of our Academic Advising Center, the University's budgetary situation was dire so it was important for us to think creatively about professional development for both advisors and administrators. Given the current economic downturn, I think it is especially important to find affordable ways to help advisors and advising administrators grow professionally. For example, how can NACADA resources best be used by advisors at the institutional level when travel budgets prohibit attendance at national conferences?

Most importantly, I would want to solicit our committee membership for ideas about new initiatives as well. I have learned through my participation in commission meetings as well as from my experience with the monograph that NACADA members are dynamic and creative folks. I would truly enjoy working with the committee.

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

My interest derives from my deep, longstanding interest in advisor training and development (see #4), my interests as an advising administrator in the professional development needs of our staff, as well as my participation on NACADA boards and in NACADA resource development. Through these experiences, I have gained greater insights into the professional development needs of our membership, a greater awareness of best practices and a deeper knowledge of current NACADA resources. I would like to expand from my focus on new advisor training and development to the professional development needs of our membership as a whole. I hope to assist NACADA in responding to questions like, "What are the critical professional development needs of our membership and how can we best deliver resources to meet them?"

I have always believed that it is important to "make a difference" in whatever I do. I think the Professional Development Committee provides a terrific venue for making a difference in the lives of advisors, advising administrators and ultimately the students they advise.

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 extensive experience in advisor training and development at the institutional level as well as leadership in NACADA on advisor training and development. I have served at the Academic Advising Center at the University of Iowa for 26 years, first as an advisor, then as Assistant Director and now, as Director. As an advisor, I trained new advisors and as Assistant Director, I was responsible for ongoing advisor development. In addition, a year or so ago, I implemented the first step in a career ladder structure for advisors in our Center (other advising offices on campus are now using the newly created Advisor II job position as well) and I am working on the creation of another "step" in the ladder.

As Director, I have focused on sharing the practice-based knowledge I have gained about advisor training and development with NACADA colleagues. Our Center's advisor development program was cited as an exemplary practice for ongoing training in Advisor Training: Exemplary Practices in the Development of Advisor Skills. For four years, Center colleagues and I offered a pre-conference workshop (Creating a Blueprint for Your First Year of Advising and Beyond), a mini-first-year experience course specifically designed for advisors new to the profession. I also served as Editor of the NACADA monograph, The Guidebook for new Advisors: Mastering the Art of Academic Advising through the First Year and Beyond. The monograph provides a practice-based road map for new advisor development that serves advisors new to the profession and the people who train them. And I developed and co-presented a webinar in April 2008 on advisor development.

Through these experiences I have met and worked with new professional and faculty advisors from all over the country, every institutional type and advising setting, have had the honor of working with NACADA colleagues who have expertise in training new advisors and have had the honor of working with members who are strategically involved in decisions regarding publications and the Administrators' Institute. I have learned so much from the people and the experience and look forward to doing what I can to move the professional development of our membership forward.

Past Involvement in NACADA:

Years in NACADA: 15 years

National Offices Held and Accomplishments Achieved While in Office:

• Chair, Advisor Training & Development Commission, 2007-2009 --
  • Reviewed proposals for national conferences in 2007 and 2008 with an eye to diversity in content, in institutional type, and in type of advisor.
  • Organized proposal review for 2008.
  • Ran Commission meeting and organized the Commission and Interest Group Fair table, NACADA National Conference, 2008.

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

Committee/Task Force/Advisory Board Activities and Accomplishments:

Commission/Interest Group Activities and Accomplishments:

Other: