Susan Campbell, NACADA President
As my year as President draws to a close, I continue to be honored by the opportunity to serve in this capacity for our Association. This year has been a highlight in my professional career. I want to thank Nancy Walburn for her leadership as Vice President during this year as well as each member of the Board of Directors, Council, and the leaders within our divisions. The true strength of our Association continues to be our leaders, who each volunteer many hours of their time to ensure that our Association continues to grow and prosper.
I must also take the opportunity to publicly thank our long-time Executive Director, Roberta “Bobbie” Flaherty, for her dedication to our Association and her awesome leadership for the past seventeen years. As Bobbie moves into her phased retirement, it is essential that each of our nearly 10,000 members know that without Bobbie’s guidance, management, and total commitment to NACADA, our Association would not today be recognized as one of the largest and most influential associations in higher education. As we look toward the future, it is impossible for us not to express our gratitude to Bobbie for the foundation she has provided us.THANK YOU, BOBBIE!
Much has been accomplished during the past year to build on our past and strengthen our future. First, a work group of members of the Board of Directors, Council, and members at-large chaired by incoming President Jennifer Bloom has conducted a thorough review of the Association’s by-laws and recommended several clarifications and revisions to ensure that the by-laws clearly reflect our organizational structure. This important task will provide a firm foundation for the Association as we move forward. Next, Jane Jacobson, immediate past Vice President, has chaired a work team focusing on policies and procedures to better guide the work of the leadership and Executive Office in meeting the framework of our by-laws. These policies and procedures will ensure that our work at all levels of the Association is consistent and established for the future. And, last, Eric White, past NACADA President, has chaired a work group that has explored recommendations to ensure the sustainability of our Association in our next thirty years. It is essential that NACADA plan now for future expansion and stability. The work of these three groups is invaluable to our Association’s future and I thank Jenny, Jane, Eric and the members of these work groups for their hard work this year.
The Board of Directors and the Council have also been actively involved in evaluating and expanding the Association’s strategic plan for the future. At our mid-year meetings, Gary Levy (University of Utah) facilitated our work with the strategic plan which will continue at our Fall Board meeting. Through this important work, the Board of Directors provides leadership for all members involved in the work of the Association now and in the future.
One of the most exciting initiatives this year has been the implementation of our Emerging Leaders Program. Under the leadership of the Diversity Committee and its Chair, Skip Crownhart, the first class of Emerging Leaders and mentors has been selected; they will begin their two-years of work together at our Annual Conference in Baltimore. This new program is focused on building leaders for the future and strengthening the diversity of our leadership. I am pleased to announce the first class of Emerging Leaders: Melva Harbin (University of Texas-Austin), Erica Byrnes (University of Florida), Criselda Marquez (Purdue University), Tami Clavin (University of Central Oklahoma), Todd Taylor (The Ohio State University), Carol Pollard (University of North Texas), Cornelius Gilbert (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Jose Rodriguez (Florida International University), Darryl Frazier (Bethune-Cookman), and Audrey Jackson (Florida Community College of Jacksonville). The mentors who will be working with these leaders include Jenny Bloom (University of South of Carolina), Jayne Drake (Temple University), Sandy Waters (Old Dominion University), Charlie Nutt (Kansas State University), Scott Amundsen (Eastern Kentucky University), Jo Anne Huber (University of Texas-Austin), Karen Sullivan-Vance (Western Oregon University), Glenn Kepic (University of Florida), and Terry Musser (Penn State University). I know this will be an exciting and fruitful initiative that will impact the future of our Association.
We have strengthened our Association’s future this year through our collaborations with fellow associations nationally and internationally. These collaborations have included the publication of a joint monograph with the National Resource Center on the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition:Academic Advising: New Insights for Teaching and Learning in the First Year. We also have established a very strong collaboration with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) through the development and implementation of an online course and three-day institute that focus on building successful academic support systems for student athletes that meet Academic Progress Report (APR) guidelines. We have also begun work on a partnership with the National Collegiate Honors Council and the NACADA Board of Directors is developing a plan for collaborative efforts that sets priorities and strategies for additional partnerships and collaborations with other associations.
This year has also seen important collaborations at an international level. Again this year, NACADA connected with Counseling Arabia in the United Arab Emirates, where Associate Director Charlie Nutt served as a featured speaker at their annual conference in Dubai. Over eighteen Middle Eastern countries were represented at this year’s conference, where participants gained valuable information on advising and our association. Also, NACADA partnered with the Higher Education Academy in the United Kingdom to sponsor the 1st International Conference on Personal Tutoring and Academic Advising held in Edinburgh, Scotland. Over twenty NACADA members from the United States and Canada joined their UK colleagues at this conference to learn from each other and network at an international level. I had the distinct pleasure of serving as the keynote speaker for this collaborative event. Past President Mike McCauley’s article in this edition of Academic Advising Today describes more about the conference. Plans are already under way for the 2008 collaborative conference to be held in the United States in partnership with our Region 2 conference in Pittsburgh.
As you can see, this has been busy and productive year. As we look toward the future, I know NACADA will continue to grow and expand under the leadership of President Jenny Bloom and Vice President Casey Self as well as Interim Executive Director Charlie Nutt. I know they will move NACADA forward and that each of you will be actively involved in the work of the Association.
Susan Campbell, President National Academic Advising Association scamp@usm.maine.edu
Cite this article using APA style as: Campbell, S. (2007, September). From the president: Building on our past, strengthening our future. Academic Advising Today, 30(3). Retrieved from [insert url here]
