Kathy Stockwell, NACADA President

I am honored and humbled to be writing this article as the President of NACADA, the premier organization for academic advising and student success in the world. The recent Annual Conference was, again, testament to the fact that advising is alive and well on campuses around the world, advisors are heavily invested in the success of their students, and NACADA plays an integral role in promoting and sustaining academic advising as a critical component of student services at our colleges and universities. There was a buzz in the air at the end of each concurrent session as participants hurried to share what they had just learned with their colleagues, both old and newly acquired. I went to the Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday afternoon with a heightened enthusiasm and a renewed sense of purpose to keep the organization moving forward for the benefit of all in our global higher education family.

I am joined on the Board of Directors by a group of individuals who are dedicated to maintaining NACADA’s reputation as an association that benefits all members. To this end, the Board is focusing on the following initiatives as we strive to fulfill our strategic goals:

• Continue to address the needs of higher education globally. We have made great strides in our globalization efforts with the adoption of our new tag line and logo and the inclusion of an international attendee meeting during this year’s conference. As we move forward, international members will be encouraged to become involved in leadership activities, to submit award nominations for individuals and programs, and to actively recruit members on their own and other campuses throughout their countries. Our organizational structure will be examined to determine the best fit for our international partners.
• Assess the technology needs of the Association. For the first time, social media played a big part in this year’s conference. While this and the recent implementation of MyNACADA are giant steps for us, we still have a way to go in understanding and implementing technology that will bring us up-to-date and carry us into the future. A technology committee has been charged with assessing these needs and determining priorities. A separate sub-committee will review the functionality of the NACADA Web site to see how it can be more user friendly for all members.
• Educate university and college decision makers about the role of quality academic advising in higher education. A sub-committee has been charged with determining the best ways to connect with upper level administrators at our colleges and universities so we can share with them the great work being done by the academic advisors on their campuses and to introduce them to the wealth of resources available to them and their staff through NACADA.

The Board, the Council, and leaders at all levels of NACADA are committed to making this the best organization possible for its members. This can only happen with input from you, our members. NACADA is a grassroots organization that is inclusive of all and thrives because of the ideas that come to us from the bottom up. Who better to tell us what goes on in the world of academic advising than those who live it every day? Our leadership is available to listen to you. We want and need to hear your thoughts, ideas, and opinions; they are all important and help guide us as we develop new programming and other resources that are critical to the success of academic advising around the globe. Not only do we need your input, we need you to get involved!  Leadership opportunities are available at all levels, and we’d love to have you join us. Contact information for all NACADA leaders as well as the staff at the Executive Office is available on the NACADA Web site. Please contact any of us; we’d be more than happy to explore your ideas and/or concerns with you, or answer any questions you might have about getting more involved with the organization.

Again, I am honored to lead this member-focused organization and look forward to working with you during the next year to promote academic advising and student success on our campuses. I hope to meet many of you as I travel to regional conferences in the spring and would love to hear from you at any time.

Kathy Stockwell, President
NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising
Fox Valley Technical College
stockwel@fvtc.edu

Cite this article using APA style as: Stockwell, K. (2010, December). From the president: Member contributions move NACADA forward. Academic Advising Today, 33(4). Retrieved from [insert url here]