Earlier this week, academic advisers rolled into Pittsburgh on a WVU-branded “Let’s Go!” bus to take advantage of a national conference right in their backyard.
The 2024 National Academic Advising Conference was held in the “Steel City” Oct. 27-30, providing professional and faculty academic advisers and administrators from across the country a chance to network with peers, share best practices and highlight recent successes.
“Conferences are a great way to network with others serving the same student populations and facing the same challenges,” said Director of University Advising Joy Carr. “It helps us find new ways to solve problems, share what is working for us, and come away energized for the work ahead.”
WVU made a strong showing at the conference, with more than two dozen attendees, multiple presenters and a scholarship winner among their ranks.
Presenters included Nettie Freshour, teaching associate professor and faculty academic adviser in the Davis College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; Samm Jusino, director of undergraduate advising in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences; and Cathy Manley and Hilary Woodrum, student success coordinators and academic advisers in the College of Applied Human Sciences.
Marilyn Munzer is a senior academic adviser in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources who earned a competitive scholarship to attend this year’s conference.
“WVU is gaining recognition nationally for our practices and student success initiatives,” Carr said. “Marilyn Munzer’s scholarship award is an indication that NACADA recognizes our potential to impact not only the students we work with, but the field of academic advising as well.”
Just this past February, Carr earned a scholarship to attend the organization’s Administrator’s Institute. In 2023, Michelle Poland earned a Region 3 Advising Administrator Certificate of Merit from NACADA.
This fall, three faculty advisers, one advising director and five professional advisers have been nominated for NACADA Excellence in Advising awards for Region 3. All will compete with other nominees from West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina for recognition at next year’s conference.
“We have such talented advisers and supportive administration at WVU,” Carr said. “I’m especially proud of our collaborative effort to ensure so many could join this year’s conference. With the sponsorship of the bus from the Office of the Provost, we were able to reduce costs and allow multiple advisers from several units to attend.”