- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/tag/outstanding-academic-advisor-award/ ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Thu, 15 Apr 2021 20:43:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Griffin Honored for Outstanding Advising at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock /news-archive/2021/04/15/carla-griffin-outstanding-academic-advisor/ Thu, 15 Apr 2021 20:43:00 +0000 /news/?p=78798 ...]]> Carla Griffin, student development specialist with the Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, has been named the 2021 recipient of the Trojan Outstanding Academic Advisor Award at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.�� “I am very excited, happy, ecstatic, and humbled to receive this honor,” Griffin said. “It’s just good to know that your campus community and your colleagues believe in you and have faith that you are doing a good job and are dedicated to student success.” The Outstanding Academic Advisor Award recognizes excellence in academic advising and comes with a $1,000 award. It also emphasizes the importance and expanding role academic advisors have in serving ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s students and helping them to be successful in a changing college environment. Griffin’s selection follows Louis Scivally in 2019 and Dechantria Wallace in 2020. “I’ve been an advisor for so long that some of the students I’ve advised have contacted me to advise their children,” Griffin said. “It makes me feel good to know that I have impacted someone’s life and made a difference. That’s what we strive for as academic advisors. We want to help students realize their goals, help them navigate campus, and make their lives better. I was a student here too, and I want to make sure that students have all the information they need to make their lives successful.” Trakenya Dobbins, director of personal awareness, nominated Griffin for her dedicated, quality advising, her leadership within the academic advising community, and her long-time service to the advising profession. “Ms. Griffin serves her students with honesty and integrity and cares about their holistic growth,” Dobbins said. “She is a pillar in the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock academic advising community, carrying intuitional knowledge and historical background.” Griffin has a long and distinguished history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. She began working full-time at the Graduate School in 1986 and became an academic advisor in February 1996.�� “I just love being on the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock campus,” Griffin said. “There is no place else that I would want to work. I’ve been here since I was a freshman in 1983. A lot of the people I talk to say that it’s unheard of for people to be at a job for more than 30 years. There is no other place that I would want to work.” As an academic advisor of 25 years, Griffin is known as the go-to person for her colleagues. “In fact, she is so knowledgeable that her colleagues will frequently ask her opinion about handling various situations,” said Yvette Palmer, academic advisor for the College of Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences, and Education. “It is apparent to Ms. Griffin’s advisees that she cares. She has a positive relationship with her students. When she receives an early alert about her students, she reaches out to them to ensure that they are getting the assistance they need to be successful. She is proactive with her students and keeps track of their degree plans to make sure they are on track toward earning their degrees.” Shameka Jackson, a student development specialist, said that Griffin is passionate about her work and is the kind of person who stays late in the evenings to accommodate the busy schedules of students who have career and work responsibilities.�� “I have found Ms. Griffin to be self-motivated, dependable, reliable, and hard working,” Jackson said. “I admire Ms. Griffin’s strength and determination to make sure that not only her students succeed but all students succeed. Her selfless personality makes her an excellent candidate for this award. She exemplifies what an academic advisor should be.” Over the years, Griffin’s received several awards, including a ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Student Advocate Award in 2020, the Staff Achievement Award for Personal Growth in 2014, the Advisor of the Year Award from the Arkansas Academic Advising Network in 2013, as well as the Employee of the Year Award from the Office of Academic Advising in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, Griffin received the 2014 Outstanding Advising Award-Primary Advising Role Certificate of Merit from the National Academic Advising Association. She was the first adviser from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock to be selected for the distinction, which was given in recognition of her advising abilities following a nationwide competition. Griffin said that the key to being a good academic advisor is to be knowledgeable, a good listener, and to care about the students you serve. Advisors accomplish this by being knowledgeable regarding students’ curriculum, institutional policies, and procedures so that we can empower students to advocate for themselves, navigate campus and be successful as well as attend professional development opportunities to be effective and efficient in assisting students to reach their personal and academic goals. �� “The student is the most important person,” Griffin said. “Without the student, there would be no need for me. When I was hired as an academic advisor in 1986, that was our mantra. I told a student that once when my phone was ringing during our advising appointment. She asked me if I was going to answer it, and I said no. You are the most important person in the world right now. She started crying. Knowing that someone is there for you means a lot to our students. I strive to be there for our students the way my ��Vlog��ý Little Rock family has been there for me. People always remember how you made them feel.”]]> Wallace selected as Outstanding Academic Advisor of 2020 /news-archive/2020/05/12/wallace-outstanding-academic-advisor/ Tue, 12 May 2020 19:50:37 +0000 /news/?p=76913 ...]]> The University of Arkansas at Little Rock has selected Dechantria “Dee Dee” Wallace, a counselor in the College of Education and Health Professions Advising and Support Center, as the 2020 winner of the Outstanding Academic Advisor Award.�� “An advisor must be a good listener and assist the whole student, making referrals and collaborating with other campus resources when necessary,” Wallace said. “In some instances, an advisor is not just a source of information, but a teacher, counselor, and advocate, My goal is to help students discover their passion and purpose.” The Outstanding Academic Advisor Award recognizes excellence in academic advising and comes with a $1,000 award. It also emphasizes the importance and expanding role academic advisors have in serving ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s students and helping them be successful in a changing college environment. “I am not surprised by the committee’s selection of Dee Dee,” said Daryl Rice, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs – student success. “The wonderful things I hear about her indirectly have always been confirmed when I have had the opportunity to work with her directly. She’s the real deal when it comes to advising and supporting students across the wide range of needs that our students have.” Wallace was selected for her years of dedication to ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students and her ability to instill students with a sense of confidence and pride. “Ms. Wallace has a strong knowledge and understanding of campus policies and procedures. She is extremely personable, very calming,�� friendly, and has a sincere love of helping both students and sometimes frazzled faculty such as myself,” said Linda Stauffer, professor of interpreter education. Some of her advisees have described Wallace as an “amazing help” who guided them to a successful academic plan and career path. “Ms. Wallace was very helpful,” one student said. “She made sure I had my entire degree plan laid out. I honestly don’t think I’ve had a more positive advising experience.” Faculty members in the College of Education and Health Professions have praised Wallace for her guidance with professors as well as students. “Her communication with her students and our Health and Human Performance (HHP) Faculty is excellent,” said Bennie Prince, HHP program coordinator. “She has provided training for our HHP Faculty in many areas of advising including Degree Works, graduation application processing, and helpful techniques in finding the right advisement path for our students.”�� Wallace holds a bachelor’s degree in community health education from the University of Central Arkansas. Additionally, she earned a master’s degree in health sciences from ��Vlog��ý Little Rock and is pursuing a doctorate in higher education administration.]]>