ACA R.O.A.D. Event

On Feburary 29, 2012, the ACA R.O.A.D. Committee sponsored a ACA/APSA Professional Development Day Share.  Members were invited to bring information they learned at the most recent Professional Development Day.

If you have an interest in getting involved with R.O.A.D., please contact one of the two current co-chairs (Melva Harbin and Kristen Anton) or our ACA President-Elect (Nathan Vickers).

Member Spotlight: Sarah Arnold

Hometown:  Round Rock, TX

College(s) Attended:  Texas Tech University

Degree(s) Earned:  B.A. in Art History with a Minor in Asian Studies (I just applied to the Texas State MA program in Community Counseling, fingers crossed!!!)

Title:  Associate Academic Advisor- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering    

ACA Member Spotlight: Sara Sanchez

Hometown:  Mathis, TX

College(s) Attended:  The University of Texas at Austin

Degree(s) earned:  B.A. Psychology, M.Ed. Higher Education Administration

Title:  Senior Academic Advisor- McCombs School of Business

What are your hobbies? Hanging out with family and friends, reading, volunteering, church, dog parks, rock concerts

ACA Member Spotlight: Jeff Sellers

Hometown:  Austin, TX

College(s) Attended:   The University of Texas at Austin

Degree(s) earned:  B.S. Advertising, M.Ed. Education Psychology

Title:  Assistant Academic Advisor- School of Undergraduate Studies 

ACA Member Spotlight: Affiong Eyo

Hometown:  Akwa Ibom, Nigeria.

College(s) Attended:   The University of Texas at Austin (Masters) and Northwest Missouri State University (Bachelor’s).

Degree(s) earned:   Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) and a B.Sc. double majoring on Psychology and Sociology with a Spanish Minor.

Title:  Assistant Academic Advisor- School of Social Work

ACA Member Spotlight: Craig Gilden

Hometown:  Sugar Land, TX

College(s) Attended:   Lewis & Clark College, The University of Texas-Austin

Degree(s) earned:   B.A. Rhetoric and Media Studies, M.Ed. Higher Education Administration

Title:  Associate Academic Advisor--College of Liberal Arts:  Dean’s Office

Member Spotlight: Odessa Amaya

Hometown: Knoxville, TN

College(s) Attended:  University of Tennessee and Clemson University

Degree(s) earned:  B.A. Art History and M.Ed. Counseling and Guidance Services

Title:  Associate Academic Advisor—College of Liberal Arts:  Department of English

Member Spotlight: Julia Chinnock

Hometown:   I grew up in Laramie, WY

College(s) Attended:  Nebraska Wesleyan University & Texas State University

Degree(s) earned:   BAs in Theatre Arts & Spanish (from NWU) & MA in Theatre History (from TxState)

Title:  Assistant Academic Advisor- -School of Undergraduate Studies

What are your hobbies? I wish I had something cool to say here like Xtreme underwater nunchuck fighting or something but I mostly like to cook (and bake), read books, see plays and play with my puppy, Avalanche

ACA/APSA Professional Development Day 2012

T.H.R.I.V.E.

Transforming

Helping

Resilience

Inspiration

Vision

Education

The 2012 Academic Counselors Association/Association of Professionals in Student Affairs Professional Development Day was held on Thursday, February 9^th in the Student Activities Center.  Members from both ACA and APSA attended an opening breakfast, several hour-long breakout sessions, and a lunch keynote speaker, all of which were organized by a committee comprised of members from both organizations.  Our special sponsor for this important event was the University Federal Credit Union.   Besides our UT Austin-ites, we were honored to have conference attendees from Austin Community College, Texas State University, and St. Edward's University. 

PDD Planning Committee:  

Event co-chairs Evelyn Meisell (McCombs School of Business Undergraduate Program), Angela Mirabito (McCombs School of Business Business Honors Program), and Merrie Su Ruhmann (Office of the Dean of Students/Graduate Student)

A very special THANK YOU to the Co-Chairs and the entire PDD Committee for organizing one of the best professional development days we've experienced.

Keynote Address:The lunch keynote speaker was Dr. Mary Steinhardt, Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education.  Dr. Steinhardt addressed the conference theme "T.H.R.I.V.E." and motivated attendees to develop resilience in their personal and work lives. 

Conference Sessions:
Throughout the day conference attendees had the opportunity to hear from their peers on topics as diverse as:  Career Advising; Social Media in Student Affairs; Transfer Students; Students in Distress; Investing; Students in Recovery; Undocumented Students and their College Experience; Being an Ally to LGBTQ Students; Empowering Women in the Workplace; Suicide Prevention; Social Justice; and other amazing topics.  Thank you to all the presenters for sharing your wealth of knowledge.

Last, but not least, there was FOOD and CAMARADERIE.

Until next year...

February 2012 ACA General Meeting

The Feburary 8, 2012 ACA General Meeting, sponsored by the McCombs School of Business Master of Science in Finance, featured a presentation by Jay Hartzell from the McCombs School of Business, updates from Regina Hughes from the Business Foundations Program, Lauren Campbell from the Bridging Disciplines Program, Joseph Schaub from the Texas Success Initiative, and Kristin Tommey from the UGS Wayfinder, as well as general ACA Committee updates.

A huge THANKS to the McCombs School of Business Department of Finance for sponsoring our meeting.

Purple - the color of choice for the well-dressed ACA member

Master of Science in Finance
Jay Hartzell and Katie Stephens introduced the new Master of Science in Finance that will begin in summer 2012.  This program is designed for students with strong quantitative skills seeking careers in finance.  The primary target population are students from non-business backgrounds or students from business programs other than Finance.  Unlike the McCombs MBA Programs, this new Master of Science in Finance will not require work experience.

Business Foundations Program
Regina Hughes, Director of the Business Foundations Program, informed ACA of a new internship course (B A 352F) being offered this summer through University Extension.  The course was designed to give non-business students an opportunity to receive academic credit when they land business-related internships that require the student to receive college credit. 

Bridging Disciplines Program
Lauren Campbell presented updated information about the Bridging Disciplines Program.

Texas Success Initiative
Joseph Schaub, TSI Program Coordinator in the School of Undergraduate Studies, announced updated information on new TSI standards being implemented Fall 2012.

Wayfinder
Kristin Tommey, Communications/Marketing Manager in the School of Undergraduate Studies, provided an update on Wayfinder.  Wayfinder has almost reached the goal of having every bachelor degree profile on the website.  The Office of Admissions is planning to engage students to begin using Wayfinder as a major and career exploratory tool prior to their arrival on campus this fall.  If you haven't seen Wayfinder lately, please check it out.

FUNdraising Committee
Co-chairs Angie Martinez and Ale Zamorano encourged members to donate to the ACA Scholarship and on behalf of their donation, a goodie bag filled with candy will be delivered by on the of FUNdraising Committee members to a recipient of the donor's choice.  As an added bonus, ACA Treasurer Jay Guevara announced that the ACA Officers have aggreed to match the FUNdraising Committee's scholarship donations up to $300.

Awards and Recognition Committee
Lastly, Rose Mastrangelo from teh Awards and Recognition Committee announced the 2012 recipients of the James W. Vick Texas Excellence Award for Academic Advising, as well as the ACA members and offices who were selected as the official UT nominees for the NACADA Awards to be presented at the 2012 national conference in Nashville, TN. 

James W. Vick Texas Excellence Award for Academic Advising Winners:

• Jay Brown - Department of Psychology/College of Liberal Arts
• Megan Connor - College of Liberal Arts Student Division
• Tom Griffith - Department of History/College of Liberal Arts
• Kristen Boyd Kessel - School of Social Work
• Sarah Kitten - Department of Aerospace Engineering/Cockrell School of Engineering

Vick Award Winners will be honored at a reception and receive a certificate and honorarium at a reception in early March. 

NACADA Awards Nominees: Although the national winnner for each of these awards will not be announced until the end of the semester, we know that each nominee feels that the recognition by their peers as a nomination for this award IS the award.

• Outstanding Advising Award (Primary role):  Monica Malhotra from the International Office
• Outstanding New Advisor Award (Primary role):  Sarah McKay from the School of Undergraduate Studies
• Outstanding Advisor Award (Administrator role):  Elizabeth Hastings from the Department of Spanish & Portuguese
• Outstanding Advisor Award (Faculty role):  Dr. Paul Adams from the Department of Geography and the Environment
• Outstanding Advising Program Award:  Texas Interdisciplinary Plan (TIP)
• Technology in Advising Award:  STAR Program from the College of Communication
• Pacesetter Award:  Dr. Gretchen Ritter, Vice Provost