2012 Texas Exes James W. Vick Award for Academic Advising

On March 20, 2012, five Academic Advisors were presented with the pretigious James W. Vick Awards for Academic Advising.  The Texas Exes James W. Vick Award for Academic Advising recognizes individuals who improve students’ overall experience at The University of Texas at Austin through outstanding advising. Each year, five winners are awarded $500 and are recognized with an awards ceremony at the Texas Exes Etter-Harbin Alumni Center. The nomination and selection process is done solely by students. At this year's awards ceremony, former Vice President of Student Affairs and Best Friend of ACA - James W. Vick - was again in attendance to celebrate with the recipients and give remarks.  Leading ther program was the new Chief Operating Officer of The Texas Exes - Leslie Cedar.  Provost Steven Leslie was also present to provide remarks, along with ACA President - Theresa Thomas.

2012 James W. Vick Texas Excellence Advising Award Winners

Kristen Boyd Kessel, Jay Brown, Tom Griffith, Dr. James Vick, Sarah Kitten, Megan Connor

The 2012 James W. Vick Texas Excellence Award for Academic Advising Winners are:

• 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

The presentation of the certificates and monetary awards were made by the recipient's Assistant/Associate Dean, Dr. James W. Vick, Dr. Steven Leslie, and Leslie Cedar.

Executive Vice President & Provost - Dr. Steven Leslie

ACA President - Theresa Thomas

Texas Exes Student Selection Committee Chair - Carly Ward

Professor and Distinguished Guest - Dr. James W. Vick

A big congratulations to our colleagues and huge thanks to The Texas Exes!

March 2012 ACA General Meeting

**Apologies:  due to technical difficulties, these photos had to be taken on a cell phone and our lighting was dimmer than normal.  Please know that all the presenters and members present were amazingly poised and had flawless skin. - Cheers!  The ACA Historians

The March 7, 2012 ACA General Meeting, sponsored by the Cockrell School of Engineering Student Affairs, featured a presentation by Laura Wick from Cockress, an overview of University  Health Services/Counseling & Mental Health Center services by Sherry Bell, a discussion on resources provided by the Office of the Student Ombuds - Lauren Bloom, and an update by Kelli Bradley from Services for Students with Disabilities, as well as good news from the ACA Awards and Recognition.

A huge THANKS to the Cockrell School of Engineering Student Division for sponsoring our meeting.

Cockrell School of Engineering Student Affairs
Laura Wick discussed some uses of technology in the advising process.  She highlighted videos created to give students an interactive opportunity to understand university policies and procedures suck as  Q-dropping a course. 

University Health Services and the Counseling & Mental Health Center
Sherry Bell, Senior Porgarm Coordinator from UHS, provided an update on resources offered by both UHS and CMHC.  Sherry highlighted critical information about the Meningitis Vaccination required by students attending universities in Texas. 

Office of the Student Ombuds
Lauren Bloom, the Student Ombudsperson,  spoke about the services offered through her office and discussed the main reasons an Academic Advisor might refer a student to her office. 

Services for Students with Disabilities
Kelli Bradley, a Disabilities Services Coordinator in Services for Students with Disabilities, have an overview of the services offered to students who register through their office. 

General ACA Updates

Melva Harbin & Kristen Anton - R.O.A.D. Committee Chairs

Sarah McKay - ACA Awards and Recognition Committee