PULLMAN, Wash.—Five Washington State University faculty and staff members have received the highest awards possible from their local WSU Academic Advising Association (ACADA): Teresa Phimister, Leah Rosenkranz-Wurst, Justine Nicoll Rupp, Mary Sanchez-Lanier, and Aaron Whelchel.
Together, they have more than a half-century of advising experience and each year advise more than 1,000 undergraduates. The percentage of their job devoted to advising ranges from 5 to 100 percent and their “home” units include history, biological sciences, civil engineering, molecular biosciences, and arts and sciences. Phimister and Whelchel are at WSU Vancouver while the rest are in Pullman. And, four of the five are WSU alumni.
“WSU ACADA’s awards committee was very impressed by the breadth and depth of the high-quality academic advising that these exceptional members deliver to students,” said Yung-Hwa Anna Chow, awards chair. “They see the opportunity to support students as an honor, both in assisting students toward their career and life goals, and their commitment towards student success and retention. That’s the mark of excellence in advising, and these individuals are true professionals in that arena.”
WSU ACADA’s Outstanding Achievement in Academic Advising awards in the “advising category,” for those with more than three years’ experience in the field, go to Phimister in the “primary role” group, Rupp in the administrator group, and Sanchez-Lanier in the faculty group.
Outstanding Achievement in Academic Advising Awards in the “new advisor category,” for those with three or fewer years advising experience, go to Rosenkranz-Wurst in the “primary role” group and Whelchel’s in the “new faculty” group.
“Over the past six years, we have honored 25 advisors and advising administrators,” says Valorie Fisher, WSU ACADA president. “Many advisors and advising administrators have gone on to receive regional and national awards. Following tradition, we will nominate this year’s awardees for those.” WSU ACADA is an allied member of the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) which is headquartered in Kansas. WSU ACADA is part of NACADA’s northwest Region 8.
Sanchez-Lanier partners in student goal setting
Sanchez-Lanier is a WSU assistant vice provost and associate director and clinical associate professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine. She has advised students for 22 of her 24 years at WSU. In addition to teaching virology and overseeing several Office of Undergraduate Education programs, she mentors STEM students in the Team Mentoring Program of Multicultural Student Services, is the WSU faculty representative for the Goldwater Foundation that awards nationally competitive distinguished scholarships, and created and directs the Research Capstone Institute for the American Society for Microbiology Fellows.
In her WSU ACADA application packet, Sanchez Lanier often uses the word “partner” to describe her relationship with her advisees.
“As an advisor, I partner with students and together we explore their goals, choice of major, and courses they take. I believe that all students have the potential for success and good advising can play a role in that success. We are successful when a student’s college experiences have changed how the student sees himself/herself in the world and the world is a better place because of it.”
Whelchel encourages students to be proactive
Whelchel earned two bachelor’s degrees, an MBA, and a PhD in world history from WSU, and teaches the core History 105 course (Roots of Contemporary Issues) to students at Vancouver. He sees his institutional background and networks as “critical to my ability to assist students” and to enable him to act as a liaison between his department and the College of Arts and Sciences Advising Center. He helps students connect with faculty members, assists faculty members in their interactions with students, and links his advisees and students with resources encountered in his advising. His instructor/advisor connections helped him develop a supplementary instruction program for the Roots course this fall.
“As both an instructor and advisor, I encourage students to be proactive. (They) have a variety of resources to assist them in reaching their goals, but only they can determine what those goals are and only they have the motivation to work, sometimes through significant adversity, to achieve them. I value my work with the many fine students we have on our campus and am humbled to have the opportunity to play a small part in the shape of their lives.”
Phimister appreciates advising “tools”
Phimister also knows the WSU curriculum well. She earned her bachelor’s degree at WSU Vancouver, and returned to campus in 1997 as an academic coordinator. Now a full-time advisor and College of Arts and Sciences academic coordinator, Phimister has 17 years’ experience at her job and is passionate about student success. She values her arsenal of advising “tools” — experience with prescriptive, developmental, and appreciative advising—and her knowledge of university and academic standards and requirements.
Writes one supporter, “Teresa’s success as an advisor (comes from) her ability to lead with an awareness of what needs to be done coupled with a sense that students are complex people who are being asked to fulfill requirements…(she has) an empathetic approach that balances the student’s accountability and her deep understanding of the university system.”
She is also passionate about helping others in her field. In addition advising nearly 400 undergraduates, she participates on numerous university committees, trains new advisors on advising philosophy and theory, and helps faculty members prepare to mentor students. Phimister played a leading role in creating the Vancouver Advising Committee and in its recognition as a formal committee, which “improved our credibility as professionals within the campus community.”
Rosenkranz-Wurst aims to support students
Rosenkranz-Wurst, student services counselor, has completed her first year of advising around 600 undergraduates in the College of Engineering and Architecture. She earned her bachelor’s degree at WSU and returned as an employee in 2013. In addition to her academic advising at Alive! new student orientation and throughout the year, she participates in numerous WSU ACADA and NACADA professional development workshops, roundtables, and training sessions.
“I am at my job to serve and educate (my students),” she writes in her award application. “Advising should be a learning experience for all students…help them start to develop their own competency, purpose, and integrity…I strive to make underrepresented students feel like they are supported and have just as many opportunities as other students.”
She encourages all students to communicate with their faculty and encourages faculty to welcome their students. She also invites students “to seek out groups on campus that align with their interests and courses.”
Rupp enjoys providing student services
Rupp earned her master’s degree at WSU and became an employee in the School of Biological Sciences in 2002, where she is now an academic coordinator senior with a variety of student services responsibilities. About half of her job is devoted to “on-the-spot” advising, which includes talking with prospective students and their families, and answering enrolled students’ questions and concerns about a variety of topics including courses, course planning, regulations, petitions, grades, and internships.
“I have had a role in student services for 12 years and still love to help students in any way I can,” she writes. “I feel it is important for them to take ownership of their education from the beginning…It is gratifying to help (first-year students) with course selection and soak up their enthusiasm! I also enjoy working with students who are struggling. It is nice to help them figure out a set of goals — short- or long-term — and guide them to visualize and navigate what the steps are to attain those goals.”
Her administrator role also involves training and supervising academic advisors, mentoring faculty on advising issues, and working on curriculum issues, advisor assignments, and scholarships.