I just wanted to take a minute to recognize the 2011 – 2012 IlliAAC annual award winners.
Most Promising New Professional:
Trent Shumway – Division of General Studies and the School of Social Work
Nomination Information:
Trent has been an academic advisor since June 2011 splitting his time between the Division of General Studies and the School of Social Work. This was a newly created role so when Trent started he has dealt with a lot of ambiguity – splitting his time between two departments can be a difficult task – two set of supervisors, two sets of students, two sets of expectations but Trent has dealt with this role with skills, professionalism and above all a commitment to his students. Trent is a caring advisor and his students greatly appreciate his honesty, commitment, and professionalism. He is also a great co-worker who is willing to volunteer for new responsibilities and help when extra work needs to be done.
Outstanding Advisor/Counselor:
Todd Spinner – School of Chemical Sciences
Notation Information:
Todd has been an Academic Advisor in the School of Chemical Sciences since August 2010. In that time, he has been very well received by his students and has taken on a number of projects beyond his basic advising duties. Todd’s availability to his students is incomparable, as testified by one of his advisees on an evaluation of his experience, He helped me with no hesitations and directed me to the right person to speak with in detail even though I broke his lunch break. Todd’s students also regularly mention on evaluations how personable, friendly, and knowledgeable he is.
Outstanding New Initiative:
Kristy Gorden – School of Chemical Sciences
The School of Chemical Sciences (SCS) was looking for ways to connect with prospective and new undergraduate students. The office petitioned and obtained funding directly through the School of Chemical Sciences and collaborated with the Department of Chemistry’s Instructional Technology office to create a five-minute promotional video about SCS. The video does a great job showcasing the University of Illinois and the School of Chemical Sciences and will be an important addition to the promotional materials aimed at prospective students as well as a tool for new students who want to learn more about SCS. Kristy was the primary liaison with the Chemistry and Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering departments as well as with Instructional Technology. She created the storyboard and found appropriate music for the background. She also arranged meetings with the key players to find students and faculty members who could be showcased in the video. To view the video, please visit: http://careers.scs.illinois.edu/advising/SCSvideo.html
Outstanding Established Program:
Mi Pueblo (Campus Spanish Conversation Tables) – Beth Chasco – Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese Department
Nomination information:
Mi Pueblo was developed as a useful tool for anyone seeking to practice oral Spanish. One goal in establishing this program was to meet the need of numerous individuals requesting oral Spanish practice or conversation tables. The group leaders pick a time and place and then put it on the calendar. Currently, we have 8 groups meeting weekly (3 advanced 3 Intermediate and 2 Novice). For more information, please visit the website at: http://uiucmipueblo.webs.com/
Congratulations to all of our nominates and winners.
Jenni
2011 – 2012 IlliAAC Chair