By Jeff Murphy,
October 19, 2015
WARRENSBURG, MO – Dedicating her time to helping students, longtime University of
Central Missouri staff member Paula Brant was honored in her professional field when
the Missouri Academic Advising Association presented her with the Outstanding Academic
Advisor Award. She was honored during the organization’s annual conference Sept. 24-25
at Camden on the Lake of the Ozarks.
Brant, who serves as an academic advisor in the College of Health, Science, and Technology,
received the award in the Academic Advising, Primary Role category. This honors individuals
whose primary role at the institution is the direct delivery of advising services
to students. Other award categories were for Faculty Academic Advising and Academic
Advising Administration.
To be eligible for the award, an individual must serve as an academic advisor, faculty,
academic advisor, or advising administrator and be employed by a regionally accredited
post-secondary institution. MACADA membership is not a requirement, and institutions
could only nominate one individual in each category.
State-level criteria have been adapted from criteria established by the National Academic
Advising Association, as MACADA hopes state winners will be nominated by their home
schools for national awards. The awards selection committee evaluated nominations
based on evidence of qualities and practices that distinguished the nominee as outstanding
in their academic advising area. They considered qualities such as strong interpersonal
skills; availability to advisees, faculty, or staff; participation in and support
of intrusive advising to build strong relationships with advisees, and monitoring
of student progress toward academic and career goals.
They also looked at traits such as the ability to engage, promote and support developmental
advising; evidence of administering an academic advising program that supports NACADA’s
Core Values; evidence that the advising program reflects standards of good practice
in academic advising, according to national standards; and participation in and support
of advisor development programs.
Brant currently advises approximately 600 students in the College of Health, Science,
and Technology and is specifically assigned to majors in the Department of Nutrition
and Kinesiology. She advises students in Athletic Training, Exercise Science, Corporate
Fitness, Dietetics, and Sport Management areas.
Also becoming the first professional staff member to receive the Academic Advisor
of the Year Award at UCM in 2015, Brant said she is honored to be recognized by both
the university and MACADA.
“I strive to provide a positive experience for my students by developing relationships
with them and feel that I truly have the opportunity to make a difference in their
lives and their experience here at UCM,” she noted.
Brant is a UCM alumna, having earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration
in 1998 and a master’s degree in college student personnel administration in 2011.
She came to the university in 1987 as a recruitment secretary for the Office of Admissions.
Her tenure includes positions as administrative assistant to the dean of the College
of Applied Sciences and Technology, and career development coordinator for Career
Services. She has served as an advisor for the College of Health, Science, and Technology
since 2008.
In addition to her work advising students, Brant has served on the President’s Commission
on the Status of Women, and has held leadership positions, including president, for
both the Professional Staff Council and the Support Staff Council.
She has been a member of MACADA, NACADA, and the Statewide Committee on Transfer and
Articulation since she began advising in 2008.
