By Jeff Murphy,
July 13, 2016
WARRENSBURG, MO – After being recognized at the campus, state and regional level,
longtime University of Central Missouri staff member Paula Brant is now earning national
recognition in her field. She will receive the Outstanding Advising Award presented
by the National Academic Advising Association.
Brant, who serves as an academic advisor in the College of Health, Science, and Technology,
is being recognized as the award winner in the Academic Advising-Primary Role category
from NACADA: The Global Community for Academy Advising, as part of the 2016 annual
awards program for academic advising. She will be honored during NACADA’s annual conference
this fall in Atlanta, Ga.
The award is presented to individuals who have demonstrated qualities associated with
outstanding academic advising of students. The Academic Advising-Primary Role category
includes those individuals whose primary role at the institution is the direct delivery
of advising services to students.
NACADA has honored individuals and institutions making significant contributions to
the improvement of academic advising since 1983. NACADA’s goal is to promote quality
academic advising and professional development of its membership to enhance students’
educational development.
NACADA’s membership has grown to more than 10,000 faculty, professional advisors,
administrators, counselors, and others in academic and student affairs concerned with
the intellectual, personal and vocational needs of students. Additionally, NACADA
is the representative and advocate of academic advising and those providing that service
to higher education.
Before being selected for the national award, Brant was nominated for the state award,
which she received in September 2015 from the Missouri Academic Advisors Association,
and was honored in March by NACADA Region 7. The awards selection committee evaluated
nominations based on evidence of qualities and practices that distinguish 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.
The committee 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 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.
Commenting on the NACADA award, Brant noted, “Being recognized at the national level
for my efforts in academic advising is a tremendous honor for me. I strive to make
a positive difference in the lives of the students that I advise and hope that my
work helps them through their time here at UCM.”
A UCM alumna, Brant has earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1998
and a master’s degree in college student personnel administration in 2012. She came
to UCM in 1987 as a recruitment secretary for the Office of Admissions.
In addition to her involvement in MACADA and NACADA, she has also served on the Statewide
Committee on Transfer and Articulation since she began advising in 2008.
