Awards Honor 5 for Advising

For their tireless efforts encouraging, empowering and championing students, five NC State employees were honored with undergraduate academic advising awards in a ceremony at the Witherspoon Student Center last Friday. The awards, sponsored by the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, are presented annually.

“We thank you for your dedication to giving your advisees your best,” said Karen Young, assistant dean in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. “We appreciate the ways in which you support your colleagues in your units and across the campus.”

The winners are:

Martha Wicker – First Year College
The Barbara Solomon Award

Wicker began her advising career at NC State in 1983 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She coordinated the CALS freshmen orientation course, advised students in the Thomas Jefferson Scholars Program and counseled undecided students. Both in CALS and later in the University Career Center, she worked as a career counselor. In 2000, she started working for the Division of Undergraduate Academic and Student Programs as a virtual advisor, answering over 42,000 emails from current and prospective undergraduate students. Since June 2011, Wicker has advised in First Year College where she instructs USC 101/102, advises environmental sciences majors and works with students from across campus in walk-in advising. In addition, she has helped develop the university’s Academic Advising Services website and continues to advise virtually. She is a graduate of NC State with degrees in communication and counselor education.

Christina Hobbs – College of Humanities and Social Sciences
New Adviser Award

Hobbs is originally from Indiana and moved to North Carolina in April 2008. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration and her master’s degree in student affairs and higher education, both from Indiana State University. The final capstone project for her master’s degree focused on developmental advising in relation to student development theories. Hobbs practices a model of advising that involves meeting students where they are developmentally and challenging them to reach the next level within their individual constructs. Her advising depends on the type of student – examples range from helping a student understand their degree audit to guiding another to apply for graduate programs. Hobbs also takes the extra initiative to reach out to students who may be experiencing difficulty in their lives, whether that hardship is academic or personal. Sometimes the students just need to know they have someone who genuinely cares about their best interests.

Joseph Palis – College of Humanities and Social Sciences
New Faculty Adviser Award

Palis, a native of the Philippines, has taught in NC State’s International Studies program since spring 2010. He obtained his doctoral degree in cultural geography at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008. Focusing on the cinematic traditions and histories of the Philippine archipelago as they relate to nationhood and national identity, Palis has published on American empire building through the cinematic oeuvre of Thomas Edison in the early 20th century, as well as the new cartographies of national cinema. In addition to intermediate global affairs and the capstone senior seminar, Palis also teaches modern Asian cinema for the Film Studies program. He is currently the IS minor coordinator as well as faculty adviser for the undergraduate Filipino-American Club. He has presented papers and served as organizer, chair and discussant in numerous academic conferences. He also DJs every Sunday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on 89.3-FM.

Seth Murray – College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty Adviser Award

Murray is teaching assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies, specifically for the International Studies program, and is associate member of the graduate faculty for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. He is the IS coordinator for advising and is director of the Alexander Hamilton Scholars, a dual degree program bridging the Poole College of Management and CHASS. Prior to serving on faculty at NC State, Murray earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008, with a concentration in cultural and environmental anthropology. He received a master’s degree in Basque studies from the Universite Michel de Montaigne in Bordeaux, France in 2004, and a master’s in anthropology with a concentration in archaeology from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1999.

Kim Outing – First Year College
Advising Administrator Award

Outing joined the advising staff of First Year College in 2003. She moved into an assistant director role in 2005, focusing on assessment. For the last three years she has coordinated advising for FYC, focusing on training and staff development, documentation and streamlining of advising processes, and advisee assignments. Since 2011, Outing has managed the Academic Advising Services’ walk-in advising for students from all across campus who are exploring a change of major. In 2007, she was recognized by NACADA with an Outstanding Advisor Certificate of Merit, and in 2008 she was awarded the Ephraim I. Schechter Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Assessment at NC State. Outing has also taught FYC’s USC 101/102 course and advised students since 2003. Prior to coming to NC State, she advised undergraduate students at UNC-Greensboro and worked as a chemical engineer with Corning, Inc.

Also at Friday’s ceremony, graduates of the Advisor Development Institute received certificates for completing the rigorous training program.