Individual Impact

The Individual Impact award honors and recognizes professional staff academic advisors who make an investment in and offer transformative support to students as individuals in their academic journey.  Student voices in the nomination process for this award will be key and are highly recommended by the selection committee.  The nominees for this award would exhibit excellence in a myriad of ways, including:

• Prioritize student engagement and student-centered collaboration, proactively building interpersonal connections, and strengthening relationships within the advising process;
• Intentionally follow up and follow through with students, investing holistically in their academic, professional, community, and personal development and wellbeing;
• Create a welcoming and inclusive space for students, families, and colleagues that prioritizes safety, trust, and empowerment; 
• Commit to learning about and integrating best practices and approaches and familiarizes themselves with student development theory to provide an experience that goes beyond transactional and prescriptive advising; 
• Stay curious within their own advisor development to show up as their authentic selves and sustain their work on an individual basis; 
• Look for collaborative ways to partner with professional advising colleagues and college partners across the university to best support students. 

 Leadership and Community Impact

The Leadership and Community Impact award honors and recognizes professional staff academic advisors that make an investment in broadening their reach in their advising community and expanding their professional advising portfolio to further enhance the student experience. The nominees for this award would exhibit excellence in a myriad of ways, including:

•  Demonstrate consistent initiative in their own and/or other staff advisor development; 
• Pursue opportunities to further their education in student development theory, leadership, and/or project management; 
• Contribute to enhancing advising operations: partnering with faculty and campus departments, furthering technology in advising, onboarding new advisors, assessing of advising practices, policies and protocols, and/or strengthening communication platforms; 
• Collaborate across campus units to intentionally engage with communities and groups related to student development and advising; 
• Contribute to the profession through, but not limited to:  
  • Strategic planning that aims to influence one’s own department or college, campus community, or the advising profession itself (e.g., serving as organizational leadership for NACADA). 
  • Sharing, and/or creating opportunities for others to share, their professional expertise through professional conferences, workshops, professional publications, and/or committee leadership 

2023-24

Foula Dimopoulos, Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives
Liane Fitzgerald, Engineering Advising

Two academic advisors earn 2024 excellence awards Cornell Chronicle, May 2024

2022-23

Shanna Leipzig, Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives
Andrea Poag, Dyson School of Applied Economics

Winners of 2023 Excellence in Professional Staff Undergraduate Academic Advising Awards announced Cornell Chronicle, May 2023

2021-22

Kristin Dade, Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives
Catherine Ramirez Foss, Arts & Sciences Student Services

Recipients of inaugural undergraduate academic advising awards named Cornell Chronicle, June 2022

Any Cornell student, staff, or faculty member may make an nomination and the nomination window is November through mid-January each year. Student agency and voice are particularly important, and nominations from students is highly encouraged. Staff are eligible to self-nominate.  

Nominee eligibility: 

• Must be professional staff located within the college-level Student Services and Advising Offices, the undergraduate major departments, and the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives
• Will have a significant part of their job role dedicated to advising undergraduate students on the academic experience
• Do not need to have the term “advisor” in their job title
• Embody or demonstrate many of the following qualities (more information about these qualities can be found on the nomination form):
  • Awareness, Belonging, Equity & Inclusion
  • Advisor Development
  • Intellectual Curiosity/Student Development
  • Interpersonal/Human Relations Skills
  • Professional Practices

*To recognize a faculty member or senior lecturer for their excellence in advising, please consider nominating them for the Carpenter Advising Award.