Rose Honored with National Award

A Fairmont State University administrator will be one of 10 college educators to be recognized for their outstanding work on behalf of first-year students next month.

The University of South Carolina's National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, together with Houghton Mifflin Publishing Co., have announced this year's recipients of the Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate Award. Dr. Maria C. Bennett Rose, FSU Vice President for Academic Services, has been named as a recipient of the prestigious award.

"Maria has been a champion of first-year students since she began working as a part-time faculty member here in the 1980s. She is respected by her peers, her staff and our students," said FSU President Dan Bradley. "No task is too small or too great for her; and she handles any situation from returning calls from parents upset about financial aid to obtaining a major Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant  with compassion and grace. Our students have a better college experience because Dr. Maria Rose works here."

Now in its 15th year, the award honors college faculty, administrators, staff and students for their work with first-year students and the impact their efforts have on students and the culture of their institutions. The recipients, chosen from a pool of 116 nominees, will be formally recognized Feb. 28 in Atlanta at the Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience.

"Fairmont State recognizes the importance of the first year of college, and we have focused our efforts to assist first year students with student learning, success and persistence," Rose said.

"Many individuals on campus have worked diligently on programs such as Freshman Seminar, the Wilderness Exploration program, learning communities, Supplemental Instruction, intrusive advising and many more initiatives that have been started to help first-year students succeed. We firmly believe that building a strong foundation during the first year will help students throughout their college career."

Rose has been a part of the Fairmont State faculty for more than 20 years. She has taught developmental writing and developmental reading and study skills and has coordinated the campus-wide peer tutoring program. In addition, she has been coordinator of reading and writing for the Academic Development Center and has served as Interim Chair of Academic Studies for Fairmont State Community & Technical College (now Pierpont Community & Technical College). She was Director of Retention and Associate Vice President for Academic Services.

Rose was the author of a $1.8 million grant from the federal Title III Strengthening Institutions Program, which brought Fairmont State closer to reaching its major goals for student success and institutional excellence. FSU received one of 50 grants awarded from among hundreds of proposals from across the nation.

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Fairmont State and a Master of Arts degree in Reading from West Virginia University. Also from WVU, Maria earned an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on family and community literacy issues as they relate to higher education. In addition, she has earned a Developmental Educator Certification through the Kellogg Institute of Appalachian State University.

Appointed by former Gov. Gaston Caperton to the Governor's Council on Literacy, Rose continued to serve on the council during the Underwood and Wise administrations. As a member of the council, she assisted in attempting to meet literacy needs in the state by providing grants and scholarships. She has worked on many family literacy projects. Rose lives in Fairmont with her husband, Tom. She has one son, Alex.

For more information about this award or the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, contact Nina Glisson, Conference Coordinator at the National Resource Center, at (803) 777-8158 or ninal@gwm.sc.edu.

The other nine recipients of the 2007 Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate Award:

Rebecca Ament, Director, Developmental Education and Quality Improvement Projects, Zane State College;
Robert J. Anderson, Director, Liberal Learning, The College of New Jersey;
Paul Arcario, Dean, Academic Affairs, LaGuardia Community College, The City University of New York;
Tim Boatmun, Director, Academic Advising and First-Year Programs, Southeastern Oklahoma State University;
Leanna Fenneberg, Director, Undergraduate Initiatives, Saint Louis University;
Mariana J. Lebron, Director, Orientation and Transitions Services, Syracuse University;
Pamela M. Milloy, Title III Activity Director and Learning Specialist, Grand View College;
Pamela Person, Director, First-Year Experience and Learning Communities, University of Cincinnati;
William J. Tenbrunsel, Associate Dean and Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, Roanoke College.