Stephens Elected to Leadership Position in National Association

A Fairmont State University staff member has been elected to a national leadership position for the Mid-South Region 3 of the National Academic Advising Association.

Pamela S. Stephens, Coordinator of Academic Advising and the RBA Program, will begin her duties as Region Chair for the Mid-South Region at the end of the NACADA Annual Conference being held in Denver in October 2011 and will serve until October 2013. NACADA Region 3 includes the states of West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Stephens will be responsible for representing and providing leadership to the membership within the region; facilitating networking opportunities and member recruitment; identifying needed membership services for the region; establishing and maintaining a regional governing structure; and overseeing the annual regional conference, state workshops and other professional development opportunities for region members.

“I am intrigued by the dynamic nature of advising, and I want to be a part of the regional and national dialogue and to perpetuate the best of the advising profession. As academic advisors know, there is seldom time during hectic days to take a break and reflect upon our profession and our part in it. Sometimes we are so focused on the day-to-day activities that we do not find the time to gain a wider perspective of our profession and its influence on student success,” Stephens said.

“I want to represent others, as well as myself, who have been drawn to the field of academic advising and who strive to assist students with understanding their distinctiveness and with discovering who they are and who they are capable of becoming.”

Stephens has attended regional conferences in each Region 3 state during the past seven years. She presented poster sessions in 2005 and 2006 and co-presented in 2007. She served on the 2009 Region 3 Conference Planning Committee based in Charleston, W.Va., as a member of the proposal and program subcommittees.

In her position at FSU, Stephens advises students, primarily students who have not declared a major. She specializes in helping to guide first-generation college students and adult students enrolled in the Regents Bachelor of Arts program.

NACADA was chartered as a non-profit organization in 1979 to promote quality academic advising and professional development of its membership to ensure the educational development of students. Since that beginning, NACADA has grown to 10,000 members consisting of faculty members, professional advisors, administrators, counselors and others in academic and student affairs concerned with the intellectual, personal and vocational needs of students. In addition, NACADA is the representative and advocate of academic advising and those providing that service to higher education.

Pamela StephensAcademicsNational Academic Advising Association