Three Letters and Science Advisors Honored

Expertise and effectiveness have earned two academic staff and a faculty member in the College of Letters and Science 1997 Academic Advising Awards.

Letters and Science is UW–Madison’s largest college, serving approximately 15,000 students and housing 63 departments and programs.

Judy Cochran, Elaine E. Davis and Colleen Moore were honored at an L&S faculty meeting April 28.

Selected on the basis of their knowledge, resourcefulness, patience, development of student potential and all-around advising practice, the winners were nominated by students or departments and chosen by faculty, academic staff, a student and a parent.

Judith Cochran
Graduate Program Advisor
Department of History

Cochran has become known widely for her knowledge, thoroughness, precision, accessibility and personal attention to the large numbers of graduate students in her department.

“It is not unusual to see her spend two hours with a newly arrived student, or to walk into her office and find a bouquet of flowers or other gift of appreciation from a student who has just complete his or her degree,” observes Jean B. Lee, associate professor of history.

With duties ranging from administering prelim exams, coordinating M.A. and Ph.D. orals, processing course registration and grades, and serving on several committees, Cochran spends the bulk of her time keeping graduate students on track with degree requirements in both the history department and the Graduate School, meeting with several hundred students each year.

She also is the department’s job placement coordinator, monitoring open positions and giving workshops on the job search and other topics. In addition, Cochran authors the history department’s graduate student handbook, edits the history section of the Graduate School Catalog and contributes to its newsletter.

Cochran received her B.A. in French and history from UW–Madison. She has held her position since 1980.

Elaine E. Davis
Undergraduate Academic Advisor Department of Political Science

Responsible for the academic well-being of the department’s more than 900 majors, Davis has worked hard to improve communication between the department and its students, according to chair Herbert M. Kritzer.

Establishing and managing a student resource center is one tool she is using to accomplish that goal. The center contains information on the department, College of Letters and Science and the university; internships; graduate and professional programs; employers and more.

Davis also supervises the department’s legislative internship course, which requires students to participate in a seminar where they discuss their experiences in the field. She helps place students in internships, serving as a liaison with legislators and acting as a troubleshooter.

Helping students prepare for the job market also means understanding various factors that enter into hiring decisions, she believes. To that end Davis co-organized a one-day seminar last year that brought together advisors, business people and community leaders to underscore the dramatic changes taking place in the workforce, and to discuss ways students might make informed decisions about the future.

Davis earned a master of education degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and a B.S. from Cheyney College in Pennsylvania. She has been undergraduate advisor in Political Science since 1990.

Colleen F. Moore
Professor of Psychology
Faculty Advisor

According to her many advocates, Moore espouses a “holistic” approach to academic endeavor.

As her department’s “delegate” to the L&S Advising Center for the past two years, Moore has developed a reputation for guiding students into balanced academic programs. “Even in helping freshmen students outline schedules, and understand requirements, she tries to make sure the student looks at the big picture of their own personal skills and interests,” says H. Hill Goldsmith, who chairs Moore’s department. “Colleen’s educational and advising philosophy is that students probably will succeed best in fields they like. She tries to help students realize that although getting an education is hard work, it is work that can and should be enjoyable.”

Moore also applies her “whole student” advising approach to her work with undergraduates engaged in independent study. Supervising no more than six independent study students each semester, Moore helps them “feel nurtured in both their education and personal lives,” Goldsmith says.

On the faculty since 1978, Moore received her Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign. Her B.A. is from Pomona College in California.