Two L&S advisers honored

The consistent delivery of good academic advice to students at the university has earned William D. Miller and Edgar P. Spalding awards from the 138-major College of Letters and Science.

The college bestowed its 1999 Academic Staff and Faculty Academic Advising Awards at a reception Tuesday, May 4. Chosen for exemplary advising practices, sustained contributions, student development and ability to work across structural lines to meet student needs, the winners were nominated by students, and other faculty and staff.

Miller has served the college as assistant dean since 1972. He has distinguished himself through insightful and knowledgeable interpretation of policies and requirements. In recent years he has embarked upon a “second career” in harnessing technology to advance the quality of advising by helping college staff implement the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) for student credit updates and the Integrated Student Information System (ISIS) for student records.

“Ironically, technology has brought me full circle to my ‘first career’: providing me personal contact with students on a large, potentially impersonal campus,” he says.

Since arriving on campus in 1994, Spalding has earned a reputation for challenging the botany students he advises to exceed their own expectations. In addition to teaching the introductory botany and plant physiology courses, he advises about 60 botany majors and prospective majors each year, answering questions ranging from the fine points of requirements to practical job prospects.

Spalding says students need particular attention when their interests diverge from the beaten path. “I’ve found that a bit of advice can help a student make the most of all those possibilities,” he says.