Dear Colleague,
On behalf of the executive committee of the Kentucky Academic Advising Association, I want to extend a belated New Year’s greeting as your semesters are already in full swing. We welcome the start of the year with some not so positive news coming from the Governor’s office concerning state appropriations and funding levels for our institutions. Although the biennium budget is not set in stone, we know that we will be facing tough economic times.
With this in mind, I want to remind you that we as advisors can have the biggest impact on a student’s outcome if we are willing to put in the work required. It will not be an easy task, but I have confidence that when given the right tools and situation certain populations or individuals can shine. Horace said that “Success in the affairs of life often serves to hide one’s abilities, whereas adversity frequently gives one an opportunity to discover them.”
I want us to consider that we may be entering into our discovery phase of opportunity and in conjunction with others, discover our abilities to make a meaningful impact in the lives of individual students. Remember each student is an individual, but by helping a single student YOU make an impact on the overall success of the institution.
What helps us succeed as individual advisors is the collective sharing of information among colleagues. The collective sharing of information and networking is vital to the success of all of our institutions. With this in mind, I want to remind you that Region 3 for NACADA will be held in Charlotte, NC on April 12-14. I would urge you to consider going to the conference if you are able.
I also want to share some information about the next KACADA conference. As most of you are aware, we decided to change the meeting time to allow for more participants in the statewide and regional meetings. With this in mind, our annual KACADA conference is scheduled for September 13-14 and will be held in Covington, KY with Northern Kentucky University being the host institution. The conference theme will be “Advising Students to Excellence.” More conference details will be sent out shortly, but Dr. Betsy Barefoot of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence http://www.jngi.org/ will be our keynote speaker.
Please consider presenting and sharing at this wonderful opportunity of shared growth in our profession. A call for proposal will be coming shortly and we hope you will consider this as an open invitation to share what works for you and your students as others may be able to benefit from your knowledge and observations.
As for memberships, to coincide with timeline for our annual meeting and to get all memberships on the same time for renewal, consider this as your membership extension for the Spring 2012 semester. In the future, KACADA memberships will need to be renewed in the Fall. This should clear up any unnecessary bookkeeping on the membership end and allow for a more efficient conference registration and membership renewal process.
As mentioned before, more information will be forthcoming soon, please be on the lookout. Remember you DO make a difference, one student at a time.
Sincerely,
Aaron Raider
KACADA President 2011-2012
Aaron Raider provides leadership to KACADA as New President
The academic advisors in Kentucky have unique issues and concerns, and we can often be the best resources for each other. It is my hope that all of the academic advisors in Kentucky can work together through KACADA, to build strong relationships, re-enforce best practices, exchange new ideas, work to resolve issues, and have a good time.
I know how hard all of the academic advisors in this state work, and I know how much of a difference we make in the lives of our students each day. I speak for the entire KACADA Executive Committee when I say that we are looking forward to building relationships and working with each and every one of you.
Aaron Raider
Eastern Kentucky University
Manager, Advising and Academic Services
College of Justice and Safety
Eastern Kentucky University
859-622-6845