Monday, April 26, 2010

Martha Whitaker wins a National Advising Award

The National Academics Advising Association has name Martha Whitaker as their Outstanding New Advisor for 2010. The honor is well deserved for Martha.


Some background on why she won this award-

Martha has served as the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources academic advisor for the undergraduate program for just over two years. At first she assisted Don Davis and then later by herself after he died from complications of cancer. In her role Martha has been simply superlative. Our undergraduate program has grown from 8 to 44 students.


Her excellence is not simply a function of the growth she has overseen however. Students in the program are enthusiastic about their futures and about the department. This enthusiasm has been encouraged and stoked by Martha’s dynamic personality and her passion for hydrology. She has also been a careful mentor to undergraduate students. Even as she has been successful at increasing majors in our department Martha has discouraged students from the major who simply do not have the background or would be better served in other majors. Still the students she has recruited are diverse in life and educational background and they are generally hard working and meet the caliber of undergraduates the department has traditionally had. Several undergraduates have indicated to me that Martha’s advising is detailed and important. According to them her advising has changed the course of their lives not just by encouraging them to major in Hydrology but also by encouraging them to get work and research experience. These experiences have proven critical as they have sought work in the field and pursued their careers.


Martha has been a truly excellent adviser and deserves the national recognition she has received for her superlative work.

No comments:

Post a Comment