JoAnn Schrass
	University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA
	Platform Statement: Highlight your previous involvement within this unit that will help you in leading this unit.  What roles have you played within this particular unit as a member thus far?

I participated in national commission meetings.

What do you believe are the most important goals and initiatives for this unit in meeting the strategic plan for both the unit and the Association? 

Faculty advising is a tricky situation. Holistically the institution must value advising by the faculty. Administration must provide both rewards and recognition for advising responsibilities.

As the director of our faculty advising programs at UMW my primary task is to motivate the faculty to be effective advisors, rather than a check point for registration. I used several approaches to accomplish this. I gathered a task force of faculty to design concurrent sessions of advisor development during our annual workshop. The institution provided a stipend for faculty serving as freshmen advisors. Academic Services provides meeting reminders, a special portal group for discussions and a selection of activities and games to be used in the group meetings. I believe that sharing these ideas and providing a venue for others to share their ideas will allow faculty advising members to become motivated, effective and able to transfer useful ideas to their campus programs.

Why are you interested in serving in this leadership position or what influenced you to run for this leadership position? 

After seven years of directing advising programs at UMW and using ideas gleaned from NACADA and from the members of the faculty advising commission, I believe I have the experience and ability to facilitate other faculty advising members in developing their campus programs as well as overcoming obstacles to that development.

I have served as a national officer for several organizations. I have served as the president of the National Association of Academic Affairs Administrators and remain on this Board of Directors. I was recently elected as national Vice President of Graduate Women in Science. In both positions I must work with a group of professionals who are scattered throughout the country and who meet only twice a year. We use email, listservs, conference calls, electronic newsletters, web sites and are experimenting with wikis and Blogs. In both organizations I seek to encourage and mentor emerging professionals in the field and would do so in the Faculty Advising Commission.

Provide any additional comments or information (either personal or leadership-related) that you want potential voters to know about you that is not covered elsewhere in your platform information. 

I have a Blog - Dean Schrass on Advising ( http://schrass.blogspot.com/ )- where I discuss the trials and tribulations of advising at UMW. I will utilize such technology if I am elected to the Chair of the Faculty Advising Commission.

Past Involvement in NACADA:

Years in NACADA: 8 years

National Offices Held and Accomplishments Achieved While in Office:

Regional Activities/Offices Held, including accomplishments achieved while in office:

• Presented a session on how to publish for NACADA at the Region 2 conference, 2005.

Committee/Task Force/Advisory Board Activities and Accomplishments:

• Editorial Board member, NACADA Journal, 2002-2006  

Commission/Interest Group Activities and Accomplishments:

• Current member — Faculty Advising Commission, Advising Administration Commission, Advising Transfer Students Commission

Other:

• For the last seven years, I have directed the faculty based academic advising program at the University of Mary Washington. Three years ago we implemented a Freshman Advising Program with faculty advisors who enjoy working with freshmen. The students meet in groups of 15 as well as individually with faculty advisors during their first year.
• Presented at the 2007 NACADA annual conference, Baltimore: "Combining Game Theory, Technology and the Teachable Moment to Engage Freshmen in Advising"