Charlie Nutt, NACADA Executive Director

In just a few short weeks, close to 3,000 of you will join us in San Antonio for our 30th Anniversary celebration! We are beginning our celebration with this important issue of Academic Advising Today, highlighting not only major events and achievements of our 30 years, but also celebrating key leaders in our history, such as Virginia Gordon, Wes Habley, Tom Grites, Peggy King, and J.D. Beatty, as well as key leaders for our next 30 years, such as Cornelius Gilbert and José Rodríguez.

In addition to this special issue of AAT, as a part of NACADA’s 30th Anniversary celebration, the NACADA Clearinghouse of Academic Advising Resources has asked NACADA members to update and expand upon the most popular chapters in the 1995 publication, Academic Advising as a Comprehensive Campus Process. The overviews provide practical suggestions for establishing and maintaining the kinds of positive connections across campus that will lead to greater student persistence. These articles can be found online in the Clearinghouse.

Also to celebrate NACADA’s 30th Anniversary, there will be a trivia game at the NACADA Exhibit Booth at the 2009 Annual Conference in San Antonio. Attendees who answer questions correctly will have the opportunity to win NACADA Bucks that can be exchanged for NACADA publications and products. Each month since January, the NACADA Highlights has featured questions and answers from categories included in the trivia game. The categories are: conference locations, NACADA Past Presidents, NACADA publications, conference keynote speakers, miscellaneous NACADA fun facts, and Get to know your NACADA Executive Office.  Check the Highlights each month for questions and answers. 

Our opening general session in San Antonio will be the start of our Conference celebration – with a special Anniversary welcome from our President Casey Self. After the keynote speaker, join us for our opening 30-year celebration reception!

Other exciting aspects of this year’s Conference are:

• dynamic keynote speakers with vast experience and expertise in student success of our multicultural students,
• our NACADA Choir celebrating its 11th anniversary with a musical celebration,
• 2nd Annual Common Reading with a focus on academic advising and the Latina student,
• 2nd Annual Silent Auction to support graduate student scholarships to regional conferences, and
• over 400 concurrent sessions!

I look forward to seeing you all in San Antonio!

Charlie Nutt, Executive Director
NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising
(785) 532-5717
[email protected]

Cite this article using APA style as: Nutt, C. (2009, September). From the executive director: Join us in San Antonio to celebrate our 30 years! Academic Advising Today, 32(3). Retrieved from [insert url here]