Roberta 'Bobbie' Flaherty, NACADA Executive Director
Each year, the NACADA Board of Directors and the Council meet at the site of the upcoming National Conference on Academic Advising. So, March 19 & 20, they met in Cincinnati and discovered a vibrant downtown setting that should please conference goers in October. They tasted Cincinnati barbeque, chili on spaghetti, and some German fare. They discovered an entertainment area across the river in Kentucky and they checked out the hotels that will be hosting the conference attendees. All are excited about their return in October and look forward to another tremendous National Conference!
The Council and the Board also worked diligently on the business of the Association. As NACADA entered the second year of the new organizational structure, it was clear that the structure is sound, albeit benefiting from continuous fine tuning.
The Board conducted teleconference meetings between the fall and spring meetings and during those meetings approved the following: a partnership with ACT, Inc. to publish the results of the National Survey on Academic Advising as a NACADA Monograph this spring; co-sponsorship of some NACADA Awards by ACT, Inc.; a budget allocation for the Commission/Interest Group fair during the National Conference; a Small Colleges/Universities Commission request for a Service to Commission award.
During their meetings in Cincinnati, the Council and Board had productive discussions concerning the value of member volunteers in the association, how we could better train those volunteers to enhance the number willing to volunteer, how we could better support their work as volunteers, how we can enhance their willingness to serve in leadership roles, and how to ensure diversity among the leadership. Both the Council and the Board discussed how we might better provide for diversity at all levels within the organization - diversity in race, gender, sexual orientation, institutional type, institutional size, advising role and geographic location. A more proactive approach to identifying the advising expertise of individuals is a primary goal at this time.
Additional items discussed included: appointment of a Publications Task Force to review the role of a new series with Jossey-Bass; positive financial position of the association; preliminary summaries of membership surveys; review of other associations' dues and conference costs compared to our relative low costs; appointment of a National Conference Task Force to recommend any changes; discussion about a Conflict of Interest policy; membership plan goals; partnership with First Year Experience group on updating the joint monograph; review of draft of Core Values Statement update; review of draft of Task Force report on Definition of Academic Advising; and review of draft of plan for Executive Office evaluation.
The Council and Board both worked on the Strategic Plan by rating the overarching organization tasks proposed for each strategy and then prioritizing the tasks. Tasks specific to individual units are to be included with their individual unit goals and objectives.The Executive Office will follow up with recommended target dates for the completion of each task, assignment of tasks by unit, and identification of additional resources needed to accomplish each task. The Board will, hopefully, finalize the Plan during a teleconference call yet this spring.
I think you will like what you see in the Plan and hopefully will comment on anything that may have been overlooked that could benefit NACADA members and the field of advising. The Strategic Plan will be continuously reviewed and updated by the Board of Directors to guide the Association in its work and allocation of resources! Communicating your needs to the Board is crucial to the success and relevance of the Plan.
Roberta 'Bobbie' Flaherty, Executive Director National Academic Advising Association
Cite this article using APA style as: Flaherty, R. (2004, June). From the executive office. Academic Advising Today, 27(2). [insert url here]
