Advisor Spotlight: Deb Mayhew

Introduction by Kari Ward
Deb Mayhew is the new chair of the Undergraduate Advising Council. I thought it would be appropriate to introduce her to the whole advising community and learn about her plans for guiding the UAC. I worked with Deb in the College of Engineering for four years and feel fortunate to have had her for a mentor. She’s sharp as a tack, loves to laugh, and even has her own cooking blog. Her dream job is to be an academic advisor at Harry Potter’s alma mater, Hogwart’s.

First, can you tell us a little bit about your background?
I just celebrated 20 years at the university, but it’s actually been a bit longer than that if you count my graduate assistantship, which later became my first “official” UF position. I started in Academic Affairs as assistant to the Dean for Community College Relations. It was a great job and gave me the chance to learn about all of the colleges and undergrad programs on campus. From there I went to IFAS, where I spent eight years as Director of Community College Relations. We developed some of UF’s first off-campus degree programs through collaborations between IFAS Research & Education Centers and the community colleges. When I came to the College of Engineering 10 years ago, I was able to focus more on student development as an academic advisor and through our programs.

Why did you decide to take on the role of UAC Chair?
In the past few years the academic advising community has become more cohesive and has found its voice. We benefitted tremendously from Erica’s strong leadership and dedication. My goal is to keep the momentum going as we continue to focus on the professionalization of academic advising and the professional development of our advisors.

Based on your experience or from what you’ve seen so far, what do you believe is the greatest challenge the UF advising community faces?
I think we lack a common vision of academic advising across campus. Although advisors are at the forefront in helping students and the university reach their goals, across campus there is no standard definition of the role of an advisor. As a result, there are many areas on campus where advisors are expected to perform long lists of tasks not related to advising. And there are still areas where individuals find themselves in advising roles, even though they have no background or training. Of course, we have many examples of excellence in advising, too. Our challenge is to make excellence the standard.

What does your typical work day look like?
In early January it looked a lot like a crowded bus station with long lines of students needing help with a wide array of concerns. Now that it has settled down, my day may include creating and conducting success workshops, coordinating our transfer student transition program, teaching in our graduate leadership program, and working to document best practices for advisors in our college.

What do you like most about your job?
There is a tremendous amount of variety, and opportunity to be creative, but I most enjoy the student success stories.

What’s it like to work with engineering students?
Typically they are really good at math and a lot of them don’t care much for writing courses. Beyond that, they are pretty much like any other student. I think the emphasis on practical experience through courses, research and internships does provide engineering students with a certain level of professional maturity, because they start interacting with industry so early in their academic careers.

What’s the most bizarre thing a student ever told you?
I remember a student becoming very irate because her instructor just “assumed” she should know that all oceans are salt water. Most recently a student with a very high GPA tried to convince me that his off-campus activities were very valuable, and I should give him credit for attending the three classes he missed so that I wouldn’t destroy his 4.0 GPA.

What is your favorite TV show (or movie, music, etc.)?
I recently saw “The King’s Speech” and thought it was terrific. My favorite book is Alice in Wonderland. I love a good mystery, but I’m pretty flexible.

I understand that you have your own blog. Can you tell us about it?
I write a vegetarian cooking blog. Last year around this time the Advisor Spotlight asked me my goals for the year and one of them was to start on the cookbook I’ve always wanted to write. I’ve learned that it will take a lot longer than a year to write a cookbook, but the blog gives me a place to test recipes and get some feedback. [To view Deb’s blog, go to http://www.vegetarianskinny.blogspot.com/]

Besides cooking and blogging, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?
We enjoy spending time at the beach, regardless of the season. Being there is so restorative. And walking, running, and biking along the beach are good ways to fend off consequences of the cooking experiments.

Husband/wife/partner? Kids? Dogs? Cats? Others?
One husband, one grown kid, two dogs, one cat, and the occasional flock of wild turkeys who gather in the front yard.