Advisor Spotlight: Derek Guffin, 2010-11 UF Advisor of the Year!

by Kari Ward

Derek Guffin, who just received the UF Advisor of the Year Award, has worked for the School of Business for the past four years.  Derek is known for his high energy and enthusiasm, for making Myers-Briggs the official language of the SB advising office, and for his wheatgrass cocktails.  The next time you see Derek, ask him to show you how he made Albert’s head move when he was UF’s mascot!

First, Derek, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m an ISJF who is passionate about many things, including listening to music, empowering students and friends however I can with the resources to help them reach their personal goals, and developing a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. My experiences as an undergraduate at UF made me fall in love with this institution and I am thankful to work for a university that has meant so much to me over the years.  Outside work I can be found at local festivals in the area, reading leadership books, and hanging out in a comfy lounge chair on my back porch enjoying the outdoors.

As an advisor, you’ve got some unique areas of interest.  Can you talk about that a little bit?

My main areas of interests as an advisor include career advising, developing effective teaching strategies, and applying the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator in my profession. One way I express these areas of interest include managing 20 part-time business students in the fall and spring who provide internship planning and career advising for other business majors (otherwise known as the Career and Academic Mentor program).  I also teach two courses during the year:  SLS 1102 Warrington Welcome (two sections) and GEB 3035 Effective Career Management.

Why did you decide to take on the additional role of “Preview Advisor”?

I am thankful for the opportunity to serve as a Preview Faculty advisor during the summer months.  I love the excitement eager freshmen bring with them to Preview, spending time with the energetic Preview staff and observing their creative ways to help freshmen, and advising alongside 40 Preview faculty who are at the top of their game in their respective fields.  The unique combinations of these factors make Preview an incredible, special experience . . . every summer!  

What do you like most about your job?

What I love most about my job is equipping students with the tools and resources necessary to meet their long term goals. It is a privilege to participate in the life journey of a student during their time in college and have the opportunity to speak truth into their life circumstances. From a project standpoint, the specific parts of the job I enjoy most include advising at freshmen orientation, marshaling our commencement ceremony, and teaching SLS 1102.

What do you like least about your job?

Drop/Add.  Enough said.

What’s it like to work with business majors?

Business majors are a unique flavor at the university.  They are self-motivated and hardworking, yet can come across as money hungry and closed-minded at times.  While sometimes BA majors do not appreciate the humanities and arts as much as other students, I do enjoy talking to them about what they do value, including ethics, entrepreneurship, finance, and developing a career in the evolving world of business. 

Tell us a little known fact about yourself.

A few random facts most people don’t know about me include that I ride a Kawasaki motorcycle and I used to be the mascot for the University of Florida, Albert the Alligator, when I was a student at UF. 

What is your favorite TV show (or movie, music, etc.)?

My favorite TV shows include Pardon the Interruption (ESPN) and American Idol (FOX).  I enjoy jamming out to most R&B and gospel music as well.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Outside work I enjoy playing disc golf, hanging out by the pool, and playing basketball.

UF Ventures Outside the Box with the Spring/Summer Enrollment Proposal

by Jill Lingard

A unique enrollment model is making news in higher education circles and, if successful, it may increase UF access to up to 2,000 more undergraduate students annually.

Named the Innovation Academy (IA), the spring/summer enrollment pilot program will admit a cohort of students who will take UF courses on campus in the spring and summer terms only.  Each fall semester, students will engage in activities away from the UF campus (i.e., study abroad programs, internships), enroll elsewhere, or take online courses through UF.  Students will sign a contract agreeing to not take campus-based courses at UF during the fall semester.

According to the Office of Enrollment Management, the goal of this bold new strategy is to increase UF access and maximize capacity during spring and summer.  The model will increase the number of enrolled students without having a negative impact on class size or student/faculty ratios.  At a university which receives nearly 30,000 applications per year to fill a freshman class of 6,400, thousands of very capable students are turned away due to capacity issues.  Those willing to take a flexible approach to their degree may now find access where none existed before.   
 
Colleges are currently determining which of their majors will ‘opt in’ to the spring/summer plan as well as their preferred mix of freshmen and transfers.   The Office of Admissions hopes to enroll its first cohort of approximately 500-800 IA students in Spring 2013.  To make that happen, an admission application will be launched with the pilot program as an option and recruiters will begin describing the plan to prospective students in their travels to college fairs and high schools this fall.

Certainly, this proposal will require us to rethink the traditional academic calendar and, at this early stage, it is natural for many of us to have more questions than answers. UF’s advising community has a unique opportunity to lend its knowledge and creativity to developing strategies around the many academic and developmental ripples that this plan will have.  Such issues may include:

·         Redesigning degree plans to fit course requirements during spring and summer terms.

·         Configuring Universal Tracking to treat fall as an optional ‘catch-up’ term.

·         Determining whether UF’s online course offerings or transient coursework through other institutions during the fall is in the best interest of these students.

·         Identifying meaningful and developmentally appropriate extra-curricular activities in the fall, in or away from Gainesville.

·         Developing strategies to deliver advising services at a distance for students who are away from Gainesville during the fall.

·         Supporting the Dean of Students Office in its expanded Preview offerings targeted to these students.

“UF’s advising community is looking forward to partnering with administration in the implementation of this innovative new admissions model,” stated Deb Mayhew, UAC Chair.  We will keep our membership informed of developments as the University Advising Council learns more about the spring/summer enrollment program.

2011 Common Reading Program: Outcasts United

by Jill Lingard  

This year’s Common Reading Program selection is Outcasts United by Warren St. John.  With the sport of soccer serving as a back drop, the book chronicles the daily trials of refugee families making their way in a new country alongside the growing pains of a small southern town as it assimilates the changing composition of its community.  Coach Luma, the book’s central character, struggles to repair rifts within her own cross-cultural family while building a second American family of young soccer players from war-torn countries all over the globe.
     

“Outcasts United is a book about people from a lot of different backgrounds who come together in a new place and have to figure out what kind of community they’re going to make for themselves,” explains St. John in a video message directed to UF students posted on the Dean of Students web site.  “In some ways, I think that has some similarities with what you as first-year students are going to be encountering.”

UF’s Common Reading Program is in its fifth year now.  The program is designed to provide all first-year students with a common intellectual experience to stimulate discussion, critical thinking, and encourage a sense of community among students, faculty and staff.   Each year, the book is chosen by a committee comprised of faculty, staff, and students who are charged with selecting a book that is interdisciplinary, global, recently published, and relevant to both first-year students and the UF community.

The Dean of Students Office has posted information about the book and related resources (including the above referenced author’s message to UF students) on their website.  DSO staff update their site throughout the summer with discussion guides, class activity ideas, and campus events related to the book during Summer B and fall terms. Similar to previous years, the author will address all first-year students at convocation in the O’Connell Center on August 19.  Coach Luma will be speaking at UF on November 17.

Liz Kazungu Goes "Down Under" with Oprah!

by Liz Kazungu

I have been an Oprah fan and avid watcher of the show since the age of seven and so when I was contacted by Harpo Studios and informed that I was one of her “ultimate viewers,” I was beside myself. The process of choosing the 302 viewers who went to Australia with Oprah was not easy. Folks heard rumors that the call for “ultimate viewers” pulled in close to 85,000 responses! While in Australia, Oprah shared that she felt that the chosen 302 were not of her doing but of the divine.  My story, like so many others on the trip, was a life story of hard work, persistence, and sacrifice.  Many of the “ultimate viewers,” like me, felt so very blessed to receive this opportunity.

We had a blast in Australia last December! We were split up into groups after being given a questionnaire about our interests and we were then each taken to a different part of Australia to experience the rich culture of the people. My group was taken to Byron Bay on the gulf coast of Australia. We were each given individual condos for the four days we were there. We also had a chance to visit Olivia Newton John at one of her nature resorts called Gaia. The highlight for me was when we visited a spiritual resort called Crystal Castle. It was really breathtaking and we had the opportunity to be blessed by Buddhist monks.

I will never forget the trip. Oprah was so gracious and she is everything I ever heard about and more. When I had a chance to talk to her, I personally thanked her for building the school in South Africa. As an African woman from Kenya, I was deeply touched by her endeavor to change the lives of these African girls who desperately need it.

I am already giving back in my own way. I started a mini foundation called “Spread the Love” in honor of Oprah’s words to us when she visited us at the airport to say goodbye on our way back to the US. The “Spread the Love” foundation is going to bring a very special Christmas to my small village of Gotani in Kilifi district of Kenya like none seen ever before. The plan is to make sure that each girl that I inspire at the village gets an assured education up to the 8^th grade--a gift that will save the lives of these young girls who would otherwise not get a chance to break the cycle of poverty that they live in. So far we have been able to fully sponsor 17 children.

I will never forget the trip to Australia. It was great to travel with the other “ultimate viewers” who are educators and who also work with students every day. In my role as an advisor, I see my office as my talk show, a place where I meet one-on-one with parents and students and hope at the end of the session to transform their lives in some way. If nothing else, I make sure they get a chance to view an issue differently, design a path for their lives, and grow to become the person they have always aspired to be, eventually becoming a successful Gator and a force in their families and communities.

Editor’s Note:  "Oprah" magazine will be featuring Liz in their June edition, which should hit the newsstands very soon!  Also, if you’d like to help Liz and Oprah “Spread the Love” see the STL FB page.  Liz says it only costs $60 to support a child's education.  How cool would it be if the UAC sponsored a child?!?

Kep's Korner

by Glenn Kepic

It’s been a busy awards season for academic advisors at UF.  The last issue of the UF Advisor announced the college and university level advising award winners.  Now, it is exciting to announce the winners of the NACADA Annual Awards Program. Congratulations to all winners!

Roberta Knickerbocker – 2011 NACADA Outstanding Advisor Award (Primary Role) and Region 4 Outstanding New Advisor

Danae Simonsen – 2011 NACADA Outstanding New Advisor Certificate of Merit (Primary Role)

Deborah Mayhew – Region 4 Outstanding Advisor

Does your office run a successful program you believe is innovative or enhances your academic advising services?  Do you have an outstanding graduate student who needs funding to attend a regional or annual NACADA conference?  Would you like to receive funding to help support your advising related research?  These are just a few of the awards and grants offered through NACADA.  Please visit the NACADA website  for additional information on these and other exciting opportunities. 

Planning is underway for the 6^th Annual Advisors Workshop to be held in September 2011.  If you are interested in joining the planning committee, please contact me at gkepic@advising.ufl.edu.

Toby's Tips

by Toby Shorey

To get a jumpkey for a screen, try rolling your mouse over the link on the left-hand side of ISISAdmin.  Please note – not all links have jumpkeys.

Advisor Tool Box

by Kari Ward

Become a Licensed Career Facilitator

If you are interested in incorporating career development skills and information into your work with students, then you might want to consider becoming a licensed career facilitator.  In Spring 2012, Dr. Judith Ettinger of the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison will be offering this blended online course to UF staff and faculty.  School of Business advisors took this course last summer and can share their experiences with those interested.

What’s it Worth?  The Economic Value of College Majors
Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce reveals the earning potential for a wide range of college majors.  If you want to know which majors are the most popular, how much each major earns, and what percentage of a particular major goes on to earn graduate degrees, read this!

Our Favorite Facebook Organizations
“Like” these organizations and receive feeds that contain UF, academic advising, career, and other totally unrelated info on topics that might be of interest to you!

University of Florida 

UF news and events

National Academic Advising Association
NACADA blog posts and conference updates

National Association of Colleges and Employers
National career stats and trends

UF Career Resource Center
Useful career-related posts and event announcements

Citizens Co-op
Soon to be open community-owned market that features food from local farmers (Erica Byrnes)

Nourished Kitchen
Healthy eating for the totally granola! (Kari Ward)

Nook and Cranny
Find out where Dana Myer’s band is playing! (Dana Myers)

Current Problems
Florida water/environmental organization (Jill Lingard)

Paddle Florida  - Eco-tourism, water conservation, and education in and around Florida (Jill Lingard)

Dr. Rey Junco
"Friend" Rey and get his social media in student affairs posts (Jeanna Mastrodicasa)

Ask an Advisor

by Dana Myers

 Our “Ask an Advisor” column allows UF advisors to share their viewpoint and experiences regarding advising or just life in general. We recently asked some advisors to answer the following questions:

1.       Do you have plans for (or have you already gone on) a summer vacation? 

2.       Where to, and for any particular reason? 
3.       If you don’t have any summer vacation plans, where would you like to go?

Tim and I are taking our girlie, Aurora, on a week-long Alaska cruise to celebrate her 13^th birthday.  On our to-do list: ride a glass train, pan for gold, see the aurora borealis (her namesake), and try to not gain too much weight!  Robin Rossie, College of Education

I'm originally from Michigan, so we plan to head there in August for a quick summer vacation. We're going to visit family and hang out at my Dad's lake house.  My four year old loves to play on the little beach and collect snails from the bottom of the lake.  We also like going to the nearby strawberry farm to pick fresh berries.Christine Richmond, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

I recently returned from the NACADA Region 6 conference in Winnipeg, Canada and I really enjoyed the professional discussions, all the friendly people, and the beautiful city.  By the time you read this, I will be in Salzburg, Austria assisting with the UF in Salzburg study abroad program.  I will then head to Marmaris, Turkey with my family for our summer vacation. Glenn Kepic, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

In addition to attending a family reunion in Osierfield, GA, I will return to Boston in July to complete an accelerated campus based course.  It will be my last residency course for my Doctorate of Education program at Northeastern University!  The city is lovely, but the courses are exhausting. Because I’m not taking a full summer vacation, I’ll be taking a cruise with four of my best friends to Jamaica this fall!  I’ve never been, so I’m super excited. The fact that I get to experience it with the greatest girls I know makes it that much better!  Katrice Graham, School of Business