by Sarah Geegan

 (Dec. 8, 2014) — The UK Advising Network is now accepting nominations from undergraduate students for the Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Award. The award is designed to recognize outstanding service in the field of undergraduate academic advising for both faculty and professional advisors. Nominations are accepted online on the UK Advising Network website.

The recipients will receive a $500 travel grant from the Division of Undergraduate Education and will be recognized at a luncheon Feb. 20, 2015. All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate in the nominating process. Please enter only one nominee for each category (faculty or professional advisor). You can view a list of past recipients on the Advising Network website.   

The nomination deadline is Friday, Dec. 12.

The award is named for Ken Freedman, who served as a professional advisor at UK for 15 years prior to his death in 2001. Freedman was one of the founders of the UK Advising Network in 1986 and instrumental in advising leadership on campus in the 1990s. Academic advising is integral to fulfilling the teaching and learning mission of higher education. Through academic advising, students learn to become members of their higher education community, to think critically about their roles and responsibilities as students, and to prepare to be educated citizens of a democratic society and a global community.

Recipients of the Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Award will be nominated by UK for the Region 3 Excellence in Advising Award and for the National Academic Advising Association Outstanding Advisor Award. The National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), founded in 1979, promotes the quality of academic advising in institutions of higher education. NACADA is dedicated to the support and professional growth of academic advisors, administrators, and the advising profession. Through its publications and conferences, NACADA provides a forum for discussion, debate and the exchange of ideas regarding the role of advising in higher education.

 The UK Advising Network is sponsored by the Division of Undergraduate Education and the Office for Student Success. For more information, contact Jennifer Doerge.