Heads up Region 8 Travelers!
Attention Region 8 Members from the United States! If you plan to attend the 2014 Region 8 Conference in Vancouver, B.C. you will need to start thinking about a passport now. A valid U.S. passport is required to enter Canada and then reenter the U.S.. There are various options for obtaining a passport. You could get your passport booklet or a passport card. The passport card is not valid if you are traveling to Vancouver by air.
The cost of a passport or passport card varies depending on if you choose the card or book, and if you are a first-time applicant or renewing your current passport.
Processing time for your passport varies, but the State Department recommends that if you plan to travel within 10 weeks, you should expedite your order. Remember the conference will take place March 20-22nd 2014!
For more information, visit the State Department’s website.
We will see you in Vancouver!
10th Annual Advising Symposium!
Hello Region 8! Come check out the 10th Annual Advising Symposium at the University of Idaho. This event will be held on September 13th 2013.
WOW! What a Conference!
Pictured above are only some of the wonderful people who served as Region 8 Conference planners and volunteers! There are many more that helped put this amazing event on who are not pictured.
A little over 1 Week ago, Region 8 put on an amazing conference in Anchorage, Alaska! People working and learning together in the warm Marriott Downtown Anchorage, and getting to know each other in the not-so warm (spring?) air of Alaska! We had our largest gathering of Region 8 members for a non-I5 corridor event, 283 people! On top of that, the response for the conference was great! Now that we are all back in the real world, trying to remember our passwords and meeting with our students, it is important to recognize all the people involved that made this conference great!
Let us begin by thanking our conference co-chairs Nicole Kent and Linda Morgan for their tremendous dedication to the regional conference.
Next to region chair Sally Garner for her leadership and service to the region
To our keynote speaker Patrick Gamble, President of the University of Alaska for his optimistic insight for changes to benefit students and advisors in higher education.
Finally, to Charlie Nutt from the NACADA Executive Office for his enthusiasm for academic advising and its future as a profession. (Charlie, remember, 8 is great!)
Now let’s take a minute to give applause to some amazing Region 8 members.
Congratulations to our Region 8 award winners (pictured above). We were pleased to recognize eight out of ten 2013 winners at the keynote luncheon.
- Region 8 Excellence in Advising – New Advisor Award
- Kyle Ross, Academic and Career Advisor, Center for Advising and Career Development, Washington State University
- Kristi Overfelt, Academic Advising and Retention Specialist, College of Letters Arts and Social Sciences, University of Idaho
- Region 8 Excellence in Advising – New Advisor Certificate of Merit
- Kerry Thomas, Academic Advisor, College of Liberal Arts Student Services, Oregon State University
- Rachel Allen, Career and Academic Advisor, School of Journalism and Communication, University of Oregon
- Megan Comstock, Academic Coordinator, College of Business, Washington State University
- Region 8 Excellence in Advising – Professional Academic Advisor Award
- Brooke Whiting, Academic Coordinator, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Washington State University
- Region 8 Excellence in Advising – Professional Academic Advisor Certificate of Merit
- Dr. Andrew Wahlstrom, Academic Advisor, Office of Academic Advising, University of Oregon
- Region 8 Excellence in Advising – Faculty Academic Advisor Award
- Dr. Larry Makus, Professor, Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology Department, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Idaho
- Region 8 Excellence in Advising – Advising Administrator Award
- Dr. Susan Hess, Assistant Director and Advising Coordinator, Lionel Hampton School of Music, University of Idaho
- Region 8 Excellence in Advising – Institutional Administrator Award
- Dr. Jeanne Christiansen, Vice Provost of Academic Affairs, Academic Affairs, University of Idaho
Congratulations to the Best of Region award winner! “Does Happiness Matter? Applying Positive Psychology to Advising State” by Teri Duever from Oregon State University was voted the best presentation of the conference. Teri will represent the region at the 2013 annual NACADA conference in Salt Lake City this October.
Resources to share:
- The presenters were encouraged to upload their presentations to the conference’s schedule page. Check out some of the amazing presentations you may have missed!
- People were all over social media including Facebook and Twitter. Check out some of the posts and photos that were attached to the Region 8 Facebook Page and live tweets at the #NACADAR8 backchannel.
A final thank you:
- To the The Marriott Anchorage Downtown and the city of Anchorage for their hospitality.
- Making sure all our tech needs were met, thanks to Bil Morrill and Kyle Ross for making sure each speaker had their tech needs met.
- To our sponsors and exhibitors for their support and enthusiasm for academic advising in the Northwest.
- To everyone on the planning and steering committees, and to all the businesses and vendors who donated door prizes.
- To all the presenters who put hours into preparing wonderful talks about their work/research/program/model/experience.
- To you, the attendee, for bringing out numbers to the amazing 283! It is because of successes like this, that keeps Region 8 GREAT!
NEXT UP: VANCOUVER March 20-22 2014!
The conference is over, the flights have been boarded, and we are all back to our students. Previously, I brought to your attention an awesome article from meetingnet.com which may make securing funding for this conference, just a little easier! I would once again like to thank Nicole Kent for bringing this article to our attention! Now, this is the final part to this article and now you have all 3 parts to prepare for the next conference!!! Look for the conference wrap up and get the dish on all the important happenings from the conference in the days to come!
Don’t just ask – SELL your Regional Conference!
(Ways to convince the people holding the purse strings!)
After the Meeting (PART 3)
- Immediately following the conference (perhaps on the airplane or car ride home), write or dictate a summary of what happened at the conference and how you will use the information you received and contacts you made. Write this summary quickly, while the information is fresh in your mind!
- Submit the summary to the person who sponsored your attendance, thanking him or her for the opportunity. The purpose of this summary is to make your next conference request even easier than the first. Once your administrators understand that you mean business when you attend a conference, they’ll be more likely to quickly approve your participation.
- If the knowledge you gained might also be useful to other in your organization, then you might consider rewriting portions of your summary or presentation as a blog or Twitter post to your colleagues! The NACADA Academic Advising Today is always looking for “Sparklers” or articles to share lessons learned, so investigate that possibility and share the wealth!
We Have Some WINNERS in Region 8!!!
Region 8! Let’s give the following people a round of applause. They are all 2013 NACADA National Award Winners from Region 8! Many of them are also gearing up for Anchorage! Go Region 8!!!
Michael C. Holen Pacesetter Award – Winner - Susie Brubaker-Cole, Oregon State University, ATTENDING ANCHORAGE
Outstanding Advising Administrator Award – Winner - Susan Poch, Washington State University, ATTENDING ANCHORAGE
Outstanding Advising Administrator Award – Certificate of Merit - Tamie Saffell, Western Oregon University, ATTENDING ANCHORAGE
Outstanding Advising Award – Primary Advising Role – Certificate of Merit -
Osvoldo Avila, Western Oregon University
Sheila Nielsen-Preiss, Montana State University
Brooke Whiting, Washington State University, ATTENDING ANCHORAGE
Outstanding Advising Award – Faculty Academic Advising – Winners -
Kevin Ahern, Oregon State University
Larry Makus, University of Idaho
Brian Roth, Walla Walla University
Outstanding New Advisor Award – Faculty Academic Advising Certificate of Merit -
Karie Mize, Western Oregon University
Outstanding New Advisor Award – Primary Advising Role – Winners -
Timothy Hadley, Chemeketa Community College
Alexander Kunkle, Western Oregon University, ATTENDING ANCHORAGE
Kristi Overfelt, University of Idaho, ATTENDING ANCHORAGE
Kyle Ross, Washington State University, ATTENDING ANCHORAGE
Outstanding New Advisor Award – Primary Advising Role – Certificate of Merit -
Kerry Thomas, Oregon State University, ATTENDING ANCHORAGE
NACADA Scholarship Recipient -
Leah Panganiban, University of Washington
Administrators’ Institute Scholarship Recipient -
Susan Poch, Washington State University, ATTENDING ANCHORAGE
Additional Anchorage Tours Added!!!
If you are Anchorage bound, check out this new tour option listed by Kristen Bogue from UAA! On May 2nd for those of you extending your trip at the end! Depart at 10am and take a scenic drive on the Seward Highway and cross through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel, the longest tunnel in North America, to Whittier. There you would depart at 1 PM on a Glacier Cruise and return at 4:45 PM. The cruise goes to some pretty impressive tidewater glaciers in Prince William Sound. You will also make a stop at an old shipwreck in Shotgun Cove.
This new tour will require an RSVP, click the picture to the right to download the registration form. The forms need to be returned to kmbogue@uaa.alaska.edu or faxed to 907-786-4519 attention Kristen Bogue.
Grow Financial Support for the Conference! Part 2!
Several weeks ago, I brought to your attention an awesome article from meetingnet.com which may make securing that funding, just a little easier! I would once again like to thank Nicole Kent for bringing this article to our attention! Also, check by early next week to check out the top 10 tips for attending your first conference! Hey, even if it isn’t your first conference, there are some great tips!!!
Don’t just ask – SELL your Regional Conference!
(Ways to convince the people holding the purse strings!)
Preparing for the Meeting (PART 2)
Once you get approval, you should prepare properly for the conference because you are going to need to demonstrate that you received the benefits (and more) that you promised to the person who’s paying your way.
Here are some things you can do to prepare for the conference.
1. Make a list of people you would like to meet at the conference and why you want to meet them. Don’t be shy about approaching presenters and other “luminaries.” They are more accessible than you might think, especially if you make plans with them in advance.
2. About 1‐2 weeks prior to the conference, contact the people on your list. Make a specific plan for a meal, coffee, or a time and place to get together.
3. One week prior to the meeting, make a personal agenda for yourself that includes the sessions you will attend and the people you’re meeting.
4. When you are at the meeting, try to stick to your schedule as much as possible and take notes during the educational sessions and during your private conversations.
- Alex Kunkle, Communication Coordinator
