UAAB advising awards
The goal of the UAAB Awards Program is to encourage a wider support and recognition of outstanding advising at Virginia Commonwealth University. Awards are presented across several different categories to individuals who have demonstrated excellence in advising, innovation and administration. Please read each award description and submission guidelines carefully and provide an answer for each section. UAAB will use NACADA rubrics to score categories which can be found on their website.
We would like to congratulate the 2025 winners:
Nomination Procedures and Requirements
If nominating yourself, or someone else, please complete the Nomination Form. An updated nomination form will be shared every Spring via email.
- VCU UAAB award winners will only be submitted to NACADA for Regional and Global NACADA recognition if they are active NACADA members. UAAB cannot fund individual NACADA membership for VCU award winners.
- If chosen for a finalist, the nominee will be required to provide additional information including: two letters of recommendation, one letter of nomination (provided by UAAB Awards & Grants committee), personal advising philosophy, and a resume/CV. All submissions must meet specified word counts. *NACADA rubrics will be provided to letter writers to utilize.
Award Types and Descriptions
Eligibility - Primary Advisor: Individuals whose primary role at the institution is the direct delivery of academic advising services to students. Nominees must spend at least 50% of their time on direct delivery of advising to students and have at least 3 years (calendar years) of experience in direct delivery of advising to students.
Eligibility - Faculty Advisor: Recognizes individuals whose primary responsibility is teaching and who spend a portion of their time providing academic advising services to students. Nominees must spend at least 50% of their time on teaching or research and have at least 3 years (calendar years) of experience.
Criteria - The UAAB Awards Committee will evaluate nominations on the evidence of qualities and practices that distinguish the nominee as an outstanding academic advisor based on the categories below (interpersonal and human relation skills, professional practice and advising advocacy, documented advising growth and success, advising professional development).
Award Recipients:
- 2025 - Tim Adams
- Certificate of Merit - Jasmine Slattery
- 2024 - Melissa Siebert
- Certificate of Merit - Sarah Briland
- 2023 - Cathryn Coffey
- Certificates of Merit - Greg Miller, Sarah Zehringer and Calla Talman
- 2022 - Lian Currie
- Certificate of Merit - Caimdyn Stewart
- 2021 - Gerron Scott
- Certificates of Merit - Martha Harper, Cabel Newton
- 2020 - Lindsay Freeman
- Certificate of Merit - Rachel Hill
- 2019 - Tim Adams
- Certificate of Merit - Robin Lawson
- 2018 - Nicolette Zbell
- Certificate of Merit - Lauren Jackson
Eligibility - Recognizes individuals who have demonstrated qualities associated with outstanding academic advising of students and who have served as an advisor for a period of at least one (1) but no more than two (2) years.
Criteria - The UAAB Awards Committee will evaluate nominations on the evidence of qualities and practices that distinguish the nominee as an outstanding academic advisor or faculty advisor based on the categories below (interpersonal and human relation skills, professional practice and advising advocacy, documented advising growth and success, advising professional development).
Award Recipients:
- 2025 - Colin Cridlin
- Certificate of Merit - Kenny Jones
- 2024 - Catherine Leary
- Certificate of Merit - Brianna Wayne
- 2023 - Darby Libka
- Certificate of Merit - Emily Csukardi
- 2022 - Courtney Dressler
- Certificate of Merit - Kailee Valenti
- 2021 - Kelsie Potter
- Certificate of Merit - Emily Thompson
- 2020 - Roy Roach
- Certificate of Merit - Kerry Boland
- 2019 - Katina Velentzas
- Certificate of Merit - Andy Kane
- 2018 - Betsy Seymour
- Certificate of Merit - None
Eligibility - Recognizes individuals who may provide direct academic advising services to students but whose primary responsibility (at least 50%) is as an administrator or associate director/director of an academic advising program for three years (calendar years) or more in that role.
Criteria - The UAAB Awards Committee will evaluate nominations on the evidence of qualities and practices that distinguish the nominee as an outstanding advising administrator based on the categories below (interpersonal and human relation skills, professional practice and advising advocacy, documented advising growth and success, advising professional development).
Award Recipients:
- 2025 - Rigby Bendele
- Certificate of Merit - Amber Cummings
- 2024 - Carrie Connolly
- Certificate of Merit - Shelley Bowers and Zeyad Bateiha
- 2023 - LaToya Davis
- Certificate of Merit - None
- 2022 - Steph Dorman
- Certificate of Merit - None
- 2021 - LaChelle Waller
- Certificate of Merit - Andrea Moreau
- 2020 - Vinicio Merida
- Certificate of Merit - Ben Plache
- 2019 - Crystal Baldwin
- Certificate of Merit - Juliana Rasnic and LaToya Davis
- 2018 - Katherine Drumm
- Certificate of Merit - John Hendershot
Eligibility - This award recognizes administrators who, while not directly involved in academic advising, exemplify commitment to the advising community and advocate for advising, students, and advisors on their campus.
Criteria - The UAAB Awards Committee will evaluate nominations on the evidence of qualities and practices that distinguish the nominee as one who supports the mission of VCU and the advising community. The nominee should be someone who has made contributions to the VCU community, the profession of academic advising, leadership in the field of advising (as well as related areas) and/or shows a commitment to student success.
Award Recipients:
- 2025 - Mary Metzger
- Certificate of Merit - Elizabeth Heck
- 2024 - Carlton Goode
- Certificate of Merit - Elizabeth Heck
- 2023 - Samara Reynolds
- Certificate of Merit - None
- 2022 - Katina Velentzas
- Certificate of Merit - None
- 2021 - Carolina Wilson and Shajuana Isom-Payne
- Certificate of Merit - Amy Miller
- 2020 - Kristin Smith
- Certificate of Merit - William Moran
Criteria - The purpose of this award is to support an advising professional (i.e., advisor, faculty advisor, or advising administrator) or advising team who has creatively improved advising practices at their institution by successfully proposing and executing an “outside-the-box” innovative advising strategy. Because advising organizational structures, advising technologies, processes/policies/systems, and student needs often change, UAAB and NACADA acknowledges the importance for advising professionals to think of and experiment with new processes to improve advising effectiveness, advising efficiency, and student success. This award may recognize innovative advising programs, models, approaches, initiatives, research, assessment, training, and/or technology. This award was new in the 2023 cycle.
Award Recipients:
- 2025 - Nathan Bickett and Jen Clayton
- Project: Student Success in Political Science
- Certificate of Merit - None
- 2024 - Cody Rogalski
- Project: Pre-Professional Health Minors
- Certificate of Merit - Megan Dupue, Karen Meister and Donte Sharpe
- Project: School of Education Plans of Study
- 2023 - Cathryn Coffey and Steph Dorman
- Project: Discovery Camp
- Certificate of Merit - Cabel Newton
- Project: Psychology Peer Mentorship Program
- Certificate of Merit - Ashlyn Anderson
- Project: Academic Advising Pilot
Eligibility - Named in honor of VCU’s first recipient, Gary Halliday. The Lifetime Achievement Award is intended for individuals with at least 15 years of documented accomplishments at VCU who have had a significant impact on a large number of individuals and organizations within advising/student support. The impact may be demonstrated in one or more of the following ways:
Programs & Projects: The individual designed or implemented one or more high-impact programs or projects.
- Products: The individual has developed influential tools, models, frameworks or other products used to advance student success.
- Presentations & Publications: The individual has made meaningful contributions to the body of knowledge on student success through conference presentations, articles, books, etc.
- Service & Mentorship: The individual has contributed substantial time and expertise to help build the student success community (e.g., by leading campus organizations or networks, serving on relevant boards or committees, and/or mentoring others).
Award Recipients:
- 2025 - Juliana Rasnic
- 2024 - Ashlyn Anderson
- 2023 - Edna Renee Macbeth
- 2022 - None
- 2021 - Gary Halliday