Carrie Brimhall

Carrie Brimhall has come to lead the enrollment management of a multi-campus community and technical college by successfully serving as a director of student life, a director of residential life, and as a campus enrollment management director.  Insights gained in these areas, all crucial to student retention, have given her a keen understanding of the critical nature of a student’s experience during their first year of college.

As team leader, Brimhall worked with faculty to create a first-year experience course at Minnesota State Community and Technical College. Following the pilot semester, Brimhall worked with faculty who were teaching the course to revise the course description, change the credit load for the course, and rally to make the course mandatory for all associate of arts degree-seeking students.  In addition, she wrote the grant to fund the training and to subsidize the tuition for students enrolling in the pilot classes, took the entire team of instructors who would teach the course to a national conference for training, and was the principle writer of the curriculum.  Brimhall was also the guiding force behind the college’s development of a state-of-the-art early warning system that allows faculty to electronically notify counselors early enough so they can provide appropriate interventions to help students succeed academically. 

Whether recruiting students, getting them acclimated to their first apartment, or encouraging involvement in campus activities, Brimhall has a history of connecting with first-year students.  This connection has contributed not only to retention, but to student success as well.

Nannette Commander

Nannette Commander’s student advocacy work at Georgia State University has resulted in an ever- improving educational experience for students. Commander exhibits a genuine interest in the  students and a heartfelt personal obligation to move mountains to do what is in their best interests.

Through Commander’s passion for students, Georgia State University has developed into an institution that supports the special needs of first-year students. Beginning with her appointment as Director of Undergraduate Studies and now as Assistant Vice President of Recruitment & Retention, Commander has exhibited relentless determination to make the educational needs of first-year students her priority by creating a Community Scholar’s Program, developing a Supplemental Instruction Peer Mentor Program, and various other initiatives.  Additionally, Commander has contributed to the success of the Georgia State University Freshman Learning community program by actively engaging with academic improvement programs sponsored by the University Counseling Center.  Not only did she advocate for the GSU 1010 New Student Orientation course and first-year learning communities, but she was extremely persuasive in advocating the special needs of first-year students to the university community and in recruiting faculty to teach in the first-year learning community at a time when many thought that GSU 1010 had no place in a  Research I University.

Her advocacy extends beyond Georgia State University to other institutions within the University of Georgia system and across the country.  Her vision, leadership, infectious passion, and personal commitment have enabled her to rally support for first-year students on her campus and spread her influence well beyond Georgia State.

Lynita Cooksey

The passion and vision of Lynita Cooksey has led to a transformation of Arkansas State University that is truly student-centered.  In a short period of time, Cooksey has led the effort to change the experience of first-year students at the University from one that can best be described as “benign neglect” to one that is focused on their success.

When Cooksey assumed the role of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, she had two concerns in mind: academic advising and new student orientation.  Through her efforts, the University now has a full-service Academic Advising Center with four professional advisors to serve undecided students. Additionally, Cooksey was resolute that the students at Arkansas State needed learning assistance in areas that most effect first-year students.  As a result of her determination, there is now a learning assistance center for math and science, general education courses, and a study skills specialist dedicated to helping students improve their study habits.  Her concern with new student orientation brought into effect a renewed collaborative relationship between student affairs and academic affairs that has enabled changes across the campus.  Cooksey’s efforts have also resulted in an addition of separate academic workshops for parents and students and a refocused emphasis on the academic experience at new student orientations.  Under her leadership, pilot first-year experience courses were offered to any interested students, where traditionally they had only been offered to those students required to take developmental courses.

Through her passion and zeal, Lynita Cooksey has changed the face of student success and retention at Arkansas State University.  Her leadership and staunch support of a strong first-year experience and student success have made her a legend at Arkansas State University.

James Diedrick

Agnes Scott College has experienced a big difference in the culture of first-year students due to James Diedrick’s passion and leadership.  He has had a significant impact on the first-year curriculum and on the broader culture of pedagogy and assessment at Agnes Scott.

Since Diedrick’s arrival at Agnes Scott in 2005, he has been a visionary and tireless advocate of efforts to assess and improve the learning experience for first-year students on the campus and beyond.  He championed the creation of living and learning communities linked to first-year seminars as powerful vehicles for building supportive peer learning communities and encouraging students to become active and reflective learners.  In 2006, Diedrick was a leader in developing a proposal to the Teagle Foundation for the four-institution consortium on “Improving and Assessing Integrative Learning Experiences.” As a result, the proposal received a grant to help consortia members strengthen their efforts to promote integrative learning early in a student’s undergraduate career.  Diedrick has also emerged as a strong national advocate for thoughtful assessment measures grounded in a deep understanding of liberal arts education and pedagogy at a time when higher education is under pressure to show evidence of great accountability for student learning and achievement.

Diedrick’s dedication to improving the learning experience for first-year students has led him to be a powerful advocate among faculty and staff at Agnes Scott, other institutions, and in the national higher education community.

Robert H. Garvey

A major driving force for Robert Garvey was realizing the impact one person can have on the lives of young people, especially at the crucial point of beginning college. 

Garvey chaired the committee that turned the vision of a first-year program at the College of the Holy Cross into a reality. Garvey envisioned this first-year program as devoted to a more holistic experience where students participate in full-year seminars, live together in a single residence hall, and participate in cocurricular and extracurricular events to strengthen the bonds between students and courses. The success of the program with a limited number of students has resulted in the College recently committing itself to provide this first-year program to the entire first-year class.  This innovative approach to the first year has also transformed the first-year classroom at Holy Cross.  “General Physics in Daily Life,” a class created to narrow the gap between the lecture and the lab in first-year physics classes, is partially responsible for  Garvey being named one of four “U.S Professors of the Year” by the Carnegie Foundation in 2000.  However, it is his tireless devotion to the needs of students and his innovative approach to pedagogy that have gotten the respect of his colleagues at Holy Cross.

Garvey sincerely encourages the pursuit of knowledge and striving for better solutions-not through constant praise, but through thoughtful responses to any question or idea. He does not push ideas onto his students and he does not preset a specific answer for them to produce.  Instead, Garvey creates an environment for creative and healthy questioning, which will inevitably lead to more discussion outside the classroom and to greater independence through thought.

Russell Lowery-Hart

Russell Lowery-Hart’s impact on the culture of West Texas A&M University is extensive as evidenced by the numerous initiatives he has created and the new partnerships and programs he has facilitated to aid first-year students.  He has established initiatives of academic orientation, centralized advising, quality instruction, and academic skill building as well as initiatives to target first-year student program integration at the University.

Lowery-Hart focuses on student success instead of student retention, even though the positive effect to the revamped first-year experience has increased the first-year retention rate in 2007.  He spearheaded several university-wide initiatives targeting first-year student program integration across the campus that allowed the university to adapt services, create new programs, and develop stronger relationships with students and their families.  His advocacy for the first-year student began as a faculty member charged with leading his university’s accrediting efforts for quality enhancement. As the Quality Enhancement Plan chair, Lowery-Hart pioneered a broad-based understanding of first-year student issues facing the University.  As a result of his leadership in this area, he was appointed Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, where his mission is to improve the manner in which first-year students are academically engaged in and out of the classroom environment.

The collaborative environment he has encouraged provides honest and helpful feedback to enable students to succeed. Through his inspiration, vision, and knowledge, Lowery-Hart has changed the campus culture to allow students to re-examine their thinking and to experience ample opportunity to apply their learning to meaningful life experiences.

Steady H. Moono

It is Steady Moono’s enthusiasm that motivates and guides all that has been accomplished in improving the first-year experience for students at Montgomery County Community College.  His passion for students is directly related to the institution’s efforts to bridge the gap between academic affairs and student affairs to further the development of first-year students.

In endeavoring to improve the first-year experience, Moono has contributed to the development of the Student Success Center, improved services for ESL and international students, and led efforts to identify at-risk student populations and related interventions.  The range and scope of services delivered to students under Moono’s leadership is impressive.  He has coordinated new student orientation and revised Welcome Back Week for all students, introducing welcome tents around campus in an effort to make students feel comfortable before they even walk into a building.  Moono’s work also supported peer mentoring for first-year students transitioning from welfare to college and learning community groups coordinated by specific counselors. 

Moono has transformed the experience of first-year students at Montgomery County Community College. His warm, sincere personality, his passion for excellence, and his devotion to students clearly make Moono an outstanding student advocate.

DeLaine Priest

DeLaine Priest has been instrumental in providing leadership for academic advising, academic support, and retention initiatives at the University of Central Florida. She continuously inspires first-year students through academic support programs, orientations, and student success courses in which she teaches a section each semester. 

With reorganization and respective promotions, Priest was instrumental in creating a Student Success Center that focuses on student transition, retention, and success through many offices dedicated to supporting first-year students. She provides structure and support for the advising efforts that take place at new student orientation and has been instrumental in coordinating the efforts to make classes available and negotiating seat availability for introductory courses.  Priest continually develops collaborative programs to enhance the retention of first-year students. Her advocacy on behalf of first-year students has been instrumental in providing instructional support and foundation-building skills programming so that the transition is less traumatic and less stressful for incoming students.  Her efforts have contributed to an increased six-year graduation rate.

Most importantly, Priest includes students in the process of developing programs and services. She is passionate about students succeeding at their highest level and understands that the program and services developed under her leadership must reflect this same mission.

Alison Ridley

For many years, Alison Ridley has led the campus conversation at Hollins University about the importance of the first-year experience for new students.  As a result of her advocacy and vision, the university is making a new commitment to their first-year students.

She has led an initiative for program development related to academic advising and worked closely with new and continuing students considered to be “at-risk” for either academic or emotional reasons.  As a result of Ridley’s counsel and mentoring on a one-on-one basis, many of these students have been able to thrive at Hollins.  In addition, Ridley implemented measures at Hollins to more systematically address retention issues and led efforts to improve orientation by focusing on ways in which to orient new students more successfully to academic and social life.  Ridley led the efforts to revamp the Hollins orientation program to focus on ways to improve student engagement and to build emotional and intellectual bridges in order to assist students in their transitions to university life.  Furthermore, Ridley has led the movement to incorporate peer mentors into the implementation of the first-year seminar.

Almost singlehandedly, through her passionate commitment to student success combined with a collaborative leadership style, Ridley has had a profound impact on the first-year experience at Hollins University.

George Roundy

George Roundy is always on the front-line by helping first-year students understand how to best access resources available to them, coaching parents on the student transition from high school to college, and fostering the faculty-student interaction that is the core feature of advising excellence at the University of Puget Sound.

Roundy is tireless in his commitment to the success of first-year students.  This is especially evident during the summer prior to matriculation and during the students’ acclimation to college work and life.  He has been instrumental in informing incoming students of their choices regarding first-year advising courses, first-year seminar options, and ensuring that each student receives the resources they need.  Students continue to benefit from Roundy’s care and concern in their initial weeks on campus as he monitors their transition.  Roundy implemented “Triad,” an award-winning program designed to provide academic support for specially identified incoming students; early alert intervention for students at academic risk during a term; and support for continuing students on warning, probation, or dismissal.  In addition to serving first-year students, Roundy also ensures that faculty are aware of all pertinent information so that faculty can help first-year students navigate the challenges they face.

For Roundy, his first priority is the students’ well-being. He always strives for a balance of personally assisting students and challenging them to find resources and learn to manage themselves. Roundy is an educator whose fundamental commitment is to assist students to find their true paths and potentials.