First seen that year were push-through tabs on soda cans and genetic engineering. We'd yet to see personal computers, Walkmen, the Space Shuttle, and AIDS, let alone the World Wide Web.

It was twenty-five years ago that I first came to Penn State as a new faculty member. Enrollments at University Park numbered about 30,000 and about 55,000 students system wide, compared to enrollments of about 41,000 and 80,000, respectively, today.

I share these brief bits of history to say that twenty-five years is really a significant amount of time in our society and an important milestone to mark in the services our University provides. The cultural, social, and technological changes that span the last quarter century have deeply affected our work as an institution of higher learning. Penn State has changed in numerous ways along with the world, and this responsiveness is a continuing key to the University's success.

Yet some things, at their core, have not changed, and among them is the need to assist our students in making academic decisions. If anything, this need has grown greater with the added complexity of our University and the seemingly infinite choices to be found in our society.

When DUS was established twenty-five years ago as the result of a recommendation from the University Faculty Senate, it responded to a need to support students in developing awareness of Penn State's academic opportunities and making a successful commitment to a program, as well as to the need for a University-wide academic information system. Both are integral to the educational development of students, and it is this vision of advising and planning as an important part of our teaching responsibility that underlies much of the success of DUS.

From our students' perspective, this clearly is important, with admissions yields for incoming freshmen running 10-20 points higher for DUS than for any of the colleges, and with about 20 percent of Penn State's freshmen starting in the DUS option -- the largest unit of enrollment for entering baccalaureate students.  DUS also plays a very important role in retaining students who have had academic difficulty, helping many of them ultimately find a successful path to graduation.

Yet it is the leadership of DUS and its staff over the years that truly has made this program a success.

DUS has been a real leader in providing the opportunity for students to explore their educational interests in a systematic manner. I know the division is consulted regularly about how it functions within a large and comprehensive university and that there are units throughout the country that have copied our DUS model, and sometimes even the name. Our Big Ten colleague Purdue specifically looked to Penn State a few years ago when it was developing its Undergraduate Studies Program.

The leadership of DUS extends to the visibility of the staff in the professional advising community nationwide. Through their participation and leadership roles in the National Academic Advising Association and the Association of Academic Administrators, Penn State's DUS staff have helped to advance the state of the art and promoted the profession of advising in higher education.

DUS also has been a leader in excellence and innovation. This special anniversary year has been a great year to prove that point with several national recognitions for DUS programs and people. The “Navigating the First Year” program, named the 1998 Outstanding Institutional Program Award winner by the National Academic Advising Association, is a wonderful example of DUS's creativity and steadfast commitment to serving students within the changing circumstances of the University. The dedication and quality of the staff is further evident in the Outstanding Advisor Award presented by the national association this year to Robert Campbell of the York Campus. And the national attention being given to the Comprehensive Academic Advising and Information System (CAAIS) underscores that Penn State is at the leading edge in academic advising, and that is exactly where we want to be.

Leadership in the use of technology in advising is critical in our information age. I don't think the face-to-face interaction that is the heart of an effective advisee/adviser relationship will ever grow obsolete, particularly as we strive to humanize our very large and often complicated institution. Yet there are dozens of ways to benefit from the online resources available today. These resources add flexibility, efficiency, and productivity, not to mention volumes of data and other material, all which are of help to students, faculty, and staff in meeting their academic information needs. To the good fortune of Penn State's academic community, DUS has been at the forefront in promoting technological innovations in advising such as CAAIS and the Center for Excellence in Academic Advising Web site with its links to other advising resources, many of them created by DUS.

A final point of DUS leadership I want to mention is the division's advocacy for the important role that good advising plays in the lives of Penn State's students. We know that students need and want good advising. Eighty percent of Penn State's entering students are uncertain about their choice of major and many students change majors several times before graduation. Students in their majors need guidance in making decisions that enable the educational and career opportunities they wish to pursue. And before they even arrive at Penn State, students need to begin their educational planning.

DUS helps to keep our University focused on all of these needs. Through FTCAP, the DUS enrollment option, DUS advising services, and support provided for faculty and staff advisors throughout Penn State, the division actively promotes excellence in advising for all of our students.

And that brings me back to where I began, that advising is an integral part of undergraduate education. As such, it's much more than making smart choices about courses and majors. It should encourage students to see their world, themselves, and Penn State in entirely new ways, and help them to make the most of the learning opportunities our University offers.

To all of you who do so much to advance this vision of advising each and every day, let me say thanks for the wonderful job that you do for Penn State. DUS is a great asset for our University, and I very much appreciate your contributions and dedication to our students.