Morrow And Bartlett Receive Excellence In Advising Awards
4-3-97
University Park, Pa. -- The 1997 Excellence in Advising Awards will be presented to Linda Morrow and A.L. "Bart" Bartlett at the Faculty/Staff Awards Ceremony at 4 p.m., Sunday, April 6 at the Penn State Scanticon Conference Hotel.
The award acknowledges excellence in advising, academic and career guidance and assistance to students in decision making and goal setting.
An academic advisor at the Health and Human Development Undergraduate Advising Center since 1987, Morrow's primary focus has been on "pre-major" advising for students in the College of Health and Human Development who want to major in nutrition or biobehavioral health. She is advisor to countless students who come in contact with her at a potential turning point in their academic careers, including high school seniors, first-year students on her advising roster, sophomores who haven't declared a major, prospective transfer students and graduates of other programs considering a career change.
In her role as career mentor and nutrition instructor, Morrow teaches two one-credit courses that prepare students to apply for dietetic internships and explore career opportunities in nutrition.
Morrow also serves as the faculty advisor for the Phi Upsilon Omicron and Kappa Omicron Nu honor societies. Kappa Omicron Nu recently presented her with its Advisor Award of Excellence in addition to honoring Penn State for best chapter.
"An academic advisor is, above all, an educator; I try to teach the strategies that will help a student reach his or her academic goals," says Morrow.
Both colleagues and students have admired her willingness to go that extra mile, working many late nights and weekends.
"I cannot imagine anyone being a more dedicated advisor than Linda. From personal advising sessions in her office to the many mass e-mails she sends out to students in the career classes, Linda constantly works to present every academic and career opportunity she comes across to her advisees and students," says an undergraduate in health and human development.
Dr. Bartlett, or "Bart" as his students and colleagues call him, has been a Penn State faculty member in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HR&IM) for 15 years. From the beginning, student advising has been an important part of his job. Bartlett spends 15 to 20 hours a week guiding students along their academic and career paths.
For 14 years Bartlett has been the faculty advisor to the Penn State Hotel and Restaurant Society, which is the largest of the student organizations in HR&IM. Members participate in a number of campus activities including Red Cross blood drives and the Dance Marathon, in addition to arranging an annual trip to the American Hotel and Motel Association show in New York city.
Bartlett served as advisor to the National Society of Minorities in Hospitality and is a member of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Support Network. Drawing from his business expertise in human resources, Bartlett's class discussions on diversity in the workforce have led many students to seek his advice outside of class.
Bartlett also offers an annual workshop on resume preparation and interviewing for hospitality jobs. "In the resume writing process my relationship with students kind of comes full circle, because in addition to helping them gain the best possible education and experiences, I can also help them present themselves in the best possible light," he says.
Students seem to appreciate his open door policy.
"Bart juggles an extremely busy schedule, yet he still treats all of his responsibilities as if he had no others, and devotes his individual attention to each one," says a current advisee.
"I try to be approachable and open to students. I like to think that they also find me easy to talk to," says Bartlett. "To be recognized for doing something that I find so personally rewarding is a great feeling."
**kiw**
Contact: Karen Wagner (814) 863-4512 (office) kiw1@psu.edu
Christy Rambeau (814) 865-7517 (office) cmr7@psu.edu