Poole College advisor Lauren Brown receives university award

Dr. Lauren Brown, associate director of advising for Poole College’s Office of Undergraduate Programs, received the NC State University Advising Administrator Award at the university’s Undergraduate Academic Advising Awards Ceremony held Friday, January 24, 2014, at the Witherspoon Student Center.  The award recognizes her leadership role in the college’s Office of Undergraduate Programs. 

“Dr. Brown’s skills and commitment to student advising benefit not only her advisees, but all students in the Poole College,” said Dr. Shannon Davis, associate dean for undergraduate programs in Poole College. “Programs that are now an integral part of our students' college experience – weren't always. She was instrumental in developing our first-year student course, Professionalism, Diversity and Academic Success in Management, as well as in introducing the Poole Peer Leaders, Student Network Groups, and our developmental advising model. Of course, her advisees realize how great she is, but this award makes us all aware of her many contributions to Poole College and NC State.”

The nomination materials submitted for this award included an overview of Brown’s personal professional advising philosophy, the following eight points.

• Building relationships. Brown states that she has found that an informal style helps her connect with her advisees and build trust, which enables her to help students identify and resolve issues.
• Every student is more than the grade. Each student has his or her own personal situation. Balancing class with outside responsibilities is hard, and not every student is going to make the dean’s list. That’s okay.
• Diversity takes many forms. She sees diversity education as a huge part of her job and critically important for the college’s undergraduate student advising office. Diversity means much more than just difference in race, gender and religion.
• Every student is unique. Not every student in business wants to be a manager.
• Challenge and support. Doing too much for the student … really isn’t beneficial in the long run, but you can help students do it on their own while being kind and supportive.
• Learn to organize and prioritize. Advisors have large caseloads and additional responsibilities, communicating back to students as soon as possible strengthens relationships.
• Educate yourself. Advisors should never stop learning. Take advantage of the many resources to stay current.
• Be yourself. Changing yourself too much to fit a perceived mold for the environment you’re in leads to dissatisfaction which affects delivery of services to students. Everyone has to change a little in each new job, but you need to be authentic when speaking with students.

Brown has been in her current role since 2010, coordinating advising services for the college’s 2,500 undergraduate students, supervising the college’s staff of five professional academic advisors, and advising 300 students.  She also is curriculum coordinator for two courses designed to help the college’s undergraduate students succeed in their academic careers at NC State.

• The Professionalism, Diversity and Academic Success in Management course that all first-semester Poole College students take. It includes the Student Network Group model that enables students to connect with peers, students and professionals in self-identified groups. 
• The Leadership and Professional Development course that prepares sophomores and juniors to grow personally as they learn to serve in the college as Student Ambassadors, Student Network Group mentors, Poole Council members, and Peer Leaders – a team of students who work with the college’s professional advising team to help first-year students adjust to the campus environment.

She previously held other positions at NC State, including advisor and coordinator of enrollment management for NC State’s First Year College, co-instructor in the College of Education, and scheduling officer and academic advisor at Poole College.

Brown received her doctorate in higher education administration at NC State in 2006, a bachelor’s degree in psychology and elementary education from The College of William and Mary. She is a graduate of the NC State Performance Leadership Program and has presented at student leadership conferences on advising administration, the college’s Student Network Group model and other strategies for helping students succeed.