Henderson Wins National Award

Mon., Mar 05

Southern's First-Year Experience program - lauded by the university for improving student learning since its inception five years ago - has now received national recognition for its success.

The National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition has selected Nicole Henderson, an associate professor of English and director of the university's FYE, as an Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate. She was presented with the plaque at the organization's national conference last month in San Antonio.

Henderson is one of only 10 individuals across the country to be chosen this year from among 140 nominees. She was one of only two awardees in the category of four-year colleges and universities with 7,001 to 15,000 students. The center is considered to be the premier first-year student organization in the country, according to Marianne Kennedy, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs.
"This is a well-earned honor for Nicole, who has worked very hard in developing and coordinating the implementation of a first-rate FYE program," Kennedy says. "It's also a tribute to the program itself and everyone who has played a role in making it such a success."

Henderson adds: "One of the things making this program distinctive is the high level of collaboration between faculty and administrative faculty, which you don't see at many schools."

In particular, Henderson points to Denise Bentley-Drobish, who is the director of student life and FYE coordinator, as a key reason for the program's success. Among Bentley-Drobish's responsibilities has been the coordination of the peer mentoring and New Student Orientation components of FYE.

Henderson says that the sense of community and of belonging that the FYE program creates is instrumental to its success. "It engages people intellectually and creatively in very important ways," she says. "In turn, this kind of engagement leads to more measurable ways of success." University officials have said that retention rates and graduation rates are likely to be higher as a result of FYE. She also notes that participation in FYE is nearly 100 percent -- much higher than at most schools.

Henderson says that in addition to the award, three students were selected for a presentation at the conference: Stephanie Waryasz, Kaitlyn Hoffmann and Benjamin McNamee. All three are peer mentors in the program. Their presentation, "Students Tell All: Engaging Students in the Classroom," focused on ways to engage first-year students in the academic world of first-year seminars.

"I was incredibly impressed with their professionalism, intellect and understanding of our program," Henderson says. "You just don't see many students selected for a presentation at this conference. It is an incredibly competitive process with peer-reviewed proposals from faculty and administrators across the United States." 

Above: Nicole Henderson (third from left) is one of only 10 educators to be selected this year as an Outstanding Student Advocate by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition. She is joined by three students who participated in the organization's national conference. They are (from left): Stephanie Waryasz, Benjamin McNamee and Kaitlynn Hoffman.