MSU's Douglas W. Estry Honored by National Academic Advising Association

Online, April 29, 2014 (Newswire.com) - Douglas W. Estry, Ph.D., associate provost for Undergraduate Education and dean of Undergraduate Studies at Michigan State University, is the recipient of the Michael C. Holen Pacesetter Award from the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) as part of its 2014 Annual Awards Program for Academic Advising.

This award recognizes executive officers, provosts and academic or student affairs officers who exemplify a commitment to academic advising and are true advocates for advising students and advisors across the institution.

"The work of Dr. Estry embodies his commitment to academic advising and serves as testimony to his advocacy of both students and advisors across the University," said MSU Provost June Youatt. "Not one to implement piecemeal solutions, Doug has thoughtfully advocated for a culture change here at MSU, consistently advocating for higher academic advising standards and greater support of students at each turn."

Dr. Estry will be presented with this award in October in Minneapolis, Minn., during the NACADA Annual Conference.

In his role as associate provost for Undergraduate Education and dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Estry is responsible for overseeing university-level undergraduate initiatives that support and enhance the undergraduate experience, providing direction to a number of university-wide programs that serve undergraduate students, and coordinating the development and implementation of academic policies and procedures related to undergraduate education.

In his 31 years at MSU, Dr. Estry has served as faculty in the Biomedical Laboratory Diagnostics (BLD) Program and held several administrative positions in that program. As the associate dean for Student and Academic Affairs in the College of Natural Science, he provided administrative oversight for issues relevant to both undergraduate and graduate recruitment and retention in science and mathematics. During this time, he concentrated on issues of teaching and learning in science and mathematics, student engagement, and learning outcomes assessment. He also facilitated discussions focused on the development of a new model for undergraduate biological science education and worked closely with the MSU Teachers for a New Era project and the Mathematics and Science Partnership grant (Promoting Rigorous Outcomes in Mathematics and Science Education, PROM/SE) funded by the National Science Foundation.

Since 1983, NACADA has honored individuals and institutions making significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising. The goal of NACADA is to promote quality academic advising and professional development of its membership to enhance the educational development of students.

NACADA's membership includes more than 10,000 faculty, professional advisors, administrators, counselors and others in academic and student affairs, and it is the representative and advocate of academic advising and those providing that service to higher education.