Staff Senate Announces Winner of the 2017 Outstanding Team Award

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Members of the Student Success and Academic Support team at Fulbright College.

Each year the University of Arkansas Staff Senate recognizes outstanding staff members who work together as a team at and on behalf of the University of Arkansas. The Outstanding Team Award applauds accomplishments, as well as encourages and promotes excellence in the work place.

This year, the newly formed Student Success and Academic Support team at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences took home the award for the team's deliberate and strategic reorganization of the offices of Fulbright College Academic Services and the Fulbright College Advising Center to further enhance student success through more focus on student outreach, retention and graduation.

"Because Fulbright College has such a diverse student population and its areas of study are so varied, the team faced many challenges," said Deborah Korth, director of Fulbright College Student Success. "Not only does the team worry about the success of students identified as majoring in Fulbright College, they must also worry about student success for students in all colleges — as so many take the bulk of their core courses within Fulbright College."

Korth said she, along with assistant dean of academic services Lisa Summerford, assistant dean for student development Shane Barker, and their teams, accepted the challenge head on with much collaboration. 

Over the course of 2017, staff duties in the two areas were realigned to better support student success throughout the college, which included moving the Fulbright College Advising Center to Champions Hall — a more student-friendly and accessible setting.

As the team strived to provide seamless service to students, faculty and staff, day-to-day duties encompassed everything from registration issues and academic grievance appeals, to focused and personalized advising appointments and commencement preparations.

Additionally, new student success team endeavors focused on integrating academic advising, targeted academic coaching and career planning for arts and sciences students.

"By building on our strengths and encouraging cooperation, the leadership team aimed to maximize and align current resources," Barker said. "The team's intention is to develop a meaningful, distinct undergraduate experience within Fulbright College — one that empowers each student to create their own bright future in the spirit of our college's namesake."

Summerford agreed, and added, "our staff members are excited to be recognized for their hard work and collaboration to improve student services in Fulbright College. Together, this amazing group is working hard to better serve our students and university."

About the Outstanding Team Award: The University of Arkansas Staff Senate Outstanding Team Award applauds accomplishments, as well as encourages and promotes excellence in the work place. The team award recognizes performance for the previous calendar year. The outstanding team effort may be a result of a specific project or it may be the performance of the normal duties of an organizational unit. Eligible teams will be comprised of University of Arkansas staff employees who are 100 percent appointed at the Fayetteville campus and may be classified, non-classified, or a combination of both who have worked together to promote the mission of the university. The Outstanding Staff Team will receive a cash award totaling $2,500. For more information, visit the Staff Senate website.