Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Student Opportunities for Academic Results (SOAR) Coordinator of Student Retention Darryl Cherry and Academic Advisor Efrosini Hortis have taken leadership roles in NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising.
Both will serve two-year appointments: Cherry as chair of the First-Year Students Advising Community, and Hortis as chair of the Global Engagement Advising Community.
“Serving as chairperson provides a wonderful opportunity for professional and personal development, as well as the opportunity to lead in helping assimilate, develop, support and retain first-year students at their respective institutions,” Cherry said.
Cherry plans to bring together the best minds to engage in research on best practices for achieving his community’s goals and developing a universal set of minimal standards that could be recommended to all colleges and universities.
“My membership and involvement in NACADA expose me to a community of professionals whose interest is to promote and support quality academic advising in institutions of higher education to enhance the educational, personal development and graduation outcomes of all students,” Cherry explained. “NACADA provides a forum for discussion, debate and the exchange of ideas.”
At SIUE, Cherry is responsible for developing, facilitating and monitoring programming as SOAR coordinator of student retention. He helps students overcome academic, social and cultural barriers, and challenges. Additionally, he is an advisor to the SIUE Collegiate 100 chapter, a University Staff senator, an SIUE African American Male Initiative Task Force member, and a member of the SIUE Black Faculty and Staff Association.
He is a founding member of the Regional Consortium of Higher Education Initiatives Supporting Black Male Success (the Consortium). The Consortium is a bi-state network of St. Louis area colleges and universities that works to build its members’ capacity to educate and graduate African American male students through radical and strategic collaboration, resource and data sharing, and program alignment.
A former international student, Hortis is passionate about the efforts of the Global Engagement Advising Community she now leads.
“This community illuminates the current struggles and concerns of working with international and ESL students from an advising standpoint, and endeavors toward solutions when possible,” Hortis said.
She emphasizes the “privilege and responsibility” academic advisors have in molding students into global citizens prepared to shape a changing world.
“Regardless of the myriad of labels we as a society systemically place on one another, the impetus is to remove barriers and minimize differences, in an effort to promote the concept of globalization,” said Hortis. “The ideal meaning of globalization is the enlightenment that we are one world, comprising citizens who act as a single society.”
As chair of the global engagement commission, Hortis says she hopes to further this goal of enlightenment toward globalization via a plethora of the community’s experiences working with international students, English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and academic advisors.
“As advising professionals, we must be open to learning from our students who may be different from us, and identify approaches to help strengthen their academic, social and psychological growth, and well-being,” she said. “When working with students, we must exercise patience, be more analytical and descriptive, and be open to learn about new cultures, perspectives, values and customs.”
“I have much respect for the NACADA community and the relationships I have built through this outstanding network of professionals,” Hortis continued. “I am eager to share my ideas, vision and experiences with others, but most importantly to learn from my colleagues. Being involved in NACADA teaches and challenges me with new information on how to serve my students more creatively and effectively.
NACADA includes 39 global advising communities, four of which are now led by SIUE representatives. In addition to the new appointments of Cherry and Hortis, continuing their terms are SIUE’s Shelley Price Williams as chair of the Advising Graduate and Professional Students Community, and Maureen Bell-Werner as chair of the Undecided and Exploratory Students Advising Community.
Photos: SIUE SOAR Coordinator of Student Retention Darryl Cherry will chair NACADA’s First-Year Students Advising Community.
SIUE Academic Advisor Efrosini Hortis has been appointed chair of NACADA’s Global Engagement Advising Community.