UGA’s Outstanding Advisor Awards were presented this year to Terence Centner, a faculty member in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and to Wanda Wilcox and Annemarie Hitchcock, both academic advisors in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
The award is presented each spring to faculty and staff members for excellence in advising undergraduate students on class selection and course of study, assisting them with academic problems and providing guidance on related matters such as decisions about graduate school and careers.
Centner developed, instituted and now serves as advisor for the College of Agricultural and Environmental Science’s pre-law program, environment law minor and agribusiness certificate. Both parents and students acknowledge his extraordinary commitment to students. Students praise Centner’s guidance and often credit him with their success. One student in a letter of support stated, “When I left Dr. Centner’s office, I felt confident of what lay ahead and reassured that if I continued to put forth the effort, things would work out.”
Wilcox, who unanimously was selected, advises 350 students each semester in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. A recipient of the Franklin College Advisor of the Year Award in 1999, Wilcox has been nominated for the award every year since.
In support of her nomination, a student wrote, “She has a genuine passion for educating people, advising people and just generally fostering growth in people. She is a wonderful embodiment of the standards UGA faculty should strive for.”
Hitchcock is a new advisor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Her unique advising style allows her to focus directly on the students as she presses them to take responsibility for their academic choices. One nominator wrote, “Annemarie’s strength as an advisor lies in her ability to intuitively understand what the student needs to know and how to provide that in a way that makes sense to the student.”
Centner, Wilcox and Hitchcock each received a cash award and a plaque and were recognized at Honors Day and at the Faculty Recognition Banquet.
