Awards recognize undergraduate student advisers

In honor of Wesley A. Ammon, the Welsey A. Ammon New Academic Advisor Award was introduced this year at Mississippi State University.

The award recognizes both a faculty member and a staff member who have displayed excellence in academic advising while serving undergraduate students at MSU. With the goal of inspiring new advisors to excel, the award is specific to academic advisors who have served for fewer than five years.

The Office of Provost at MSU created the award as a memorial to Wesley A. Ammon to commemorate the contributions he made to the University. The award specifically pays homage to Ammon's influence on the students he mentored while serving in MSU's University Academic Advising Center from 1995 until 2009. “We greatly miss him,” says Peter Ryan, the MSU Associate Provost for Academic Affairs.

Ryan highlights Ammon's counsel to students when they found themselves in tough places academically, and sometimes personally. “He was one who could reassure them and send them in the right direction to get the help they needed,” Ryan says.

Ammon's influence on students was not limited to advising. He was also an instructor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, where he taught American government. “Students constantly wrote him after they graduated to thank him for his leadership and his caring attitude,” Ryan accounts. Although Ammon gave his students tough love when necessary, Ryan thinks Ammon's compassion drove his success as an academic advisor and an instructor.

Ryan believes academic advising is critical in ensuring student's success in their academic programs. “There is value and merit in taking time to meet with students to provide them the guidance they need,” Ryan says. The award aims to promote quality advising by elevating the level of recognition academic advisors can receive.

The creation of the award was met by the support of Ammon's family, who attended the inauguration of the Welsey A. Ammon New Academic Advisor Award at this year's Faculty Awards and Recognition Reception in April.

The 2018 recipients were Katherine “Katy” Richey and Brian Smith. Richey, who received the staff award, is an academic coordinator who joined the University Academic Advising Center in 2017. Smith, who received the faculty award, is an assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering who joined MSU's Bagely College of Engineering in 2015.

The award's recipients receive a small monetary award that is currently supported by the Provost Office, but anyone can contribute to the award through MSU's Foundation Office.