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ֱProfessor Receives Award for Academic Advising

From left to right: Robert Shockley, Ph.D., chair of FAU's Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology with Bloom (center) and Valerie Bristor, Ph.D., dean of FAU's College of Education.


By kelsie weekes | 9/5/2017

Jennifer Bloom, Ed.D., an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology within the College of Education at ֱ, will receive the Virginia N. Gordon Award for Excellence in the Field of Advising from NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising, at its 2017 annual conference in October. This award is given to a NACADA member who has made significant contributions to the field of academic advising.

Bloom is a co-founder of the appreciative advising movement, which focuses on building positive relationships with students, learning their strengths, skills and dreams, designing a plan for them to achieve their goals and supporting them along the way.

Bloom created FAU’s Office of Appreciative Education (OAE) upon joining the faculty in August 2015. OAE hosts several educational opportunities related to appreciative advising each year, including the Appreciative Advising Institute, a four-day conference where advisers from across the country learn the appreciative advising framework. OAE also offers a professional certification for appreciative advising and a six-week online appreciative advising course. This fall, OAE is launching a new six-week online appreciative administration class for higher education administrators.

“Appreciative advising is becoming the fundamental advising philosophy at FAU,” said Joe Murray, assistant dean for University Advising Services at FAU. “In the past few years, advising has transitioned from a scheduling model to a strength-based, relationship-building effort using appreciative advising. This change in culture and mindset has contributed to increased persistence and retention rates across the institution.”

From 2007 to 2008, Bloom served as president of NACADA and received the NACADA Outstanding Advising Administrator Award in 2005. The goal of NACADA is to promote quality academic advising and professional development of its membership to enhance the educational development of students. 

Bloom will be presented with the award during the 2017 NACADA Annual Conference, which will take place Oct. 11 to 14 at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

-FAU-