ATHENS, Ga. – A faculty member in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and an advisor in the Terry College of Business will receive the 2004 Outstanding Advisor/Mentor Award.
The award is presented each spring to recognize faculty and staff members for excellence in advising undergraduate students on selection of classes and course of study, assisting them with academic problems, and providing guidance on related matters such as decisions about graduate school and careers.
This year’s recipients are Robert Shewfelt, professor and undergraduate coordinator of the food sciences and technology department in the agricultural and environmental sciences college, and Kathy Wilson, academic advisor in the insurance, legal studies and real estate department in the business college.
Shewfelt won the award for a tenure or tenure-track faculty member. He has been the food science undergraduate coordinator since 1996 and advises more than 20 students each semester. He has also taught 1,523 students in eight courses ranging from a popular freshman seminar in chocolate science to an advanced graduate course in flavor chemistry and evaluation.
Shewfelt has won numerous awards for teaching excellence including the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ top teaching honor, the D.W. Brooks Award. He has also conducted extensive research on postharvest handling of fresh fruits and vegetables and
is editor of two books and author of more than 100 scholarly articles and book chapters. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists.
Wilson advises about 400 students each semester who are majoring in risk management and real estate. Before joining the Terry College in 2002, she advised freshmen in the University Studies and ANSERS program, and was an academic advisor in the College of Education for about 600 students each semester.
Wilson has also been involved with students in a number of non-academic activities including serving as advisor for Gamma Beta Phi honor society, Theta Chi fraternity and the Georgia Redhotz, and serving as a member of the Orientation Advisory Committee and as a recruitment volunteer for the athletic department.
Nominations for the advisor/mentor award are made by deans of UGA’s school and colleges. Winners are chosen by a committee that is made up of a majority of students and also includes previous winners and advisor administrators.
