Athens, Ga. – This year’s winners of the University of Georgia Outstanding Undergraduate Academic Advising Award are Brian Fairchild, a faculty member in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and S. Clayton Foggin, an academic adviser in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
The award is presented each spring to faculty and staff who excel in helping students select classes and courses of study and assisting them with their academic needs. The award also recognizes advisers for offering guidance on related matters such as decisions about graduate school and careers, and for helping students deal with non-academic issues.
Fairchild, an associate professor of poultry science, has been an adviser for seven years and advises 35-40 animal health, avian biology, biological science and poultry science students in the CAES each term and assists with summer orientation in his college.
Fairchild challenges his advisees to take full advantage of the many academic opportunities available to them at UGA, according to those who nominated him for the award. As one former student, now enrolled in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, wrote in her letter of support for his nomination, “I may have made it into vet school without Dr. Fairchild’s help, but I would never have had such a rewarding undergraduate career without him.”
Foggin has been an academic adviser for 11 years. Her primarily advising area is pre-journalism, and she advises more than 200 freshmen and sophomores each term. In addition to her advising responsibilities, Foggin has worked on related projects including assisting with the development of the technology used by students to make advising appointments, training new advisers and teaching a course in the advising certificate program.
A colleague in the Grady College who works closely with Foggin said, “Exceptional advising requires empathy and firmness, support and challenge, leadership and collaboration, self-confidence and humility, and a generosity of both time and spirit. Clayton Foggin is the rare individual who embodies all these qualities in an exceptional balance.”
Fairchild and Foggin each will receive a cash award and a plaque. They also will be recognized at Honors Day on April 7 and at the Faculty Recognition Banquet on April 21.
Award recipients are chosen by a committee composed of a majority of students and chaired by a student. Other members of the committee are past winners, an advising administrator and student affairs professional. The award is administered by the Office of the Vice President for Instruction.
