All Duke undergraduates can receive personalized advice on how to combine global, civic, and research opportunities with academic and professional goals through a new program in the Academic Advising Center.
Three years ago, the service was offered as a pilot program with three full-time advisors -- called directors of academic engagement (DAEs) -- helping students integrate their classes, research, internships and activities during their four years at Duke. More than 1,500 students, including more than a quarter of the senior class, took advantage of the comprehensive advising from full-time professional advisers.
The pilot program has been so successful that it is being made permanent and expanded to add two more professionals, including one advisor this fall who specializes in the humanities. A sixth advisor -- expected to begin in January 2015 -- will focus on the natural and quantitative sciences at Duke.
“I am so pleased with the success of this addition to our advising program,” said Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education who now supervises the Academic Advising Center. “The directors of academic engagement clearly are helping students think more thoughtfully and holistically about how to get the most from their four years at Duke, including summers.”
Senior Carl Lawrence, a pre-med cultural anthropology major, credits the directors of academic engagement with giving him practical advice and connections to make international work an indispensable part of his career.
“The directors of academic engagement in the Academic Advising Center have been essential in exposing me to opportunities where I could discover my passion for global health, respect for the anthropological methodology and appreciation of the benefits of travel,” said Lawrence, who participated in DukeEngage Uganda after his first year and was struck by the impact of AIDS on the community.
DAE Heather Settle discussed other options with Lawrence. She introduced him to a global health faculty member researching oral histories of people living with AIDS in Cuba and Uganda. The professor invited Lawrence to join her Cuban project and mentored his return to Uganda last summer with a Research in Practice Program, post-DukeEngage grant.
“As a director of academic engagement, it’s my job to help students make sense of the alphabet soup of global opportunities here at Duke and figure out what’s a great fit for them and how to get the most out of that experience,” Settle said. ”And as an anthropologist, I’m passionate about helping students explore and learn from other cultures.”
Beth Fox, the director of the advising center, said this form of advising came about as a response to needs expressed by both Trinity and Pratt students of all four years.
“Initially it was designed as a way to inform students about the many opportunities Duke offers,” Fox said. “It became apparent that with the great array of academic offerings, there were multiple roads through the university. Students appreciated more one-on-one guidance through the process and the opportunity to reflect on their experiences with expert mentors as a way to think about the future. Half of the referrals have come from other students.”
DAE advisors are knowledgeable about the wide variety of Duke resources and programs, such as the Global Education Office DukeEngage, Global Health and Bass Connections. The program augments, rather than replaces, the existing academic advising offered to students before and after they declare a major, Fox said.
This summer, Fox hired Jules Odendahl-James, who holds a MFA in directing and a PhD in performance studies, to work with students who have a special interest in the humanities. Odendahl-James came to this job from the Department of Theater Studies. She has particular expertise on arts and humanities research initiatives, such as the humanities labs and emerging networks, which are short term, collaborative projects in the humanities and social and natural sciences, involving faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and funded by Humanities Writ Large. Odendahl-James takes a curatorial approach with students regarding course selection, navigating major/minor and certificate requirements, and connecting with faculty research projects.
Students who major in the humanities acquire a variety of experiences that transfer to the working world in many, sometimes unexpected, ways, Odendahl-James said. This position allows her to help students imagine more broadly how their coursework and research connect meaningfully with a broad set of future plans, she added.
“It’s increasingly important for students to be able to articulate why they did what they did in college,” said Odendahl-James, who also advises undergraduates who aren’t humanities majors but who want their interests in the arts, history, languages, or literature to be a conscious part of their Duke experience. “Developing that story is becoming even more important than a particular major or GPA. I can help with that.”