by Geitner Simmons | IANR Communications
Lincoln, Neb. —Lisa Karr, an Animal Science professor and an associate dean in the College of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources (CASNR), is being saluted for outstanding leadership in academic advising by NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising, the international association for academic advisers in higher education.
This spring, NACADA will present Karr, CASNR’s Associate Dean of Academic Innovation and Student Success, with its award for Excellence in Advising — Faculty Advisor for the organization’s North Central Region 6. The region consists of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, the Dakotas as well as three Canadian provinces: Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
In addition to her work as an Animal Science professor and CASNR associate dean at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Karr is a companion animal Extension Specialist and undergraduate teaching coordinator in the department. She began her role as a CASNR associate dean in September 2022 and splits her time between her appointments in the department and the college.
As undergraduate teaching coordinator in the Department of Animal Science, Karr provides oversight of undergraduate teaching, advising and recruitment. As an associate dean with CASNR, she provides leadership for undergraduate curricular innovation and student success and develops partnerships with internal and external collaborators and stakeholders to advance CASNR's student Success Framework. She contributes to the advancement of CASNR's teaching and learning mission while ensuring the relevance, quality and impact of the college's efforts to prepare students for a changing world.
Karr, an Illinois native, came to University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2006, after earning her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois in 2004. Karr teaches course work to undergraduate students in companion animal management, behavior and nutrition. Her Extension work focuses on youth programs related to companion animals, primarily dogs, cats and rabbits.
NACADA has more than 12,000 members representing all 50 United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and several other countries. Members represent higher education institutions across the spectrum of Carnegie classifications and include professional advisors/counselors, faculty, administrators and students whose responsibilities include academic advising.
The organization provides opportunities for professional development and networking as well as a consulting and speakers service, an awards program, and funding for research related to academic advising.
Academic advising, NACADA says, “is integral to fulfilling the teaching and learning mission of higher education” and consists of three components: curriculum, pedagogy and student learning outcomes. Academic advising “synthesizes and contextualizes students’ educational experiences within the frameworks of their aspirations, abilities and lives to extend learning beyond campus boundaries and timeframes.”
NACADA will present the award to Karr during the 2023 Region 6 conference to be held in Lincoln in May.