Cass named winner of NACADA’s Outstanding New Advisor Award

Dr. Cheryl Cass, director of undergraduate programs and teaching assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at North Carolina State University, was recently named the winner of the National Academic Advising Association’s (NACADA) Outstanding New Advisor Award – Faculty Academic Advising.

The NACADA annual advising awards honor individuals and institutions making significant contributions to the improvement of academic advising. Cass, along with other award recipients, will be honored at an awards ceremony during the NACADA Annual Conference in the fall. She also will be recognized at NC State’s Advisor Appreciation Celebration on Tuesday, May 20.

Since joining the NC State faculty in 2011, Cass has focused on maintaining the quality and benefits of a small department as it tripled its undergraduate enrollment, including giving one-on-one attention to advisees and learning their specific needs and goals. With faculty support, she has increased the flexibility of the academic schedule to allow students time to take advantage of enrichment activities such as studying abroad or participating in a Co-op experience. She also has modernized the advising process by instituting an electronic calendar sign-up and has collected feedback from students close to graduation in search of ways to improve the undergraduate experience.

For these endeavors and more, Cass received NC State’s 2013-14 New Faculty Advisor Award in January. Her award is one of five different advising awards given on campus annually. NC State advising award winners are submitted as nominees for the NACADA award process.

Cass earned master’s and doctoral degrees in bioengineering from Clemson University in 2006 and 2010, respectively. She earned two bachelor’s degrees in biomedical engineering and biological and agricultural engineering from NC State in 2004. Her research is in engineering education.