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Awards Winners

Award Winner Biographies

Distinguished Service Award

Louise A. Lonabocker

Louise is the Director of Student Services and University Registrar at Boston College. She earned her Ph.D. in higher education administration at Boston College in 1981, and has been employed there since 1970. She currently directs Boston College 's One-Stop organization.

Dr. Lonabocker is a past president of AACRAO, and the current editor of AACRAO 's College and University Journal. As the editor of C&U, she continues to distinguish herself as leader and contributor to AACRAO. Her effort to recruit members to submit articles on their research, and innovative additions to the journal, has taken College & University to a new level.

She has previously served on AACRAO 's Board of Directors, chaired and/or served on its committees for Professional Development, Nominations and Elections, Publications Policy, and Registration Techniques, and on the Local Arrangements Committee for the Boston Annual Meeting. She has also been a frequent conference panelist or presenter at AACRAO, NEACRAO, CUMREC, and EDUCAUSE; a contributor to College and University ; and an editor of and contributor to the AACRAO publication Breakthrough Systems: Student Access and Registration.

Stanley E. Henderson

Stan is Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Life at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he leads an institution-wide enrollment management and student engagement initiative. He began his work in the enrollment field as an admissions counselor at Michigan State University in 1970.

Through benchmark contributions to the transition from traditional admission and registrar teams to strategic enrollment management/services on an international level, Stan is one of the most recognized professionals personifying the scholarly activity of SEM. He was one of the founders of the Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) conference, which has become the premier educational experience for enrollment managers. Though criticized for his pontifical advocacy of SEM, Stan continued to serve AACRAO. He rose to the challenge, undaunted by the critics.

From Kansas ACRAO to other state and regional organizations, Stan served the profession. Rising out of the state and regional Stan, Stan served AACRAO as Task Force chair, Vice President of Admission and Enrollment Management, President, author and session contributor. He currently a senior consultant with AACRAO Consulting Service s

Stan authored the chapter “On the Brink of a Profession: A History of Enrollment Management” in The SEM Revolution; “Admissions at the Front Door: From Gatekeeper to Strategic Partner” in The College Admissions Officer's Guide; and the article “Refocusing Enrollment Management: Losing Structure and Finding the Academic Context” in College and University journal. He also edits and contributes to the Handbook for the College Admissions Profession.

As chair of the AACRAO Centennial Committee, Stan received the AACRAO Distinguished Service Award in 2007. A member of Who's Who in America, he is a frequent national presenter and has consulted at a wide range of institutions, including public Research Extensive universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, regional state universities, and small private colleges.

Stan lives with his wife of 38 years, Diane, and they have three boys and six brilliant and beautiful grandchildren, by Stan's own account!

Honorary Membership

Joseph Roof

Joe has more than 34 years of experience within Florida 's community colleges. At the time of his retirement from Daytona Beach College in March 2007, he was the Associate Vice President for Enrollment and Senior Provost where he was responsible for all enrollment services and served as the provost of the DeLand campus. Before joining DBC, Joe was the Director of Enrollment Services and Technology at Seminole Community College. He began his career as the Assistant Director of Admissions and Records at Edison Community College.

Joe has been an active member of AACRAO for nearly 25 years, having served as President in 2005-06. Prior to his term as President, he served as Vice president of Finance and as a member of the Board of Directors. Joe was the first Annual Meeting Program Chair and also served on several AACRAO committees, including the Nominations and Elections Committee.

Joe has also been very active in his state and regional associations, serving as President, Vice President of Records and Registration and Treasurer of SACRAO. In 2006, SACRAO recognized Joe with its Distinguished Service Award. In addition to his service with SACRAO, Joe also was the president of Florida ACRAO and served two terms as chair of the Florida Community College Registrars and Admissions Officers association.

Joe currently is employed with the National Student Clearinghouse and lives in DeLand, Florida with his wife and family.

APEX (Achieving Professional Excellence in Education Administration) Award

Wayne Sigler

Wayne Sigler has been Director of Admissions at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities since 1992. Prior to joining the University of Minnesota, his work in higher education included serving as Associate, then Director, of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Maryland, College Park and Dean of Admissions/Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Services at the University of Houston. He received his master's and doctorate from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. He is a nationally respected author, speaker, and consultant on transformational leadership, enrollment management, customer service, and recruitment.

Wayne has been an active participant in AACRAO for approximately 35 years, where he has served as program committee member, committee chair, session recorder, session presenter, workshop presenter and Webinar presenter. He has authored several publications, his most recent one focusing on higher education leadership and management. “Managing for Outcomes: Shifting from Process-Centric to Results-Oriented Operations” was published by AACRAO in the summer of 2007. Previously, his article “Outcome-Oriented Operations (Tri-O3): Thriving in a Highly Competitive Market” was published in the College and University Journal in fall 2003. “The Age of Outcomes” will be published in the upcoming edition of C&U.

Wayne has embraced the enrollment management concept and has been instrumental in helping to establish enrollment management as a standard in higher education. He is one of the original founders of the national Strategic Enrollment Management conference and a major long-time leading practitioner and conceptual developer of the national enrollment management movement and profession. He has served as a presenter at several AACRAO Strategic Enrollment Management conferences and his workshops have occurred at three national AACRAO and SEM meetings. He has made over a dozen presentations at both national and regional meetings and was elected MSACROA Honorary Member in 1980.

Wayne is a consummate professional and has added to the body of knowledge used as resources for our profession. He has clearly demonstrated a lifetime of commitment to educational administration by continuing to develop and refine it.

Wayne resides in Minneapolis with his wife, Cherryl. They have two children, John and Anne, and one grandson, Wesley.

Elizabeth Childs

Elizabeth Childs began working for Utah Valley State College ( Provo Technical College at the time) as a keypunch operator in 1972. She worked full time until 1974 and then seasonally for the next ten years. From 1984 to 1990, she worked part-time as an admissions specialist. In 1990, after her children were grown, Elizabeth was asked to work full-time as an admissions technician. It was clear from the beginning of her career in higher education that Elizabeth had a quick mind for technology and how it could be used to maximize efficiency. She was constantly put in charge of new initiatives. In 1994, she was asked to manage International Admissions. The following years, she was asked to be the coordinator of Admissions and Records.

Each year, Elizabeth was given more and more responsibility and took on more leadership roles. In 2001, Elizabeth was asked to assume the position of Director of Admissions, and in 2004 she was asked to be Senior Director of One Stop, making her responsible for Admissions, Registration, Records, Graduation, Transfer, the Instant Info/ Call Center, and Financial Aid.

Throughout the 34 years she has worked for Utah Valley State College she has been involved with innovative processes and special projects. Elizabeth has the ability to conceptualize new technology and implement it. She is able to explain complex systems in ways that make sense. She also has the utmost respect from her staff who respond well to her outstanding leadership by being willing to try new things.

The implementation of the One Stop involved taking a team of employees from different offices and cross training them on all aspects of Admissions, Registration, Records, Graduation, Transfer, Instant Info/ Call Center, and Financial Aid while at the same time implementing the new Student BANNER software system. Many people thought this could not be done in the same year. Without the strong leadership of Elizabeth Childs, it would not have been possible. Not only was it achieved, but Elizabeth retained her employees and continued to have high morale during the entire process.

Elizabeth is always willing to share her expertise with others. When the institutions in Utah went live with the BANNER Student Modules, UVSC was the only college that had the degree audit portion completed and working, including online requests for transcripts. In addition, Elizabeth designed the Web Application to include residency logic to increase efficiency for the Admissions' Staff. As a result, many schools – both in and out of Utah – have visited UVSC to learn how to replicate this at their own institution.

Elizabeth has also been very active in Utah ACRAO, serving as President in 2005-2006.

Currently, Elizabeth is working on a One Card System that will enable UVSC to track students. This project will help us with retention efforts. She is also working on adding an ID System to the One Stop so students can have their pictures taken and get the ID cards at the One Stop as well. Elizabeth has presented these projects throughout Utah, as well as at the International First Year Experience Conference in Toronto, Canada.

Founders Award for Leadership

Stanley E. Henderson

Stan lives with his wife of 38 years, Diane, and they have three boys and six brilliant and beautiful grandchildren, by Stan's own account!

Kimra Schipporeit

Kimra began her career in higher education in 1978 at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where she has been Director of Records and Registration since 1989. She has been an active member and contributor to AACRAO since 1981. Kimra has been involved in AACRAO committees, and is also a past chair of the Professional Development Committee and Program Committee.

She served as Editor and Chair of the Revision Committee for the Registrar's Self-Audit publication, and wrote a chapter for the recently released Registrar's Guide: Evolving Best Practices in Records and Registration, entitled “Academic Policy and the Registrar.” Kimra was also a founding member of the Registrar 101 Professional Development Workshop.

Kimra has also given numerous presentations at AACRAO conferences on topics ranging from “The Registrar's Role in Academic Policy Development” to “Graduation Enhancements via Technology” and “Ethical Decision-making.”

At the state level, Kimra has been highly involved in Nebraska ACRAO, serving as President in 1991. She has also conducted numerous FERPA workshops throughout the state.

She is an example to all in her constant service to higher education at the state and national levels.

Kimra and her husband Mark live in Kearney and have 3 children: Jenna, Brett and Amanda. They enjoy traveling, camping and collecting antiques.

Thomas A. Bilger Citation for Service

Heather Eckstein

Heather has worked for twelve years within Admissions at Pittsburg State University, Kansas, and is currently Associate Director of Admission & Enrollment Services. She has been an AACRAO member for nine years. She currently leads the Admission Manager 101 online course and serves as the Annual Meeting program coordinator for Admissions and Enrollment Management. Heather is the voice that continues to tout “Admission provided the career, but AACRAO defined the Profession.”

Since joining AACRAO, Heather has served on the Nominations & Elections Committee, and has served as a faculty member on the Admission Institute and the Admission Counseling 101 online course. She also served on the State & Regional Relations Committee, the Recruitment and Marketing Committee and the Home School Issues Task Force.

Heather has presented on conference topics including “Telecounseling: Are You Keeping Your Student Callers?”, “Turning Freshmen into Family: Pittsburg State University 's Student Transitions Program,” “Personalities, Fish, Beaches and Casinos: How to Build a Division of People Devoted to Quality Student Services” and Successfully Marketing Higher Education in a Competitive Arena: A Case Study.”

Heather is a dynamic individual with a true love of AACRAO. When she commits to something, it is consistently completed in a timely and extremely professional manner. She has wisdom and insight well above her years and displays a high level of maturity to all she attempts to do. She is always willing to do what is asked of her, and moves into every new role with confidence. She is truly an asset to the profession and to AACRAO.

Brad A Myers

Brad, an alumnus of The Ohio State University, has been employed there for over 25 years and is the current University Registrar. In addition to successfully maintaining his many duties at the Office of the University Registrar, he is involved in the school's Enterprise Data Steering and Student Evaluation of Instruction Oversight committees; he is Advisor to the Sphinx Senior Honor Society, and founding member of the Association of Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Faculty and Staff at The Ohio State University. He was the recipient of the Outstanding Faculty/Staff/Administrator Award for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Student Service s in 1997, and the Outstanding Professional Mentor Award for the African-American Mentoring Program in 1992. His other university contributions cover a broad range of issues such as student selections, mandatory student health, financial services, and student information systems development.

His other professional activities include serving as a Board member of the Registrars of the American Association of Universities, and his prevalent work with the Ohio Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (OACRAO), where he served as President for three years. Currently, he helps with OACRAO's Admissions and International Education Committee and is the Program Coordinator and Chair for the Joint Indiana, Michigan , and Ohio 2008 Conference Steering Committee. His previous committees include Bylaws, Professional Development, Membership and Mentoring, Records/Registration, and Executive. He has been the Chair of the Nominating, Constitutional, Budget, Resolutions, Program, Audit, and Annual Conference Local Arrangements committees. Among the accolades for his involvement are the Linus J. Ryland Award in 2004 and the Garland G. Parker Award in 1996 for his service to both OACRAO and AACRAO.

Brad has been an AACRAO member since 1990. He coordinates for the Program Committee and Registrar 101 Faculty workshops, and is part of the Federal Compliance Committee. He has been Chair of the Dues Task Force and the Federal Compliance, Nominating, Constitutional, Budget, and Resolutions committees; Vice-Chaired the Nominations & Elections and Academic Policies & Practice committees; and is founding member of the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Caucus. He is one of the authors and Editorial Board members for both the 2001 and 2006 publications of AACRAO FERPA Guide. In 1997, he received the Outstanding State/Regional Association Award from AACRAO.

Brad's role as Chair of the Dues Task Force is a strong testament to the dedication and leadership he has given to the Association. He kept focus when the completion of the project took longer than anticipated, as well as handled the complexities of components like finances and political sensitivity of dues among Association interests. His leadership has been described by colleagues as “gentle but purposeful” and he was a strong motivator when resolutions seemed bleak. Instead of relying on impulse or “hunches,” he concentrated decision-making on careful analyses and projections of Association data alongside comparative information from peer organizations.

Brad's service has also been part of a greater sphere via his professional presentations at AACRAO, OACRAO, Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, Midwest Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, Kentucky Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, Ohio Association of College Admissions Counseling, and many other annual conferences. Through these various state, regional, and national venues, he works as a resource of information regarding FERPA and additional Registrar issues, effectively impacting organizations.

Exemplary New Member Award

Luke Schultheis

In just five years as an AACRAO member, Luke has already served on the Admissions Policies and Practices Committee and the Nominations & Elections Committee, and is currently chair of the School-College Relations Committee. When Luke took over this committee it was in need of rejuvenation and an increase in its membership, and it is now a vibrant committee developing excellent sessions for the annual meetings.

During his five years as an AACRAO member, Luke has distinguished himself as an author by writing two chapters in the recently release College Admissions Officers' Guide, entitled “Low SES Students: How to Reach and Retain Them” and “Reaching the Adult Market.” He also participated in a research project on Understanding Assessment and Research in Enrollment Management, which he has been invited to submit for publication in SEM Source and College and University.

Luke has given numerous presentations, including “Providing Quality Education to Low SES Students without Compromising Institutional Integrity,” “Home Schooling,” “Breaking Into Tough Markets,” “Dispelling Myths About your School with the College Counselor” and “Recruiting First Generation College Bound Applicants.”

Luke has been a presenter at AACRAO Annual Meetings, Strategic Enrollment Management conferences, as well as at Middle States ACRAO conferences.

Luke lives in Chappaqua, New York with his wife of 16 years, Magdalena, and their 5-year-old daughter Michelle. In his spare time, Luke plays the French horn, trumpet and drums and writes poetry. He is also a sommelier.

Lee F. Furbeck

Lee is an up and coming AACRAO member who has served the profession very well in her less than five years as a member of AACRAO. She has participated at the state, regional and national level in a number of ways. Those who know her are impressed by how quickly she has become so involved in service to those who share her profession.

Lee began her involvement with AACRAO in 2002 by attending the Annual Meeting in Minneapolis. Soon thereafter she became a member of the Transfer and Articulation Committee, serving admirably from 2003-2004. In 2004, 2005 and 2006 she was involved in the Institute for the Study of Transfer Students in Ft. Worth, co-sponsored by AACRAO.

As her familiarity with AACRAO grew, Lee began to get even more involved as 2004-2005 Chair of the Transfer and Articulation Committee, developing sessions for the Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, where she facilitated a workshop on Effective Leadership.

At the 2005 AACRAO Annual Meeting in New York, Lee presented two sessions and facilitated two sessions, and volunteered to staff the Committee Information Booth. That year, she also participated in the AACRAO Strategic Enrollment Management Conference in Chicago.

Also in 2005, Lee co-authored “ The Transfer of Power and the Power of Transfer ”, an article published in SEM Monthly.

Continuing as Chair of the Transfer and Articulation Committee for 2006-2007, Lee again led her committee as they offered sessions at the Annual Meeting in San Diego. While there she also presented two sessions and facilitated two sessions. Adding to her volunteer participation in 2006, she was appointed to and now serves on the new AACRAO Public Policy Taskforce. She also served at the Committee Information Booth, the Hospitality Booth and at the Newcomers' Workshop.

On Lee's plate for 2007 are her candidacy for the Nomination and Elections Committee, membership in the taskforce being formed to investigate an AACRAO transfer conference, and the AACRAO Annual Meeting in Boston. At the latter, she is scheduled to present sessions on Transfer Centers: Who? What? Why? How? Where? and Open Forum on Transfer Issues, as well as facilitate another session.

Besides the aforementioned service to AACRAO, Lee has served UMACRAO in a number of roles, including presenting sessions at annual meetings and as a member of the Newsletter Committee and the Finance Committee.

Having recently moved to Kansas, Lee hopes to be more involved in KACRAO, where she became a new member in 2006.

Award for Excellence in International Education

William Paver

Bill worked at The University of Texas at Austin from 1980 up to his retirement in 2001. During his tenure, he increased the visibility of international education and created the Graduate and International Admissions Center out of portions of the Office of Admissions and the Office of Graduate Studies.

Bill has been an active AACRAO member for over 25 years. He has served in many capacities, including as Vice President for International Education from 1994 to 1997. He continues to serve AACRAO giving presentations at conferences regarding international education.

Bill's current project, AACRAO EDGE, may be seen as a culminating effort in international education and understanding. EDGE (Electronic Database for Global Education) is a web based comprehensive resource for evaluating foreign academic credentials. Bill recognized the need for an efficient, updatable, comprehensive resource for evaluators of international credentials. He formed a team to work with him and invested development funds which enabled him to pursue this project. Bill has donated the entire EDGE project to AACRAO and six years after its innovation, it went “live” on the AACRAO site in November 2006.

Bill was also called upon by the U.S. government in developing and implementing the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), and system which tracks and monitors schools and programs, students and exchange visitors throughout their participation within the U.S. education system. He also served as a member of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) committee on the implementation of the student reporting requirements mandated by the U.S. Congress in 1995.

In early 1996, Bill, then Director of Graduate Admissions, was invited to provide leadership to a major international project initiated by the Russian Ministry of Education through AACRAO for the mutual recognition of credentials. His work resulted in a soon-to-be-published book on the educational system of Russia.

He has also been an active NAFSA member and produced NAFSA's Handbook on the Placement of Foreign Graduate Students in 1990. This book continues to serve as one of the most utilized books in the field.

Bill is Executive Director of Foreign Credentials Service of America. He and his wife Rhonda live in Austin, Texas and have 5 children and 4 grandchildren.

Gloria Nathanson

When Gloria was nominated for this award, it was noted that we would not be able to include all of her contributions to the field of International Education because she has done so much. With more than 30 years of providing leadership, vision, and clarity to the dynamic world of international education, it is a pleasure to recognize Gloria Nathanson as the recipient of the AACRAO 2007 Award for Excellence in International Education.

Gloria is known for her expertise in virtually all educational systems around the world. She has an in-depth understanding of how international admission fits into the big picture of admissions for all types of applicants. She is a role model and mentor to others, assisting not only those just getting started in the field, but also advising seasoned veterans.

The list of her professional accomplishments is extensive. She has made numerous presentations at state, national, and international conferences and has been an invited guest speaker in Mexico, Korea, and Russia. She served as the AACRAO Vice President for International Education from 2000 to 2003, and has served on various AACRAO committees. She has written international publications, founded the International Publications Advisory Committee within AACRAO, and was instrumental in the formation of the EDGE Project (Electronic Database for Global Education) and currently serves as one of the Placement Recommendation Editors. In addition to AACRAO, she served in leadership roles at national, regional and district levels for NAFSA: Association of International Educators, on the World Education Services national committee for publications on international admission, on the National Council on the Evaluation of Foreign Educational Credentials, and on the Milwaukee Symposium to set standards for credential evaluation.

Gloria has been a “true blue Bruin” for her entire career at UCLA, where she currently serves as Associate Director for Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools. The term “true blue Bruin” is most appropriate since she officially retired from UCLA yet did not skip a beat as she returned and continues to serve in this position. Gloria also participates in University of California system-wide policy and planning committees, including a committee developing policies and guidelines for undergraduate international admissions to the UC campuses.

Mother of four children and grandmother to three, Gloria has enriched the profession with her shared expertise and leadership in the field. You will always find Gloria with a sparkle in her eye and a witty comment as she proceeds to add clarity and direction to any discussion of International Education.