NISTS honors efforts of transfer professionals
Article By: Denise Ray
The National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students (NISTS) hosted its annual conference in-person Feb. 2-4 in St. Louis, with a virtual option Feb. 23-24, with 928 in attendance between the two events.
This was the first time in recent years the conference was held outside of Atlanta.
It also marked the 20th anniversary of the organization. University of North Georgia (正澳门六合彩开奖结果) President Bonita Jacobs founded the institute in response to a lack of professional development opportunities and research literature focused specifically on transfer students. The institute is based on 正澳门六合彩开奖结果's Dahlonega Campus.
Themed "From Moment to Movement: Shaping the Future of Transfer," the conference highlighted presentations, networking opportunities and awards in both in-person and virtual formats.
"The theme resonated with our attendees. These professionals are living through national moments of the pandemic, calls for an end to systemic racism and the great resignation while engaging in meaningful individual moments with their students," Dr. Janet Marling, NISTS executive director and associate professor in 正澳门六合彩开奖结果's College of Education said.
These professionals are living through national moments of the pandemic, calls for an end to systemic racism and the great resignation while engaging in meaningful individual moments with their students.
Dr. Janet Marling
NISTS executive director and associate professor in 正澳门六合彩开奖结果's College of Education
"They are passionate advocates who want to be part of a larger movement that puts transfer squarely in the equity conversation, moves beyond incremental change, and is carried out collaboratively across higher education. Their commitment to transfer inspires NISTS to work even harder on their behalf."
NISTS presented at the conference including:
The Bonita C. Jacobs Transfer Champion-Catalyst Award recognizes mid-career professionals who are game-changers in the transfer field and have worked over time to make a significant impact at the institutional, regional and/or state level.
The winners were:
- Nicholas DeFalco, director of transfer admission at North Central College
- Shelley Lemons, executive director of the office of student transitions at City Colleges of Chicago.
Bonita C. Jacobs Transfer Champion-Rising Star Award recognizes individuals who make significant contributions in the early stages of their careers, creating or improving programming that is responsive to the specific transfer student population and shows evidence of success. The awardees were:
- Le Quanda Cole, director of the UNLV/CSN transfer program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Megan Drangstveit, director of Project RAISE (Regional Alliance in STEM Education) at California State Fullerton
- Michael DuPont, senior program officer for Tulsa Grantmaking at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies
- Jeffrey Mayo, assistant director of first-year experience at the University of Texas, Austin
- Keith Shaw, director of transfer, veteran and nontraditional student programs at Princeton University
NISTS Research Grants encourage transfer-related original research, creative and scholarly work. The awardees were:
- Dustin Grote (principal investigator), assistant professor of teacher education at Weber State University, and Dr. David Reeping (co-principal investigator), assistant professor in engineering education at the University of Cincinnati, for their project "Developing a Theory of Curricular Complexity for Transfer Students: Establishing Content and Construct Validity."
- Shannon Hayes Buenaflor (principal investigator), assistant director of transfer student advising and admissions in the A. James Clark School of engineering at the University of Maryland, and Dr. Alberto Cabrera (co-principal investigator), professor emeritus of higher education, University of Maryland, for their project "Transfer Efficacy and Goal Orientation among Potential Transfer Students: An Exploratory Study."
Transfer Student Ambassadors were selected through a national competition intended to recognize outstanding students who represent the heart of transfer work. All four demonstrated excellence in leadership, public speaking, and their potential for sharing meaningful information with higher education transfer professionals. They were:
- Jan Paolo Canteras, University of California, Irvine
- Herman Luis Chavez, University of California, Los Angeles
- Noelle Dana, University of Notre Dame
- Katherine Ibsen, University of California, Berkeley
The 2023 NISTS Conference will be held in Portland, Oregon, and the 2024 event will return to St. Louis.
NISTS Conference returns to St. Louis
The annual National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students Conference is set for Feb. 21-23 in St. Louis, Missouri. This year's conference theme is 'Full Steam Ahead: Leveraging Our Wins to Fuel System Change.'
Transfer students celebrated this fall
正澳门六合彩开奖结果 is honoring transfer students Oct. 16-20 with celebration lunches on the Dahlonega and Gainesville campuses.
NISTS conference set for online, Portland
The National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students will have annual conference options online and in Portland in February.