Outstanding advisors

Outstanding Academic Advisors 2009: Linda Conrad, Frank Harvey, Patricia Laws and Ray Klein.

“The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself.”

So said the always quotable Oscar Wilde. As academic advisors, Linda Conrad, Frank Harvey, Patricia Laws and Ray Klein have been passing on good advice and are now being recognized by the university for doing it particularly well.

They’re the winners of this year’s awards for Outstanding Academic Advisors, an honor established by the President’s Office to recognize exceptional academic advisors and encourage efforts to promote, support and improve academic advising at Dalhousie.

Linda Conrad is the administrative coordinator of the engineering core program for years one and two. Described as “the engineering mom” and the “lighthouse on a rocky shore,” Ms. Conrad is always kind and hospitable, dedicated and competent, as she deals with student problems.

In the Department of Political Science, University Research Professor Frank Harvey has the job of advising graduate students. “He fills a central role in our graduate program, attracting high quality students and supportive research funding and providing continuous intellectual and personal energy,” says Robert Finbow, department chair. Students laud him for his availability, understanding and patience.

Ray Klein has served the same role in the Department of Psychology for the past 22 years and has since handed over the mantle to Prof. Tracy Taylor-Helmick. Dr. Klein’s students emphasize that he spends much of his time working alongside them in his research lab, “making himself available for queries and generally facilitating a dynamic and collaborative learning environment.”  

In the Department of Chemistry, Patricia Laws is known as an exceptional teacher, and now as outstanding advisor, too. Department chair Neil Burford attributes a significant boost in second-year enrolment to Dr. Law’s advising and mentorship of first-year students. “She’s so great at understanding the stressful environment that is first year university,” wrote one student. “Without her help, deciding on a major and picking second-year classes would have been so much harder for me.”