Peter White, dean, University College, has been named as an “Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate” by the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition and the Houghton Mifflin Company. The award will be presented at the Center’s Annual Conference on the First-Year Experience in Atlanta, Ga. on Feb. 27.
Photo: Peter White, dean, University College
White was nominated for the award by President Louis Caldera who said, “Peter White is focused on finding ways to bring students from all backgrounds into the mainstream of university life. I am extremely proud of his leadership at UNM in this area.“
Ten recipients will be honored this year from a group of 127 educators who were nominated. The nominees will be recognized for their impact on first-year students and the institution.
Freshman Programs at UNM
At UNM, White has instituted Freshman Academic Choices, which include Freshman Learning Communities in which small groups of first-year students work in groups with faculty members who teach as a team. The groups focus on specific interest areas such as Forensic Death Investigation or Chicano Heritage.
He also started Freshman Living and Learning Communities in which students interested in general areas like engineering or fine arts can live in a dorm and attend classes as a group. Freshman Interest Groups bring together students who want to explore a specific subject such as filmmaking or careers in health fields.
White also instituted Freshman Experiential Learning Communities that allow groups of students to do projects in areas such as environmental sustainability or religion. He is currently working to expand that into a more complex learning experience that would involve research and public service.
White says the Freshman Academic Choices are meant to help freshmen find their place in a large research university by helping them meet other students interested in the same things. The Freshman Academic Choices program at UNM has helped boost student retention to the sophomore year to more than 75 percent.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627; e-mail: kwent2@unm.edu
Posted by scarr at January 24, 2006 01:46 PM