Southeastern’s Boatmun Earns National Recognition

Press Release Date: 01-30-2007

Tim Boatmun, director of the Academic Advising and Outreach Center at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, is one of 10 recipients of the 2007 “Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate Award.”

The award is presented by the University of South Carolina’s National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, together with Houghton Mifflin Publishing Co.

Now in its 15th year, the award honors college faculty, administrators, staff and students for their work with first-year students and the impact their efforts have on students and the culture of their institutions. The recipients, chosen from a pool of 116 nominees, will be formally recognized Feb. 16-20 in Dallas at the Annual Conference on The First-Year Experience.

“This is an outstanding honor for not only Tim but the entire University,” said SOSU Interim President Jesse Snowden. “The Academic Advising Center continues to play a key role in assisting our students as they work to accomplish their goals.”

Boatmun graduated from SOSU in 1988 with a double major in psychology and sociology and a minor in music. He then moved to New York City where he earned a M.A. from New York University in 1990. After graduate school, he worked in the field of child abuse prevention for 10 years before returning home to SOSU in 2000.

“I am truly humbled to be receiving this award,” Boatmun said. “It is a privilege to work with our students on a daily basis. In the last five years, the services for first-year students at SOSU have improved dramatically and that is a direct result of the vision provided by Dr. (Jeff) Hale (Vice President for Enrollment Management, Marketing & Intercollegiate Athletics), Dr. Snowden and Chancellor (Glen) Johnson. I am very fortunate to work with a great team of directors in the Enrollment Management/Marketing division and to have such a dedicated staff in the AAOC.”

The recipients of the 2007 Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate Award are:

Rebecca Ament, director, Developmental Education and Quality Improvement Projects, Zane State College;

Robert J. Anderson, director, Liberal Learning, The College of New Jersey;

Paul Arcario, dean, Academic Affairs, LaGuardia Community College, The City University of New York;

Tim Boatmun, director, Academic Advising and First-Year Programs, Southeastern Oklahoma State University;

Leanna Fenneberg, director, Undergraduate Initiatives, Saint Louis University;

Mariana J. Lebron, director, Orientation and Transitions Services, Syracuse University;

Pamela M. Milloy, Title III activity director and learning specialist, Grand View College;

Pamela Person, director, First-Year Experience and Learning Communities, University of Cincinnati;

Maria C. Bennett Rose, vice president, Academic Services, Fairmont State University;

William J. Tenbrunsel, associate dean and director, Center for Teaching and Learning, Roanoke College