Elmore receives national advising award
Bill Elmore, center, works with undergraduate chemical engineering students in a Swalm laboratory.
A Bagley College associate professor has earned recognition as one of the best faculty advisers in the nation.
Bill B. Elmore, interim director of the Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, received the 2014 Outstanding Advising Award from the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). Selected based on their dedication to students, this year’s faculty and staff awardees were honored during the organization’s annual conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Elmore was nominated for the NACADA award after earning Mississippi State’s 2014 Irvin Alty Jefcoat Advising Award, the university’s top honor for academic advisers.
Elmore advises more than 400 undergraduate students in the school of chemical engineering. As current holder of the Hunter W. Henry Endowed Chair, he has shown his commitment to its namesake’s vision for enhancement of the undergraduate experience.
“Advising has been a passion of mine from the beginning of my career,” Elmore said. “I thrive on seeing students succeed academically and progress toward reaching their academic and career goals.”
He continued, “When I have a student walk in, nothing else matters at that moment. I truly enjoy drawing out an individual’s goals so I can encourage them, hoping to play a supportive role in helping them reach those dreams.”
Elmore says his involvement in students’ lives stems from his experience as an undergraduate.
“I believe my experience -- changing majors from music to biology and chemistry and eventually to chemical engineering -- helps me empathize with students grappling with matching their skills and interests to their vocation,” Elmore explained.
After earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering at the University of Arkansas, Elmore spent 15 years as a teacher and administrator at Louisiana Tech University. In his 10th year at Mississippi State, he oversees many undergraduate activities in addition to his administrative, teaching and advising responsibilities.
Elmore is the faculty adviser for the Mississippi State student chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), which received its 14th consecutive national Outstanding Student Chapter Award this month. He was also recognized nationally as the 2014 AIChE Outstanding Faculty Adviser.
Elmore says the generous support that established the Hunter Henry Chair him focus on his students’ success by providing resources for student activities that enhance their lives and the community. AIChE conducts several outreach activities each year including tailgates to welcome students, alumni, faculty, and friends for every home game; Habitat for Humanity projects; Boy Scout and Girl Scout LEGO Saturdays; and Palmer Home Thrift Store service.
NACADA’s annual awards program started in 1983 to recognize outstanding student advisers and to promote the success of students by strengthening the field of academic advising globally. NACADA membership exceeds 10,000 members including faculty and staff advisers, administrators and counselors.
To learn more about NACADA, visit www.nacada.ksu.edu.
For more information about Bagley College of Engineering, visit www.bagley.msstate.edu.
Amanda Meeler | Bagley College of Engineering
