Anderson garners national honors for student advocacy

Robert Anderson

Associate Provost Robert Anderson has been honored as an Outstanding First-Year Student Advocate by the National Resource Center for First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.

“For the campus community, Professor Anderson is the face of the First-Year Experience,” said Beth Paul, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at TCNJ. “Faculty members acknowledge his expertise with the regular refrain of ‘Ask Bob,’ and although student advising is not part of his official responsibilities, the students so frequently seen in his office attest to the fact that the student grapevine has pegged him as someone knowledgeable, responsive, and caring. ”

Anderson has led TCNJ’s comprehensive First-Year Experience Program at the conceptual and practical levels. It includes a first-year seminar linked to mentoring and the residential experience, community-engaged learning, and a body of courses developing students ’ skills and introducing them to discipline-based ways of knowing. Based upon the success of the program, Anderson has been asked to serve as a consultant for the Association of American Colleges and Universities, as well as for numerous individual colleges and universities.

He is currently leading an effort to recognize and share successes in student mentoring and advising across academic units in order to highlight the importance of advising on campus and enhance its effectiveness at TCNJ.