By Vincent Alex Brown, executive editor

She makes all the difference at Florida International University. He helps Student Government stay focused at Pace University, New York City Campus. And having two really makes life better at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

Who are they? Advisors—administrators and faculty who devote their time, energy, and experience into making SG, clubs, and fraternities shine. Having a full-time advisor is ideal, and having co-advisors is even better. Co-advisors can share the load, cover for each other, and maintain the momentum needed to make large groups function day after day, especially SG administrations that oversee multi-million dollar budgets.

At Full Throttle
“Having a full-time advisor helps,” says Vicky Owles, FIU Student Government Association’s first full-time advisor. “I live in the SGA office, so I live and breathe this all day long. [The team] is absolutely amazing.” Victor Romano, former president of the Student Government Council that makes up half of SGA, agrees. “Our advisor is absolutely great…She’s really supportive of us,” he says. “She’s ‘hands off’ in the way she lets us make our own decisions.” With Owles’ help, FIU’s SGC was named best in the state last year by Florida Leader magazine.

At Pace University, SGA President Sara Shikhman says her advisor “helps the organization stay focused on it’s goals and allows for a constant exchange of information between the officers and advisor. Whenever [Professor Bill Offutt] isn’t in his office, he’s reachable at home and via e-mail, and his advice is always thoughtful and honest.

“He has an open door policy and keeps chairs from his house and a refrigerator with soda in his office for students that are waiting to speak to him,” she says. “Best of all, he advises SGA pro bono, and we have scheduled weekly meetings with him. So even though being the SGA advisor is not Offutt's main occupation, he still does a great job and is always available.” An added perk SGA gets from Offutt’s involvement is advice from a legal perspective since he’s a graduate of Stanford Law School. “He is funny and energetic,” she says, “and is always encouraging us to try bold new things. Professor Offutt really pushes our members in the right direction.”

A full-time advisor provides perspective to balance the continually changing student leadership of an organization. “The current advisor for the Business College Council (BCC) has been with the council for over 20 years and is the best source of history imaginable,” says Brandi Johnson, BCC president at Colorado State University. “Gladys Eddy remains active in the College of Business, holding an office and attending every BCC meeting. Although she’s over 80 years old, she reminds us all that determination is what gets the job done. Her dedication to the College of Business and BCC enables us to be the strongest council on campus. We have had numerous notable speakers for our annual ‘Business Day’ event, many of which are due to our advisor's dedication in working with the faculty and administration.

"Having a dedicated advisor has allowed BCC to continue to develop strong leaders for the university as well as the business world,” Johnson says. “She serves as a wealth of information, a liaison with other university departments, and a strong reference point for our members. Her history with, and knowledge of CSU provide a foundation for the BCC's continued growth and success."

But what if your group can’t afford a full-time advisor? “They can look to the faculty and staff of the university and can probably find someone with lots of great experience, willing to do it for free,” Shikhman says.

Twin Turbos
Now, just imagine if you had two advisors helping out and making sure your group succeeds. Often, one administrator or faculty member serves as an advisor with another staffer helping as co-advisor. The two share the demanding workload and give it combined brainpower to tackle its toughest challenges.

“I've found that having associate directors, or co-advisors, is a great benefit to an organization,” says Laura Creegan, alumnus of the University of Central Florida’s LEAD Scholars Program. “If one person is out of the office, the other one is usually in. It's simply more efficient when planning events and brainstorming when two different people working together have a great deal of experience combined. A large event can be run because more than one person can be at two different places at one time to oversee activities.”

The Student Advisory Council at UA Fort Smith has the benefit of co-advisors. Director of Student Activities Margie Moore works alongside Dean of Campus Activities Stacey Jones as advisor and co-advisor—“who has the last say on things”—to help make SAC a success. “[Moore] is outgoing and fun-loving, two very important personality qualities, yet she is always on the ball to get things done,” says Marie Higginbotham, SAC president. “She’s a wonderful coordinator while working with the SAC officers, listening to our ideas and suggestions. She truly cares for the students in their academic pursuits and in their personal lives.

“[Jones] is an exact taskmaster, expecting things to be done, done right, and on time, but you could never meet a more fun-loving man,” she says. “He’s always quick with witty sayings and can put anyone at ease and gives others the confidence that they can accomplish anything if they put their mind to it.

“These two work so well together, like bread and butter! They bounce ideas and jokes off each other unlike anyone else I know,” Higginbotham says. “There’s no possible way you can cross campus with these two and come back in a bad mood. They’re perfect for the job of getting and keeping students involved in student activities.”

Two Halves
Co-advisors can offer varying perspectives. “Their different responsibilities within the university allow for a broader perspective on SG issues,” says Jeff Parks, SG president and former president of Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity at Youngstown State University in Ohio. “One is an administrative advisor from the Student Affairs division, meaning he must be a member of that division's administration (which includes any department directors or assistant directors). The other must be a faculty advisor, which could be any faculty member. Normally, the administrative position is held by the same person for several years, which provides some long-term perspective and experience. The faculty advisor, though, usually changes each year.”

However, Parks says they aren’t full-time advisors but have additional duties. Having two part-timers may be an option, if one full-timer can’t be found. Regardless of your advisor situation, another option is looking for outside advice from time-to-time. “My experience with advisors has been very positive so far, but that experience also is not limited to just our regular advisors,” Park says. “I’ve found that there are subjects where it may be appropriate to consult other individuals as advisors due to their expertise or abilities,” Parks says. “It’s helpful to get many different perspectives to provide balance, but it’s important to have two people that are familiar with you and your organization.”

At the other end of the scale are groups that either have one advisor stretched over several clubs, or no advisor at all. Things just didn’t happen until FIU hired Owles. With her arrival, Romano and team took off to produce a slick, informative quarterly newsletter for students called the SGC Quarterly, provide programs to help students, host events to boast campus involvement with commuters, and improve relations with the campus paper, The Beacon.

So, get an advisor, and while you’re at it, get two, especially if your group is a growing or large organization. It can be the decisive difference between puttering through the school year and having an award-winning team. Which do you want to be a part of?

Contact Owles at 304-348-2121 or owlesv@fiu.edu, Shikhman at (212) 346-1633 or young_dreamer@hotmail.com, Johnson at 970.581.5984 or esabrandi@yahoo.com, Creegan at 407-998-3978 or rubyll@aol.com, Higginbotham at 479-883-3364 or m4hmom@aol.com, Parks at 330-219-7359 or jeffjparks@yahoo.com.

Advisor Advantages Full-time advisors ∙ Give group undivided attention ∙ Are available at all hours ∙ Direct energy at one group ∙ Provide consistency Co-advisors ∙ Share workload ∙ Double the brainpower ∙ Bring more ideas to group ∙ Provide varied perspectives