Dr. William Mark Tew, vice president for academic affairs at Howard Payne University, recently announced the creation of the University Advising Center. Leading this new effort will be Dr. Wendy McNeeley, newly appointed dean of advising and general education.

Dr. Tew stated the new center is being developed in recognition of “the need to bridge the high school to college transition and to offer consistent support services to all of our students.”

Academic advising is a process in which faculty members facilitate and guide students to implement appropriate educational plans consistent with their academic, personal and career goals.

Staffed by faculty who will serve as mentors and advisors, the center will help coordinate tutoring, career counseling, job placement, student retention, the developmental learning program and freshman year experiences. It will also serve as a resource for best practices in general education instruction and be responsible for institution-wide assessment of the university’s general education curriculum.

Dr. McNeeley holds the Doctor of Philosophy degree in post secondary and adult education from Capella University and the Master of Arts degree in English from Tarleton State University.

With credentials in English and in higher education, Dr. McNeeley will continue teaching while she leads these new initiatives. She has served as chair of the department of developmental studies since 2006 and has been a professor at HPU since 1994.

“We are excited that Dr. McNeeley has agreed to lead the university’s efforts in advising and general education assessment,” said Dr. Tew. “Dr. McNeeley is an extraordinarily capable faculty member who has a passion for students and a commitment for helping them transition successfully to the strenuous academic demands of higher education.”