As of this year, Sarah Stearns has taken on a new role at SNHU. Recently, she has been titled Director of Academic Advising.
Located in the Green Center, Sarah Stearns can be found in the Academic Advising Office for Campus undergraduate day students. The overall vision of the Advising Office is to educate and empower all students in their academic development at SNHU.
Beyond the existing vision statement, Stearns is responsible for the department’s mission and operation. The upheld mission of the department is to encourage communication between faculty, staff and the students. With this dialogue, they intend to assist students in taking opportunities and utilizing campus resources.
“The role of Director of Academic Advising is also to supervise the advising staff and offer support and training for the faculty advisors,” said Stearns.
Stearns went on to say, “I am passionate about academic advising, so having the opportunity to support advisors is pretty fantastic. Advising is teaching and teaching is what I love to do. It’s a true gift that I get to spend my days teaching and supporting our advisors. Advising is such a critical piece of student success, and having the chance to impact that in a positive way is something to be excited about.”
Along with her new responsibilities, Sarah Stearns will also have a small caseload of new students she will get to advise directly.
As the new Director of Academic Advising, Sarah Stearns plans to remain involved with the Peer Advising Leader (PAL) program on campus.
Also located in the Green Center, the PAL team works to provided advising assistance to incoming students. With office hours each week, they are available to answer student’s questions and act as a resource at SNHU.
“Leah, our director of three years has been a phenomenal leader and a true mentor to me. I have learned a great deal from her and she has set me up to succeed in this new role,” said Stearns.
The Academic Advising Office has also introduced some new advisors that are available to students throughout the year.
