News Release

Gregory Ball

Gregory Ball, a professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, has been selected as the 2006 Region 2 Outstanding Faculty Advisor by the National Association of Academic Advising.

A Kansas-based association of professional advisors, counselors, faculty, administrators and students working to enhance the educational development of students, NACADA chose Ball as the Mid-Atlantic region's winner because of his rapport with students and his attention to their needs, said Joanne Damminger, chair of NACADA's Region 2 Awards Committee.

"In the judgment of the selection committee, you have consistently displayed the qualities associated with the outstanding advising of students," Damminger wrote Ball in a letter informing him of his award.

Ball will be officially recognized during NACADA's annual conference, which will be held March 22-24 in Lancaster, Pa.

"Hopkins is often thought of primarily as a research university, yet we do so many other things well, from teaching undergraduates to mentoring them in a variety of disciplines," Ball said. "I am happy to have received this award because it recognizes that we work hard to cultivate worthwhile relationships with our students."

Each semester, Ball advises between 50 and 60 students. His approach to advising is more about listening and less about talking, he said.

"I challenge students by asking them to ask themselves questions such as 'What are your life goals?' and 'Where would you like to be a year from now?'" Ball said. "This helps students along in the process of making a decision themselves, rather than having me tell them what to do."

Johns Hopkins' Office of Academic Advising nominated Ball for the award.

Related Web site
www.psy.jhu.edu/~ball/