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ADVISING @ U-M
ADVISING @ U-M
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Advising & Coaching Awards

An award-winning community of advisors.

The ACUM Outstanding Advising Award, inaugurated in 2022, honors the dedication and excellence of staff and faculty advisers across all schools and colleges at the Ann Arbor campus. It serves as a platform to acknowledge their invaluable contributions to student success and academic guidance.

Meet our 2025 award recipients.

Becca Pickus
Social Theory & Practice Major Program Head and Advisor, LSA Residential College
Ashley Andreae
Administrative Support, Michigan Medicine

Read more about the 2025 recipients in The University Record.

Learn more about the awards.

Advising Awards

Who is eligible to be nominated?

All staff and faculty who advise, coach, or mentor undergraduate or graduate students are eligible for this award. We define “advisor” expansively. (See below for separate awards for graduate faculty mentors and dissertation advisors.)

Who is eligible to nominate an advisor?

The ACUM Advising Awards are student-nominated, so all undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to nominate an advisor.

What will the winner(s) receive?

In addition to the honor of being recognized, two winners will each receive a $1,500 prize, and all advisors nominated will receive anonymized copies of their nominations. These testimonials mean a tremendous amount to advisors, as the full impact of their work with students isn’t always visible.

How do I nominate my advisor?

“Nominations can be submitted through an online form, and winners are announced at the annual ACUM Advising Conference, typically held in early May.

How do I nominate tenured faculty who are outstanding mentors of doctoral students?

Additional awards sponsored by the Rackham Graduate School are available for tenured faculty:

  • John H. D’Arms Faculty Awards for Distinguished Graduate Mentoring in the Humanities
  • Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award for dissertations advisors

Past Winners