David A. Daley - Advisor of the Year - 1999

College of Agriculture

Certain adjectives dominate when one reads the letters that have been submitted in Professor David Daley's behalf-"energetic," "interested," "coach," "mentor," "challenging," and "caring." Both faculty and students describe Professor Daley as having an "open door" approach to advising…his style is one of a "roving office hour." His dean says, "…Dave attracts students, not only for his extremely informative and accurate advice, but also because Dave gives students straight talk." One student describes Dr. Daley's active advising style this way: "When I arrived at Chico State, I did not seek out Dr. Daley; he found me." A faculty colleague describes Dr. Daley as, "sought out by students because of personal traits. He honestly values students as whole persons. He risks knowing them well and involving himself in their lives." Even in a large, non-major class, Dave Daley will know everyone's name by the end of the second week.

Students and faculty alike attest to Dave Daley's long-term involvement with his advisees. He meets students when they are prospects-at agriculture and admissions day fairs and at 4H club visits. This early contact, followed by interested on- and off-campus advising activity and career encouragement, establishes the relationship that colleagues and students describe as "genuine," "caring," and "reliable." He also excels in advising for post-collegiate planning and supports personal as well as academic growth.

The flip side of David Daley's support is his ability to question, push, and challenge his students by encouraging them to perform above and beyond what they think they are capable of doing. He also is a stickler for quality and accuracy, both in his advising and teaching, and makes it a point to go the extra mile in order to answer all questions fully and accurately.

Dr. Daily is committed to turning learning into doing and under his tutelage, students develop strong communication skills and the ability to think on their feet - excellent traits that will serve them well in their futures. To this end, he has initiated two student organizations at Chico and is active in a variety of other co- and extra curricular student activities including internships, research projects and various job opportunities. He uses these as additional forums for developmental advising and for helping students expand their network of connections.

David Daley's contributions are singular, even if based soley on the quality of his interactions with students and his follow-up after they leave Chico for graduate school or their careers. However, Dr. Daley has contributed significantly through further involvement in the administrative structure of the campus and the College of Agriculture as chair of the college's curriculum committee and through a variety of projects which support the University's strategic plan focus on student-centered learning. Among his many achievements, Dr. Daley has been instrumental in the implementation a novel integrated approach to Agricultural Sciences, provided critical insight to the development of a Student Portfolio as a method to improve student assessment and took the lead in developing and implementing the college's required orientation class. He also promotes additional advising strategies for the college, developed a special major advising pattern in Agricultural Communications, established a semiannual college advising night and was a keynote speaker at the Faculty Advisors' Forum.

The advisor that emerges from these paragraphs is one who sincerely, genuinely, and deeply cares about each individual-before arriving at our university, during the course of study, and after graduation. Many attributes make Professor Daley an outstanding advisor, but mostly, "his total dedication to the needs of students and the teaching and advising he does while in the classroom, during industry events, through club activities, during travel with teams, by arranging outstanding internships, and by being able to understand his students, assess their needs and administering the appropriate guidance." Dr. Daley's influence inspires one of his advisees to say, "If I can contribute half of what Dr. Daley has to higher education, I will be satisfied." Another states, "This unparalleled advisor has an uncanny knack for finding just the right balance between helping and letting go."

Dr. David Daley truly is an outstanding academic advisor, one who reaps his rewards from the achievements of his students and from identifying and addressing programmatic and advising needs within the College of Agriculture.