{"id":253333,"date":"2026-09-23T15:10:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:10:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=253333"},"modified":"2026-09-23T15:10:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:10:21","slug":"melissa-manning-uconn-hartford-receives-2026-nacada-region-1-advising-excellence-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/09\/melissa-manning-uconn-hartford-receives-2026-nacada-region-1-advising-excellence-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Melissa Manning, UConn Hartford, Receives 2026 NACADA Region 1 Advising Excellence Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

Melissa Manning, Director of Advising at the University of Connecticut\u2019s Hartford campus, has been named the recipient of the 2026 NACADA Region 1 Advising Excellence Award \u2013 Advisor<\/strong><\/a>, presented by NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising.<\/p>\n

The Regional Advising Excellence Award recognizes outstanding academic advising and celebrates a professional staff advisor whose work demonstrates a significant commitment to students and excellence in the advising profession.<\/p>\n

Melissa will be recognized at the NACADA Region 1 Conference in Montreal, Canada in April 2027.<\/p>\n

Melissa serves as Director of Advising at the UConn Hartford campus and has supported undergraduates at the University for more than a decade. She oversees advising operations, supports professional advisors and graduate students, leads orientation advising and registration efforts, and collaborates across programs and with campus leadership to strengthen the student experience. Her work is grounded in a commitment to building meaningful connections with students, removing barriers to academic success, and developing effective and student-centered advising practices.<\/p>\n

In 2026, Manning was also named a co-recipient of UConn\u2019s Outstanding Undergraduate Professional Staff Advisor Award<\/a>, which recognizes the extraordinary contributions by undergraduate academic advisors to students\u2019 academic success and development. In recognizing Melissa, UConn highlighted her empathy and determination, collaborative approach, leadership of Orientation efforts and advising events, and commitment to problem-solving.<\/p>\n

Providing holistic, culturally competent advising is a priority of UConn\u2019s 2024-2034 Strategic Plan<\/a>. \u201cWe are honored to have one of UConn\u2019s advising leaders and mentors recognized for their work by our national advising organization,\u201d said Erin Ciarimboli, UConn\u2019s Director of Undergraduate Advising. \u201cMelissa\u2019s recognition is long overdue and highlights the critical role that UConn\u2019s advisors play every day in supporting student success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMelissa is an excellent advisor. Although her professional responsibilities have expanded significantly, she still works very closely with students and staff to answer specific questions and work through challenging situations.\u201d Christine Mosman, Associate Director, Office of Student Services, UConn Hartford.<\/p>\n

Melissa\u2019s advising philosophy reflects the importance she places on ensuring students feel a sense of support and belonging at UConn. \u201cStudents still want and need connection. Students want to feel heard, understood, and supported,\u201d Melissa said. \u201cI lead with genuine care and authenticity, and I want them to trust that I support them. I strive to create an environment where students feel empowered, supported, and confident in navigating higher education.\u201d<\/p>\n

About NACADA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1979, NACADA: The Global Community for Academic Advising is the leading professional association dedicated to enhancing the field of academic advising in higher education. With a membership exceeding 14,000 individuals, NACADA serves a global community of advisors, faculty, administrators, and student support professionals. The association offers comprehensive professional development, cutting-edge research, consulting services, and a collaborative network, all aimed at promoting student success and institutional effectiveness. By championing the pivotal role of academic advising, NACADA empowers its members to elevate advising practices and enhance the student experience. Learn more at nacada.ksu.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melissa serves as Director of Advising at the UConn Hartford campus and has supported undergraduates at the University for more than a decade<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":253334,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2275,2429,2461,92],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1902],"class_list":["post-253333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-affairs","category-awards-scholarships","category-staff","category-uconn-hartford"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-30 17:25:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253333"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253333\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":253362,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253333\/revisions\/253362"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/253334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253333"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=253333"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=253333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}