Illinois State's Mark Vegter is Herb Sanders Advising Award Recipient

Illinois State University's Mark Vegter, undergraduate advisor for the Department of English, is the 2009 recipient of the Herb Sanders Award for Outstanding Academic Advisement.  The award will be presented at the Founders Day Convocation on Thursday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. in the Bone Student Center Brown Ballroom.

The award was established by friends of Herb Sanders, a member of the faculty from 1949 until his death in 1980, to recognize advisors who demonstrate a caring attitude for students, who are assertive in their contacts with students and who support campus wide academic advisement.

Mark Vegter earned his B.S. in English in 1993 at Illinois State University. He started as an academic advisor in the Academic Advisement Center and continued as an advisor in University College until 2005. He worked primarily with freshman English and Communication majors, undecided students, and probation students. During this time he was involved with the peer advisor program, the major fair, Preview Training for AAC Advisors, the Connections Program, Professional Development for advisors across campus and the Strategic Planning Committee for Advisement.

Since 2005 he has been the undergraduate advisor for the Department of English. In addition to advising 600 plus majors and 300 minors, he has been elected to the Academic Advisor Advisory Council and subsequently elected chair of the council for the past two years. Vegter co-authored a Region V NACADA (National Academic Advising Association) Grant that provided seed money for a one-day advising/career related conference at Illinois State. He won the Team Excellence Award in 2007 with the other members of the planning committee for this conference. In 2008, Vegter was elected chair of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Concerns Commission for NACADA. At the 2008 National NACADA Conference he successfully placed a bid for Illinois State University to host the 2011 Region V NACADA Conference. He has presented or co-presented 14 presentations since 2001 at state, regional and national conferences.  Vegter is passionate about his profession and is a strong advocate for students.  He continues to learn through his advising colleagues and students.