Stephanie Hands has been selected through a competitive search process as the next director of the Office of Advising Strategies (OAS).
The mission of advisement at the University of New Mexico is to provide an inclusive and supportive environment where advisors assist students in making robust and informed decisions about educational plans that are consistent with their life goals. Stephanie Hands is poised to help UNM fulfill that mission.
In her new leadership role, she will collaborate with university leaders and college advising managers, resource center directors, and advisors across The University in developing a comprehensive team-based approach to student support. As she transitions into the OAS Director position, she will rely on the assistance of Pam Agoyo and Jennifer Lucero, "to whom we owe thanks for their exceptional interim co-direction of OAS," said Pamela Cheek, associate provost for Student Success.
“I am so grateful and excited for this opportunity to further support a shared vision of advisement and student success,” Hands said. “I am indebted to Pam Agoyo and Jennifer Lucero for their support and guidance of as I shift my role from college to campus-wide and I look forward to many conversations and collaborations with this amazing community of student advocates.”
Hands has worked in advisement since 1989 and is nationally recognized for her contributions to the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). She earned both a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Business Administration at UNM. She is widely respected in the UNM advising community, especially for her work implementing a new advising structure for the College of Arts & Sciences. There she created advisement workshops that connect learning objectives to registration and designed probation and transition courses.
Hands stands out as the best possible leader for advisement at UNM because of her passion for serving students, her flair for innovation and her commitment to setting advisors up with the resources they need to collaborate on improving student experience and academic success. We are fortunate at UNM to benefit from the work of a longtime Lobo who is an exceptional advising leader.