SLU Public Information
President's Awards for Excellence
Advising Angel
by Shanna Sissom
In the fall semester of 1989 a self-described timid and confused
21-year-old sophomore was about to give up on college. That's when he was touched by an
angel, he said.
"I was in desperate need of direction in my college
life and was on the verge of giving up. I prayed to the good Lord to help me through the state I
was in. That is when I was introduced to an angel by the name of Dr. Anne Ferguson."
Those are the words of Daryl Ferrara, a 1992 marketing graduate, now a successful
marketing associate with Premier Bank in Baton Rouge. "Solve the problem, Daryl!" Ferrara
remembers Ferguson saying. "Face it...What you achieve or fail to achieve in your life is directly
related to what you do or fail to do...You can change anything in your life if you want to badly
enough." His expression of gratitude for Ferguson's encouragement is echoed repeatedly by
scores of students whose lives have been touched and positively redirected by this "angel."
Ferguson has spent 20 years helping students succeed in both college and life. Her efforts
indisputedly extend far beyond official duties as head of the Junior Division.
"No one wants to fail. No one. I do whatever is in my power to help students succeed,"
she said.
"It is amazing how many students say if it had not been for Anne, they would not have
graduated. She goes above and beyond her job description every day and has an uncanny ability
to relate very well to every population, particularly students," said Dr. Patsy Causey, dean of the
College of Basic Studies.
This year, Southeastern's own "angel" received her wings. Just as a decade ago she was
the first recipient of the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching, she has now been named
the first faculty winner of the President's Award for Excellence in Service. An outstanding leader
and publisher in the field of education at state and national levels, she is the kind of educator who
really makes a diffence, one students remember the rest of their lives. This is what students had
to say.
"I remember walking into her office one day as a scared undergraduate student for help
with registration. Stopping everything she was doing, Dr. Ferguson mapped out a course of study
for me that even included graduate school at Southeastern," said Aimee Klimczak, a 1985
Southeastern graduate who has earned a doctoral degree and is now a training coordinator at the
University of Missouri-Columbia.
One of the most heartwarming stories involves a student named Natasha, someone
Ferguson has never even met. But that didn't stop her from moving heaven and earth to make
sure the student could take her final exams while in another city recovering from a liver
transplant. Ferguson personally contacted every professor and arranged to have her final exams
faxed to the media center, where a high school guidance counselor administered the tests.
"Southeastern visual arts professor Karl Volkmar voluntarily traveled to the hospital to give
Natasha her exam,"Ferguson recalled. It was just business as usual for her. "That was another
example of the great faculty we have here," she said. Ferguson calls it "troubleshooting" and
problem solving is what she does best. "I have never known a time when anyone who needed
help was turned down by Dr. Ferguson," said her colleague, Dr. Leah Jane Sadden.
Her assistance to those in need is boundless, as a collection of cards and letters from students
exemplify. "You have helped me join the human race again and to view my disability as an
obstacle I can overcome," one student wrote. Ferguson prizes such appreciation from students.
"It makes everything worthwhile. I feel emotional and I look at that student and say to myself,
"My goodness, it's the best award a faculty member can get," she said.
"There is nothing impossible for Anne," Dean Causey said. Not only is she actively
involved in shaping the lives of students, but Ferguson has a reputation for following up as an
advisor, mentor, and friend long after students graduate. "I have students drop in periodically and
it's always most rewarding to see how successful students become," she said.
Dr. Ferguson is repeatedly described as someone who finds ways to get things done in
situations that might seem impossible to others. "It was nice to hear you talk about what is
possible rather than what is not possible," the father of an academically-challenged student
wrote.
"I love working with students, their problems, and helping them get out of jams,"
Ferguson said. "Take for an example, a student who thinks they can never graduate because of a
low GPA. If you sit and listen to them, their background and goals, you can map out a direction.
It may seem impossible to some, but it really is not impossible. It's like a treasure hunt finding
students courses they can succeed in and finding alternatives for students who feel like they're in
a hole and cannot get out."
While the University is honored to have Ferguson with her talents and devotion, she is
jubiliant about being here. "I enjoy Southeastern as a community. Its been a wonderful life," she
said. "I couldn't have been more pleased to have found such a great home. I love the faculty and
staff, and the students."
During her twenty-year career at Southeastern, Ferguson designed an academic advising
system that gives advisors instant access to student records. Advising has remained one of her
major areas of emphasis, and she has worked extensively to establish numerous resources to help
students graduate as quickly and efficiently as possible. She also has focused efforts on helping
students and parents adjust to the college experience.
While her leadership roles in committees are too extensive to list, Dr. Ferguson has
represtented the state and Southeastern while serving as vice-president of the National
Association for Developmental Education. She also served as president for the Louisiana
Association for Developmental Education and was appointed by former Governor Edwin
Edwards in 1993 to serve on the Louisiana Education Assessment Testing Commission.
Ferguson is a full professor in the College of Basic Studies and head of the Junior
Division. She has ten years of elementary teaching experience and methods courses, and taught
four years in Europe. In 1992, she won the outstanding research award for the National
Association for Developmental Education. The following year, she received the Outstanding
Alumni Award at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.
"Outstanding" seems to follow her everywhere.
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