Director of New Student and Family Transitions appointed to national board

Lyndsey Williams Mayweather, director of Augusta University’s Office of New Student and Family Transitions, has been appointed to the general board of the Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education (NODA).

NODA, an international association founded in 1976, is dedicated to peer-to-peer education and professional development for professionals in the fields of orientation, transition and retention.

Board appointees serve three-year terms and are elected by the membership.

Prior to her board appointment, Williams Mayweather served in multiple leadership roles for NODA, including the Region 6 representative for the Multicultural Network and the Educational Programs and Evaluations Co-Chair for the 2020 annual conference planning committee.

The board appointment is a step forward for Augusta University’s transitions office, according to Williams Mayweather.

“This will mean a continued relationship with a network of professionals who are knowledgeable and passionate about orientation, transition and retention work,” she said. “This expanded network brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise that we are able to draw upon to continue our innovative work that benefits our new students and their families.”

The Office of New Student and Family Transitions has made significant strides since opening in January 2020. This year they have hired two full-time staff members and fully transitioned the orientation and transition programming to an online format (the latter task being accomplished in less than a month due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

The office also introduced a new program — Ready, Set, Go Augusta! — to welcome new students in Fall 2020.

In the coming months, the office looks forward to increasing its family programming, adding new members to the Family Board (the governing arm of the Parent and Family Association) and facilitating the return of Parent and Family Weekend.

They also look forward to launching their new online orientation platform and hiring their 2021 orientation team. Applications to be an orientation leader opened on December 1.