Posted on Dec 5, 2006

An article written by two Murray State University faculty members was published in the Fall 2006 issue of the National Academic Advising Association's (NACADA) Journal. The Journal is distributed twice a year to more than 10,000 NACADA members, institutions and libraries, both nationally and internationally. Dr. Lee Kem and Dr. Joy Navan, both associate professors in the department of educational studies, leadership and counseling, authored “Gifted Students in College: Suggestions for Advisors and Faculty Members.” Kem and Navan state in their article, “The definition and the need for appropriate services for the gifted college population are not as apparent in the postsecondary environment as in the K-12 schools. Many college educators perceive that college curricula provide the needed rigor and enrichment for gifted and honors students to make continuous progress in their learning. “We explore perceptions of college honors students who were in gifted programs in their secondary learning environments. Through focus group discussions, students report that often college courses do not meet their need for more challenging learning opportunities. Based on our findings,” Kem and Navan note, “we suggest ways that college advisors and faculty members can serve honors students in ways that challenge their learning and address their unique psychosocial needs.” Kem serves as director of the Undergraduate Advising Center as well as teaching at the university. Along with her classroom duties, Navan is director of the Center for Gifted Studies. They are currently conducting research on the benefits of early mentoring of gifted female students.