2021 Dean's Award for Advising Excellence
The Dean's Office Award for Advising Excellence is presented annually to a College of Arts and Sciences faculty member who has distinguished him or herself as an effective, caring mentor for students in the College. The award is selected by a committee in the college composed of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, the Director of Advising, and the Graduation Analysts.
Charles Plesofsky
Charles Plesofsky, Academic Services Coordinator I, joined the Department of Biological Sciences Biology
Advising and Resource Center in 2017 and is often the first advising contact for undergraduate
students in the department. He enjoys helping students find their passion for science
and connecting them with the resources available for them be successful in their academic
careers.
He received his Undergraduate Degree in Music Business (2009) at Middle Tennessee
State University and is pursuing his Masters.
Charles lives with his wife and two cats in East Memphis and in his free time enjoys
cooking and reading about ancient history.
Amanda Lee Savage
Amanda Lee Savage is an instructor of US history and an academic advisor in the Department of History at the University of Memphis. She received her M.A. from The College of William and Mary and has lived and worked in Memphis, TN since 2010. She was previously awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award for Advising Excellence in 2017 and the Outstanding Faculty Member award from the Women’s History Month committee in 2018. Her current work, Decolonizing Memphis, aims to create a decolonized history of the city, one that centers indigenous and immigrant narratives, embraces indigenous epistemologies, and generates new types of Native-authored sources for academics and activists to incorporate in their work. The National Humanities Center selected her for their Teacher Advisory Council for 2021-22. In addition to teaching and mentoring duties, Ms. Savage is committed to several outreach programs on her campus and is the co-creator of the Tiger Food Pantry. She is a founding member of the Pride and Equity Alliance, the first LGBTQIA+ faculty and staff association at the University of Memphis, where she also facilitates SafeZone trainings. Together with History Department alumna Zyanya Hawk Cruz she co-founded Native RITES, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for indigenous peoples and decolonizing the MidSouth. Together with the Chickasaw Nation they’ve produced the Land Acknowledgement for Memphis, Tennessee.