Professor Kathleen Farrell to Receive Advising Award

The Nancy Beyer Opler Award for Excellence in Advising honors the academic advisor who best demonstrates the ability to facilitate students’ adjustment to the academic community and support students in their academic and professional planning.

Kathleen Farrell

Professor, School of Business & Social Sciences

Kathleen Farrell is a second-time recipient of the Nancy Beyer Opler Award for Excellence in Advising, having first been honored in 2016. She joined the Colby-Sawyer faculty in 2009, teaching courses that focus on the interdisciplinary and practical implications of sociology with a focus on gender, sexualities and inequality. In addition to her faculty role, Kathleen served as advising liaison for the college from 2018 to 2021, providing both systemic and individual support to students and advisors.

Kathleen identifies advising as one of her favorite parts of her job. She approaches it by building relationships with her advisees, working to get to know their interests and goals, then providing guidance as she helps them become independent in their educational and career paths.

One student nominator wrote, “Every advising meeting she had a plan or helped me work through my own plan. She was there for us but not to hold our hand. She wanted us to grow and become independent.” Another wrote, “She has been a beacon of guidance throughout my four years.”

Kathleen serves as the faculty advisor for PRIDE, a student organization committed to promoting a safe environment on campus for gay, lesbian, straight, bisexual and transgender community members. She also serves as the campus LGBTQ+ liaison and has been instrumental in helping the college establish supportive policies for trans and non-binary students. She is a co-chair of the Academic Review Board, program coordinator for the sociology and human services and crime and legal studies majors, and a member of the Faculty Workload Ad Hoc Committee and the Diversity Action Advisory Committee.

Kathleen holds a B.A. in Sociology from Trinity College and an M.A., Ph.D. and Certificate of Advanced Study in women’s studies from Syracuse University. She lives in the Concord area with her family and will spend the fall semester on sabbatical studying diversity, equity and inclusion certificate programs.

The Opler Award will be presented to Kathleen at the Scholars and Leaders ceremony on May 5, 2023.