Southeastern Director advanced in award campaign

Southeastern Louisiana University’s Director of First Year Success Mindy Notariano advanced to the second round in the National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition 2026–2027 Awards Campaign.

In collaboration with Penguin Random House Publishing, The National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition recognizes and rewards individuals on the nation’s campuses who are outstanding first-year student advocates involved in high-impact practices for first-year student success.

“As a group, these individuals mirror the diversity of American colleges and universities. They share the common goal of improving the educational experience of first-year students, yet their methods for doing so are uniquely responsive to the particular institutional settings of which they are a part,” the organization said on its website.

Each year, presidents of American higher education institutions are invited to nominate one educator on their campus who exhibits exceptional work in the areas of student learning, development, and success.

“Mindy Notariano exemplifies the dedication and student-centered approach that make Southeastern special,” said Southeastern President William S. Wainwright. “As a Southeastern alumna who has devoted more than 17 years to helping our students succeed, she understands firsthand the challenges and opportunities they face. Her leadership in First Year Success has made a meaningful difference in helping students find their path, connect with the university and persist toward graduation. This recognition reflects the impact she has made on thousands of Southeastern students.”

Southeastern’s First Year Success advising model was built for freshmen and signals strong support for extending that same culture of high-quality holistic advising to upper-level students.

Dean of the College of Honors and Excellence Claire Procopio said Southeastern enrolls a large share of first-generation and Pell grant eligible students.

“The freshmen now arriving on our campus are, on the whole, more academically, materially, and psychosocially under-resourced than any cohort in recent memory,” she said. “Roughly 2,200 of them move through Mindy’s first-year program each fall.”

A first generation graduate herself, Notariano is a licensed professional counselor who returned to her alma mater in 2008 as an academic advisor. Over 17 years, she has progressed from academic advisor to senior academic advisor to assistant director to director of Southeastern’s First Year Success program.

The clearest indicator of Notariano’s impact is in Southeastern’s first-to-second-year retention trajectory, Procopio said.

“In fall 2020, our first-to-second-year retention rate was 64.2%. In fall 2021, it rose to 70.6%. By the fall of 2022, it reached 76%, a nearly 12-point gain in two years,” Procopio explained. “Our last two cohorts have continued the trend, producing the highest three-year average first-to-second-year retention rate in the university’s history.”