UA Retired Adviser Receives Mortar Board Award for Excellence

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Glenda K. Guyton, retired adviser at The University of Alabama, has received the 2013 Excellence in Advising Award by the Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society. Guyton received the award at the society’s national conference in September in Atlanta.

The Mortar Board Excellence in Advising Award is given annually to an adviser who has provided exceptional support to help a Mortar Board chapter achieve its goals. The recipient has served as a role model to chapter members by demonstrating constant leadership, professionalism and spirit of service.

Guyton served as adviser to the Hypatia chapter at UA for more than two decades. She hosted monthly officer meetings in her home, fostered communication with key university administrators and maintained contact with local Mortar Board alumni.

Guyton’s commitment to Mortar Board also extends to the national level, where she has volunteered as section coordinator and alumni representative to the National Council.

Her professional career in student services began in 1959, when she became the assistant to the dean of women at UA. She advised women’s organizations and helped facilitate desegregation of the campus throughout the 1960s. At UA, she also served as adviser to returning adult students, assistant to the dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs.

Following her retirement from UA in 1983, she worked as dean of students at Frank Phillips College, where she also served as acting president for one year. In 2001, Guyton returned to Tuscaloosa and began serving as president of Women of the Capstone, a group dedicated to mentoring first-generation college students.

An active community leader and volunteer, Guyton has served on the boards of directors for the Tuscaloosa Symphony Guild, Tuscaloosa Rotary Club and the UA Retirees’ Association. She is the outreach coordinator at Capstone Village, the University’s retirement community.

Guyton was initiated into the Panathenees chapter of Mortar Board in 1974 at Carson-Newman College. In 2011, she was selected for membership into the UA Student Affairs Hall of Fame.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree in educational guidance from the University of Oklahoma.

Mortar Board is the premier national honor society recognizing college seniors for outstanding achievement in scholarship, leadership and service. Since its founding in 1918, more than a quarter of a million members have held the honor of being initiated at 230 chartered chapters across the nation. Mortar Board provides its members with opportunities for continued leadership development, promotes service to colleges and universities and encourages lifelong contributions to the global community. Some notable Mortar Board members include professional football player and philanthropist Drew Brees, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and actress Marion Ross. Learn more about Mortar Board at www.mortarboard.org.