Ms. Kelli Hutchens is an Academic Advisor in the Health Professions Advising Office at the University of Mississippi. She works primarily with students in/nearing the application process for Medical School and pre-Physician Assistant (Pre-PA) programs.
Biography
Ms. Kelli Hutchens is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and began working in the HPAO in 2016, but has been in the realm of health professions advising since 2009. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from The Ohio State University (she is a first gen college graduate), then went on to earn her master’s from University of Maryland in Higher Education Policy & Leadership.
After graduate school, Ms. Hutchens began her higher education career at University of Central Florida (UCF) in Student Leadership Development and First Year Experience. She then found her passion for academic advising, and specifically health professions advising, at University of Kentucky (UK), where she also developed and coordinated a First Generation Living Learning Community. Her husband then dragged her to Penn State University where she served as a committee letter writer and Coordinator of Pre-Medicine, Pre-Health, & Science Advising. She came to HPAO in 2016 and lived in Oxford until 2022, when her husband relocated her (for the last time!) back to Lexington, KY where she works remotely for UM HPAO.
Ms. Hutchens has served in numerous regional and national leadership roles within health professions, including as an elected board member of the Southeastern Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (SAAHP), a National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP) Volunteer Advisor, and Chair of the Virtual Engagement Committee (VEC) for NAAHP. She is also the national advisor representative for NAAHP to the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) and serves as the sole advisor on the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) committee. Kelli has presented annually at a multitude of regional and national conferences and designed and launched UM’s LIBA 303: Health Professions Application Process class for HPAO students as they prepare to apply for professional school.
Kelli is married to Neal, and has a soon-to-be 14-year-old son, a 9 year old daughter, and a soon-to-be 3-year-old black toy goldendoodle named Chewy.
Courses Taught
- Edhe 105 Freshman Year Experience
- Liba 303 Health Professions Application Process
- Liba 401 Topics in the Liberal Arts
Education
M.A. Educational Leadership, University of Maryland-College Park (2006)
Recognitions
- Board Member, Southeastern Association of Advisors for the Health Professions , current
- Volunteer Advisor, National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, current
- Chair of Virtual Engagement Committee, National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, current
- National Advisor Representative for NAAHP, Physician Assistant Education Association, current
- Member, , Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants, current