An examination of the history of academic advising reveals six different proposed purposes competing for primacy. Marc Lowenstein's learning-centered theory of academic advising provides a way to prioritize among those purposes, creating what could become a new normative theory for academic advising. When conceived as a locus for meaning-making about the educational experience, academic advising's value, expected student outcomes, advisor qualifications, and scholarship become clearer. When done well, academic advising could be the locus for addressing issues of fundamental importance to higher education.