Outstanding Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Scholar Mentoring Awards

Faculty members (tenure track, tenure, and professional track) who demonstrate outstanding mentorship of graduate students and/or postdoctoral scholars are eligible for nomination for an award.

Nominations must be initiated by a graduate student or postdoctoral scholar in a letter submitted to a department chair, Graduate Adviser or faculty member. 

The department chair, Graduate Adviser or faculty member will be considered the official nominator. Please see the Documentation section below for directions.

Once a student or postdoc has submit a written nomination, the department chair, Graduate Adviser or faculty member will complete the nomination by accessing the Graduate School’s online awards system from this link.

Nominees will be evaluated based on their demonstrated strengths in the following areas:

• Commitment: Fostering the development of mentees’ professional skills and growth by actively listening to understand their needs and goals, being responsive and generous with feedback, providing access to resources and professional networks, and being accessible both during the graduate / postdoctoral program and beyond degree / program completion.
   
• Support: Supporting mentees’ growth and chosen career paths by providing relevant insights, access to professional networks, and advice on professional practices, work/life balance and responsible practices for conducting the expected work.
   
• Advocacy: Championing mentees by helping them navigate institutional policies, rules, norms, and, if relevant, conflicts or barriers to success.
   
• Respect: Affirming mentees as whole individuals, being attentive to power dynamics, and establishing and maintaining healthy mentor-mentee relationships through clear boundaries and mutual respect.

The Student Awards System will direct the official nominator to upload the graduate student or postdoctoral scholar’s letter of nomination and their own letter describing the nominee’s accomplishments as a mentor. We ask the official nominator to consider these questions:

• How have you observed the nominee’s outstanding performance as a mentor?

• In what ways has this nominee been innovative or superior in their performance as a mentor?

• Please provide anecdotal evidence that supports the nominee’s excellence in this
  position.

Have other colleagues (faculty, students, staff) also commented on the
outstanding performance of this nominee?  

• If so, what is the nature of those comments?  Feel free to give some examples of such comments.

• Add additional comments, if any, that you wish to include to support this
  nomination.