Excellence in Mentoring Award Nomination

The College of Social Behavioral Science (CSBS) invites and encourages nominations each spring to honor and recognize faculty in our college who are exhibiting Excellence in Mentoring. This award is meant to recognize and encourage the efforts of faculty (either tenure-track or career-line) who consistently demonstrate excellent mentoring to students at any stage of academic life (K-12, undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral scholars) and/or faculty members. 

One award will be given each year.

Criteria

The effective mentor can serve many roles including advisor, teacher, advocate, supporter, sponsor, and collaborator. Such mentoring can occur in a wide variety of formal contexts (e.g., mentoring UROP students, senior honor thesis students, graduate advisor-advisee relationship, faculty mentoring, national mentoring programs) as well as the more informal mentoring relationships that occur in the laboratory, in the classroom, and community settings. Effective and excellent mentorship may be defined as:

• Provide intellectual mentoring. Model a record of excellence in research and/or teaching skills and facilitate mentees’ understanding of the content and skills of their social science field.
• Create a supportive environment for research, scholarship, teaching, and professional work.
• Provide mentees with the resources to allow them to thrive and achieve their goals.
• Facilitate an environment that promotes successful completion of students’ degree programs.
• Act as advocates for students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty members by pointing individuals toward opportunities and assisting with removing barriers that otherwise prevent mentees from achieving their goals.
• Provide a collaborative and accessible learning environment through open communication.
• Integrate students, postdoctoral fellows, and/or faculty members into the broader culture of social science research.
  
  

Eligibility

Faculty members (tenure-track or career-line) who are affiliated with one of the units in CSBS are eligible to be nominated for this award. Nominees should have a track record of mentoring undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral fellows, and/or faculty members.

Nominators are asked to prepare a nomination letter discussing the nominee’s mentoring activities based on the criteria listed above. The nomination letter can be written by a Department Chair, a nominations committee within a department, or by anyone who is familiar with the research of the nominee, including students and staff.

Past Recipients

Previous winners are not eligible to be nominated again.

Nomination Process

Nominations must be submitted, through the form below, with the required nomination documents by the deadline in February.   

Nominations must include:

1. First & Last Name of Nominee
2. uNID of Nominee (if known)
3. Department
4. Nominee's Present Position
5. Nominee's Supervisor
6. Date of Full-Time Hire
7. First & Last Name of Nominator
8. Nominator's Email Address

Required Nomination Documents:

1. Nominating letter (3 p maximum) addressing how the nominee meets the criteria for this award.
2. Curriculum vitae for nominee. The CV should include material or notes that addresses the mentoring criteria, including a list of senior thesis students, UROP students, past graduate students/postdoctoral scholars with their placement/position upon leaving the University of Utah, faculty mentoring.
3. The nominee is encouraged to work with the nominator to secure at least three but not more than five additional letters of support from staff, faculty, current or former students and postdoctoral scholars, and community leaders, commenting on the nominee’s specific mentorship activities.

 

Selection Process

Nominations will be reviewed by a committee of previous recipients.  If multiple nominations from a single department are received, the Committee may consult with the Chair of that department to prioritize nominations. The Committee will recommend the finalist to the Dean of CSBS, who will announce the award at the CSBS Faculty & Staff Awards Reception in the spring.

For more information or questions about this award, please contact Associate Dean Rebecca Utz (rebecca.utz@utah.edu)

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