Programs & Initiatives

Programs & Initiatives / Teaching and Advancement Board / Awards for Excellence in Instruction / Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring

Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring

Quick Jump:
I. Overview
II. Eligibility
III. Submission Format
IV. Selection
V. Other Awards
VI. Attachments

Overview

Faculty members from academic units with graduate instructional programs are eligible for the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring. This award, co-sponsored by the Provost's Office and the Graduate College, consists of:

$2,000 cash for personal use of the faculty member selected. Up to two winners will be selected to receive this award.
The graduate program nominating an award recipient will also receive a fellowship of $6,000, to be award in the next academic year. The graduate program, through its regular process for identifying fellowship winners, will select the fellowship recipient; units may award this fellowship as a supplement to an assistantship appointment or another fellowship appointment. A full waiver of tuition and the service fee will accompany fellowships of $6,000 for the academic year or $3,000 per term, unless the waiver accompanies a concurrent appointment.
The graduate program nominating an award recipient will also receive $1,000 to support graduate student conference travel in the following academic calendar year.

Eligibility

Members of the graduate faculty who have served on the Urbana-Champaign campus for at least four calendar years are eligible for consideration. Department Chairs and Heads are also eligible. Once a person has received either this award or the Campus Award for Excellence in Graduate and Professional Teaching, he or she will not be eligible for nomination for either award during the next five-year period.

Submission Format

The following information should be included in the nomination. Adherence to the following order of presentation is requested in order to simplify the work of selection committees:

A standard cover sheet, signed by the nominator(s), which includes the nominee's name, rank (if appropriate), department, college, and number of years at Urbana-Champaign. (see Attachment A).
A narrative statement of nomination presenting the case for the nominee. This statement should briefly describe the nominee's overall impact on past and present graduate students; it should not be longer than four double-spaced pages. A successful narrative statement will address the nominee's:
- Excellent guidance of individual research and creative projects, including theses and dissertations;
- General assistance to graduate students, such as graduate student advocacy, advising graduate student groups/organizations, and conflict resolution;
- Specific contributions to professional development of graduate students, such as the supervision of teaching assistants and research assistants and career preparation and advancement.
- Overall positive impact on the lives and careers of students in his/her field of study.
  
  Nominees will be considered on the basis of these criteria:
A statement, written by the nominee, on his/her mentoring philosophy, including a discussion of the challenges, methods, and goals of quality graduate student mentoring, not to exceed two pages, double-spaced.
Three to six letters of support. Letters may come from a variety of sources, but at least two letters must come from alumni. Letter writers should speak to the impact of the nominee on his/her professional and personal development; specific examples are encouraged. The departmental selection committee, not by the nominee, should solicit letters from current students; however, the nominee may be asked to suggest some names.

Overall, nominations should not exceed six double-spaced, typewritten pages (not including the cover sheet and the letters of support). Nomination materials should not have any special cover stock or binding.

Selection

Once the departmental review committee has identified its final candidates, the names of those candidates will be forwarded to the academic college in priority order, by a deadline set by the college. Contact your college office for details; many colleges have deadlines in early January. A college committee, which includes both faculty members and graduate students, will select the final candidate(s) for the college and will forward the name(s) to the campus committee. The College of Engineering may forward two nominations to the Graduate College. The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences may forward three nominations. Every other college may forward one nomination.

Ten copies of each nomination are to be submitted to the Office of the Provost, 208 Swanlund Administration Building. The campus selection process is overseen by the Teaching Advancement Board, and is advisory to the Provost.

Other Awards

More instructional awards...

Attachments

List of Past Winners