Description

This award was established in 2006 to honor the efforts of graduate faculty who excel as mentors of graduate students and was named for its first recipient, Donald L. Crawford. This award is part of the College of Graduate Studies’ continuing efforts to support excellent mentoring of graduate students at the University of Idaho. Many forms of mentoring exist throughout the graduate school experience, including service as major professor, committee service, advising student organizations, advocacy for graduate students, and connections to professional networks.

Eligibility

Nominees must be faculty members who have served at the University of Idaho for at least 5 calendar years and who have an outstanding record of mentoring of graduate students.

Selection Criteria

• Extraordinary effectiveness as a major professor, committee member, and/or advocate of graduate students. This includes demonstrated intellectual leadership to ensure that students master the content and skills of their subject area and are held to high standards.
• Promotion of timely and successful completion of students’ degree programs
• Demonstrated advocacy in fostering an environment supportive of graduate student success.

The Award

The recipient receives a plaque and $2500. The winner will be announced at the Excellence Award Banquet on April 14, 2008

Nomination

Each college should submit no more than 3 nominations, which should include the following:

1.       A letter, signed by the nominator, which includes the nominee’s name, unit, college and years of service at the University of Idaho. The letter should present the case for the nominee and comment on the nominee’s positive impact on graduate students. The letter should not exceed three pages.

2.       A personal statement of the nominee stating his/her goals, methods, and philosophy in mentoring graduate students, not to exceed two pages.

3.       A curriculum vita (not to exceed 5 pages), which clearly identifies current and former graduate students mentored by the nominee. The vita should also clearly identify which scholarly works are co-produced/co-authored by graduate students.

4.       Three (3) letters of support. One shall be from a former graduate student, one shall be from a member of the UI graduate faculty, and one shall be from either a graduate student or a member of the UI graduate faculty. The nominator may not submit a letter of support.

5.       A letter from the dean supporting the nomination, not to exceed two pages.

Selection Process

An interdisciplinary selection committee composed of faculty and graduate students will review nominations. The awardee will be selected by the Dean of the College of Graduate Studies based upon recommendations of this committee.

Deadline

Nominations may be submitted by faculty, staff or graduate students and should be emailed to Margrit von Braun, Dean, College of Graduate Studies, University of Idaho at vonbraun@uidaho.edu by 5 PM PST Friday, February 22, 2008