Faculty Mentor Award
Nominations for the 2011-2012 Faculty Mentor Award are no longer being accepted. Please check back in the spring 2013 semester for the 2012-2013 Faculty Mentor Award nomination form.
About This Award
The GPSO encourages all graduate and professional students to give their support to faculty members that they feel deserve special recognition for exemplary behavior by nominating them for the GPSO Faculty Mentor Award.
The 2011-2012 winner will be announced in early April 2012 and will be recognized at the annual IU Graduate School Awards Ceremony.
Faculty Award Guidelines:
- Faculty must be current or have retired within the 2011-2012 academic year.
- Student must be current or have graduated within the last year (Graduate Class of 2011)
- The award encompasses tenured and non-tenured faculty, including lecturers and adjuncts. Faculty status is not factored into the committee’s decision.
- This is an award from the Graduate Student body of the IU Bloomington campus: candidates nominated must be faculty of the IU Bloomington campus.
- The winners will be determined by a committee of graduate students (2 GPSO Executive Committee members, 3 GPSO representatives)
- All nominated faculty will be issued a certificate of nomination from the GPSO.
- Any student is free to nominate as many people as they would like. The quantity of letters received for a particular faculty member does not increase or decrease their chances of being selected.
- Letters will be read only for the purpose of the GPSO Faculty Mentor Award and will not be disseminated for general access.
- Letters should be no longer than 300 words.
Examples of what can serve as nomination criteria:
- Fosters the long-term development of students.
- Is active and vocal in administrative and professional matters, such as assistance with publishing and grant writing, conference presentations, post-doctoral opportunities and job placement.
- Encourages students to develop individual talents and strengths by providing support and guidance in their research.
- Helps students acquire the skills and resources necessary to succeed as professionals in their fields.
- Sponsors students and their work both on and off campus, including supporting student attendance and participation at conferences.
- Assists with alumni contacts, furnishes specific job information tailored to the student’s strengths/regional preferences.
Nominations:
To submit a nomination you will need the following information:
- The name and department of faculty member.
- Information about your faculty mentor, including description of why they are deserving of this award.
- A brief summary about yourself, including program of study, years in the program and any other information that may aid the selection committee in understanding the impact your mentor has had on your life and academic/ professional development.
The nomination form for the 2011-2012 Faculty Mentor Award are now closed. However, you can view a preview application (PDF).
Please direct questions about the Faculty Mentor Award to:
gpsofnds@indiana.edu, Subject: Faculty Mentor Award
Past Recipients
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2002 Dr. William Yarber Applied Health Sciences |
2003 Susan D. Gubar English |
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2004 Laura Stachowski School of Education |
2005 Pheadra Pezzullo Communication and Culture |
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2006 Randall Bramley Computer Science |
2007 Michael Reece Applied Health Sciences |
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2008 Colin Allen History and Philosophy of Science |
2009 Andrea Walton School of Education |
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2010 James A. Pershing School of Education |
2011 Jason Baird Jackson Folklore and Ethnomusicology |
2011 Recipient: Professor Jason Baird Jackson
Professor Baird Jackson is an inspiration to his student's through both words and actions. He is active in many extra-curricular activities that support graduate students and graduate student work. For example, he has spearheaded award-winning, online publishing and open-access projects within his department, helping to highlight his student's work and bring his field closer together. He also concurrently works in museums, classrooms, virtual arenas, and archives; and is credited as being an excellent grant writing advisor. He serves on what seems to be an endless amount of committees and projects, and all of this he is able to do while maintaining close relationships with his student's and advisees. His students described him as a mentor that provides both challenges and encouragement in a way that feels empowering. He is praised for creating many forums for graduate students to learn and express themselves. One such forum that his student's especially appreciated is his informal, weekly lunch series. His students praise this series as fostering a strong sense of a community where broad intellectual engagement occurs. Most strikingly, Professor Baird Jackson's students compliment him for his excellent academic mentorship and tireless support.
Here are some of the things his students had to say about him:
"In actions as well as words, Jackson demonstrates to us that part of the satisfaction he derives as a professor stems from his interactions with us. Jason Baird Jackson never fails to impart the sense to his students that he believes in them relentlessly, and that he will do the best that he can to see them through."
"He he has provided me with unyielding guidance in my moments of self-doubt and intellectual hardship, cheerleading me on when I lose focus, and challenging me to take it to the next level when I've reached my goal."
"The enthusiastic interest that he showed in me-a jaded and fairly unremarkable graduate student from outside his own Department of Folklore-proved to be the antidote I needed, lifting me out of my professional slump while simultaneously reinvigorating my intellectual pursuits and channeling them in exciting new directions."
"Like all graduate students, I am sometimes nervous about contacting my adviser with updates on my work, especially if I am dissatisfied with it. But after conversations or email exchanges with Jason, somehow, I always feel better. He has a remarkable ability to phrase constructive criticism in a way that is encouraging, leaving me wanting to work harder and better, rather than leaving me frustrated and fearful that my work may not be good enough."
"He concurrently works in museums, classrooms, virtual arenas, and archives, mastering multi-layered intellectual projects, meticulous research, and public practice-and all while maintaining such high levels of humility, honesty, and gratitude, that I am humbled by his ethics, demonstrated in his efforts."
