Graduate Faculty Awards

FACULTY EXCELLENCE IN GRADUATE MENTORING

The Award for Excellence in Graduate Mentoring honors University faculty who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment as mentors both inside and outside of the classroom. Successful awardees:

• actively and effectively guide student’s research, creative projects and training
• willingly assist graduate students in pursuit of their goals
• articulate expectations clearly and hold students to high standards
• encourage and help students to establish their own records of scholarly activity or performance and support student participation in events (e.g., meetings, conferences, committees, performances)
• involve students in "networking" activities with other professionals and faculty
• place students either in other academic settings or professional settings upon completion of the degree
• facilitate student completion of degree in a timely fashion

Full-time, tenure-track or tenured faculty at Binghamton University, who hold the rank of assistant, associate, or full professor are eligible. A selection committee composed of three faculty and one representative of The Graduate School will review nominations and make one recommendation to the Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School. The award winner will receive an honorarium and university-wide recognition, and his/her essay on mentoring will be posted on The Graduate School website.

Nominations will be made by program chairs and graduate directors. The nomination dossier must include:

• a letter of nomination from the chair or graduate director of an academic unit
• a current curriculum vitae of the nominee
• a list of the nominee’s students who have graduated and an indication of their current positions
• letters of support from 5-8 students and 3-5 colleagues
• a nominee-authored statement of mentoring philosophy (one-page limit)
• a narrative paragraph (100-150 words) highlighting the nominee’s achievements which would be suitable for distribution to Inside Binghamton University.

The Graduate School will contact graduate directors with submission details each year. Submit nominations electronically to The Graduate School by the deadline listed in the Awards Calendar.

AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING GRADUATE DIRECTOR

The Award for Outstanding Graduate Director recognizes the exemplary service of the University’s graduate directors. Selection criteria includes:

• oversight of recruitment, admissions, and student progress-to-degree in a manner that facilitates program goals
• smooth day-to-day operations (e.g. oversight of funding appointments such that students receive offers and funding on time)
• oversight of the graduate program’s written documents (e.g. graduate student files, Graduate School Manual)
• attention to “continual improvement” as documented by quantitative program indictors (e.g. increased retention; reduced time-to-degree; increased number of quality applicants or admitted or enrolled students; increased average GRE/GMAT of applicants or admitted students)
• innovations that are approved and sustained by the department or program (e.g. mentoring system, career and professional development focus, new certificates or tracks)

Nominees must have served as Graduate Director for at least two calendar years as of the nomination deadline. Nominations are restricted to Graduate Directors currently serving, or just having completed an appointment as Graduate Director. Normally nominations of faculty whose work as a Graduate Director substituted for other tasks expected as part of a normal faculty workload will not qualify for the award. Awardees receive an honorarium and university-wide recognition.

The nomination dossier must contain:

• a letter of endorsement from the Chair of the department
• letters of endorsement from at least two other faculty members
• a letter of endorsement from the president of the department’s graduate student organization. The letter should include a survey of graduate student opinion
• a summary of accomplishments as Graduate Director (1 inch margins, 12 pt. font; not to exceed 4 pages)
• a current curriculum vitae of the nominee
• a narrative paragraph (100-150 words) highlighting the nominee’s achievements in a manner suitable for distribution to Inside Binghamton University.

Submit nominations electronically to The Graduate School by the deadline listed in the Awards Calendar.

RECENT AWARDEES

AWARDS CALENDAR