Excellence in Mentorship Award: Faculty Mentors
Sarah Wald, Environmental Studies and English
Nominators praised Dr. Wald’s “empathetic encouragement” of graduate students, her “thorough investment in their work”, and her “incredible and direct feedback on written work.” One nominator said, “I cannot think of any student in ENVS or English who Sarah has not had a positive impact on during my time at UO. She is, by and far away, one of the most important professors at the University of Oregon from any standpoint, but especially as a mentor.”
By giving this award annually, the Division of Graduate Studies hopes to reinforce and highlight practices that enhance the overall quality of graduate education at the University of Oregon.
Excellence in Mentorship Award: Graduate Student Mentors
Samantha Brown, Geography
The common message in Samantha’s nominations was that the strength of the support and mentorship they provide to other students is simply outstanding. In the words of the current and former students who submitted nominations:
“Samantha is an incredible scholar, thinker, mentor, friend, and person. She critically engages with the work of supporting other scholars and improving the community of academia as a result.”
“Samantha has a great understanding of the many ways that people can learn from each other, and she embraces non-hierarchical knowledge-building that both empowers mentees and mentors.”
This is a new award this year, intended to highlight the important work being done by UO graduate students in providing mentorship to other graduate and undergraduate students.
Excellence Award for Directors of Graduate Studies
Stephanie Majewski, Physics
Nominations for this award made it clear that Dr. Majewski’s work as Director of Graduate Studies has had a tremendous impact on the graduate program in Physics. To quote some of the nominators:
“Prof. Majewski builds community and fosters a highly engaged environment for our graduate students. She goes above and beyond to ensure their progress through the program in a timely manner.”
“Stephanie's tenure as DGS has been a game changer in the physics department's support for graduate students. She keeps tabs on the progress of all of our graduate students across years, and makes sure everyone is getting the support they need.”
“During her time as Director, I can sense the change in mood of the graduate student body. Students have a very positive outlook propelled by Stephanie's support, energy and long working hours.”
Excellence Award for Graduate Coordinators
Christina Schneider, Counseling Psychology and Human Services
Some of the common themes that emerged in the nominations for this award were Christina’s organizational abilities, communication skills, kindness, responsiveness, attentiveness, and positivity. In their words:
“She's been an absolute rockstar with a smile on her face at the front desk. The ideal candidate for an award like this- caring, warm, positive, deserving and deeply committed to the students.”
“Christina has always felt approachable and willing to offer resources! There has never been a moment where it felt that she wasn’t on top of it! I am always met with a big smile whenever I approach Christina. Christina’s willingness to help pushes me to work harder! Having Christina has been so beneficial during my time in the CFT program.”
“In 25 years of collaborating with Graduate Coordinators, Christina stands out as exceptional. Many factors contribute to this, including her ability to create reliable and efficient systems to process student inquiries, attentiveness to prospective students, and effective tracking of student program progression. She is warm, inclusive, proactive, and fair-minded. She builds a welcoming and equity-centered environment for students. She is collegial, contributing enthusiastically to department and college-wide needs.”