UCSB Graduate Division Graduate Mentoring Awards

To recognize and encourage the efforts of graduate students who serve as effective mentors, the Graduate Division of UC Santa Barbara presents two awards for students who have distinguished themselves in the area of undergraduate research supervision: the Fiona and Michael Goodchild Graduate Mentoring Award and the Carol Genetti Graduate Mentoring Award.

The purpose of these awards is threefold:

  • To recognize graduate students who have distinguished themselves as mentors of undergraduates;
  • To acknowledge campus initiatives to improve the educational experience of undergraduates and graduate students by integrating research into undergraduate education at UCSB;
  • To encourage others to become involved in these research efforts.

These awards are important examples of the Graduate Division’s ongoing efforts to promote a culture of mentoring.

Four recipients of the Fiona and Michael Goodchild Graduate Mentoring Award and four recipients of the Carol Genetti Graduate Mentoring Award will receive $1000 each (eight awards in all). Previous recipients of the award are not eligible. Selections are made by the Academic Senate Graduate Council.

Departments may nominate a maximum of two (2) graduate students per year to be considered for the mentoring award. Departments should internally coordinate their selections, and nominations must be submitted by the department chair or faculty graduate program advisor. For programs and institutes not housed in academic departments but who wish to nominate a student, please coordinate recommendations through the student's home department.

The 2023 nomination cycle is now closed. The 2024 cycle will open in Spring 2024.

See below for additional information on eligibility requirements and the nomination process. If you have any questions, please contact Baron Haber.

Eligibility

The Fiona and Michael Goodchild Graduate Mentoring Award is available to students in the College of Engineering; Mathematical, Life, and Physical Sciences Division of the College of Letters and Science; and the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. The Carol Genetti Graduate Mentoring Award is available to students in the Humanities and Fine Arts and Social Sciences Divisions of the College of Letters and Science and the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education. Both awards are open to currently enrolled graduate students in good academic standing who mentor at least one undergraduate. Nominees must be registered during the award period (spring quarter) of the year they are nominated.

NOTE: Previous award recipients are not eligible to receive the award in subsequent years.

Nomination Procedures

The Graduate Division invites up to two (2) nominations from each academic department to be considered for the mentoring award. Departments should internally coordinate their selections, and nominations must be submitted by the department chair or faculty graduate program advisor. For programs and institutes not housed in academic departments but who wish to nominate a student, please coordinate recommendations through the student's home department.

Graduate students are evaluated on the overall impact of their mentoring efforts rather than the total number of students they have supervised. Because of the diverse nature of mentoring in different disciplines, slightly different criteria are used to evaluate candidates for each award.

For the Goodchild Award, please consider the following criteria as they relate to your candidates:

  • Has the graduate student demonstrated effectiveness in supervising an undergraduate researcher?
  • How much time and interest has the graduate student invested in introducing undergraduate students to experimental and investigative research?
  • How has the graduate student developed supervisory strategies that are effective in motivating students to achieve success in undergraduate research?
  • What is the subsequent record of undergraduate students who have worked under the supervision of this graduate student?
  • Overall, what distinguishes this graduate student as a departmental or program nominee for one of these awards?

For the Genetti Award, please consider the following criteria as they relate to your candidates:

  • Has the graduate student demonstrated effectiveness in mentoring an undergraduate student or group of students?
  • How much time and interest has the graduate student invested in introducing undergraduate students to scholarly activities at a research university?
  • How has the graduate student developed mentoring strategies that are effective in motivating students to achieve success in scholarly activities at a research university?
  • What are the subsequent achievements of undergraduate students who have worked under the mentorship of this graduate student?
  • Overall, what distinguishes this graduate student as a departmental or program nominee for one of these awards?

    Each nomination must include:

    1. A nomination letter (maximum length: two pages) from a faculty mentor, program director, or program coordinator.
    2. A nomination letter (maximum length: two pages) from an undergraduate mentee of the nominee. This letter should describe a research project or course in which the nominee and the undergraduate mentee were involved.
    3. A statement from the graduate student nominee (maximum length: two pages) discussing the relevance of the mentoring experience on their own education and future career plans.

    Questions?

    You may contact Baron Haber, the Graduate Division's Assistant Director of Professional Development, with any questions about the award or the nomination process.

     

    Previous Recipients of the Carol Genetti Graduate Mentoring Award

    2023

    Jessica Zisa | English
    Natalie Larez | Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology
    Alejandra Valencia Medina | Chican@ Studies
    Sepideh Alavi 
    | Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology

    2022

    Yessica Green Rosas | Counseling, Clinical, & School Psychology
    Aili Pettersson Peeker | English
    Nitzan Navick | Communication
    OIga Faccani 
    | Classics

    2021

    Elizabeth Agey | Anthropology
    Corinna Klein | Counseling, Clinical, & School Psychology
    Valerie Meier | Education

    2020

    Jacob Fisher | Communication
    Raymok Ketema | History
    Kelly Whaling | Counseling, Clinical, & School Psychology

    2019

    Monica Cornejo | Communication
    Avi McClelland-Cohen | Communication
    Mallory Melton | Anthropology

    2018

    Jeremy Chow | English
    Toni Gonzalez | Anthropology
    Jacob Kirksey | Education

    2017

    Aubrie Adams | Communication
    Melissa Barthelemy | History
    Baron Haber | English

    2016

    Holly Roose | History
    Benjamin Smith | Communication
    Vanessa Witenko | Education

    Previous Recipients of the Fiona and Michael Goodchild Award

    2023

    Sharon Levy | Computer Science
    Laura Pritschet | Psychological & Brain Sciences
    Shailja | Electrical and Computer Engineering
    Zoë Zilz 
    | Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology

    2022

    Nicholas Naclerio | Mechanical Engineering
    Ray Adkins | Physics
    Alyssa Lawson | Psychological & Brain Sciences
    Yi Ding
    | Computer Science

    2021

    Chelsea Edwards | Chemical Engineering
    Elliott Ihm | Psychological & Brain Sciences
    Ryan Lach | Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology

    2020

    Chelsea Brown | Psychological & Brain Sciences
    Deeksha Dangwal | Computer Science
    Lauren Ortosky | Psychological & Brain Sciences

    2019

    Thomas (Alex) Johnson | Earth Science
    Eric Jones | Physics
    Nick Sherck | Chemical Engineering

    2018

    Emre Discekici | Chemistry
    Michelle Lee | Ecology, Evolution, & Marine Biology
    Payton Small | Psychological & Brain Sciences

    2017

    Phil Ehret | Psychological & Brain Sciences
    May ElSherif | Computer Science
    Devyn Orr | Ecology, Evolution, & Marine Biology

    2016

    Jeffrey Bowen | Psychological & Brain Sciences
    Kaziya Lee | Psychological & Brain Sciences
    Kelly Thomasson | Ecology, Evolution, & Marine Biology

    2015

    Stacy Copp | Physics
    William Ryan | Psychological & Brain Sciences

    2014

    Holly Roose | History
    Marisa Weaver | Chemistry and Biochemistry

    2013

    Ashley Wright | Chemistry and Biochemistry
    Katlyn Roggensack | Communication

    2012

    Lisa McAllister | Anthropology
    Melissa Bator | Communication

    2011

    J. Stephen Gosnell | Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
    Richard A. Lewis | Chemistry and Biochemistry

    2010

    Loren Merrill | Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
    Chris von Rueden | Anthropology

    2009

    Jung-Eun Janie Lee | Linguistics
    Andrew T. Stull | Psychology

    2008

    Aubrey Cano | Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
    Claudia Kouyoumdjian | Gevirtz Graduate School of Education

    2007

    Mara Henderson | Linguistics
    Scott Hamilton | Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology

    2006

    Sarah Lester | Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
    Juliet Simpson | Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology

    2005

    Sherry T. Hikita | Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
    Pankaj S. Karande | Chemical Engineering

    2004

    Tom Jaramillo | Chemical Engineering
    Laura Mydlarz | Marine Science

    2003

    Claudia Moya | Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology
    Kevin Wingerd | Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology