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:
- A nomination letter (maximum length: two pages) from a faculty mentor, program director, or program coordinator.
- 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.
- 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