DOCTORAL MENTORING PROGRAM LAUNCHED AT ODU
A Doctoral Mentoring Awards program will be launched this fall by the Old Dominion University Office of Graduate Studies. The four professors who will be announced in May as the first winners of the award will each receive a $3,000 cash prize.
Philip Langlais, vice provost for graduate studies and research, will coordinate the program and chair the selection committee. Nomination letters, which can be submitted by graduate students or faculty, should be sent no later than Monday, Nov. 5, to planglai@odu.edu.
The awards program encourages and rewards excellence, innovation and effectiveness in mentoring doctoral and Master of Fine Arts students through their dissertation or fine arts thesis project.
There will be one award winner from each of these academic clusters: (1) life and physical sciences; (2) engineering; (3) humanities and fine arts, education, and health sciences; and (4) social and behavioral sciences, and business and public administration.
Winners will be announced at the annual Faculty Recognition and Awards ceremony in early May.
Here are more details about the awards program:
ELIGIBILITY & NOMINATION CRITERIA
Only currently active graduate faculty, tenured or tenure-track, who supervise doctoral dissertations or Master of Fine Arts theses are eligible.
The nominee must have a current record of supporting graduate education through teaching, service on graduate committees and sponsorship of student research.
The nominee must have graduated (served as chair or co-chair) at least one doctoral or M.F.A. student during the preceding academic year (FA, SP, SU) AND must have graduated (chaired or co-chaired) at least two additional students with dissertations or M.F.A. degrees in the past five years.
Nominations will be accepted from graduate students, former graduate students, faculty members, department chairs, graduate program directors, advisors and administrators. Individual faculty members may not nominate themselves.
Individuals who receive a Doctoral Mentoring Award during the previous five years are not eligible.
The application packet must include a letter of support from the department chair and college dean.
CRITERIA USED IN EVALUATING NOMINEES
*Provides intellectual leadership
*Respects students' goals and helps students to work towards them; inspires and encourages students
*Is supportive at personal as well as professional level, is a good advocate for students
*Actively guides students' research and training; clearly articulates expectations and holds students and self to high standards
*Actively seeks financial support for students' graduate study and research
*Actively recruits and encourages applications to the unit's graduate program
*Is accessible for advice and assistance, whether student is in residence, on leave, is or is not 'one of theirs'
*Actively involves students in professional conferences
*Actively involves students in presentations, publications and juried exhibitions.
*Helps students to overcome problems, discord, barriers
*Provides good model of professionalism
*Helps students 'network' with other relevant professionals and faculty
*Assists students in career preparation
*Alerts students to career opportunities; helps students secure post-degree employment
*Provides assistance in post-degree professional work
NOMINATION & SELECTION PROCESS
Graduate students and faculty are invited to submit nominations electronically to the Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Research, planglai@odu.edu. The nomination and selection process consists of a preliminary and a final selection phase. In the preliminary phase, the selection committee (see below) will develop a shortlist based on the nominee's vita, doctoral mentoring documentation and letters of nomination. The final phase requests additional information from the finalists and their academic unit.
Preliminary Phase
Nomination letters are invited from members of the ODU community. The nomination must address several of the criteria listed above and be accompanied by the nominee's current faculty vita documenting teaching, research and service. The department chair will be asked to provide an addendum that addresses the following eligibility requirements:
Graduate courses/seminar taught over the past five years
Doctoral and/or M.F.A. students mentored including student names, dissertation/theses titles, research/teaching opportunities provided, time to degree (enrollment/completion), student awards, recognition, presentation and publications, student placement and other relevant criteria.
Final Selection Phase
The shortlist of finalists will be invited to submit:
An essay (3 pages) that integrates the faculty member's mentoring philosophy with doctoral/M.F.A. professional development accomplishments with specific examples of success. Submission of the essay implies agreement to allow the essay to be published and placed on the Office of Graduate Studies website.
Names, current positions, and addresses of nominee's doctoral/M.F.A. students who have graduated. The Office of Graduate Studies will contact these individuals for additional letters of support.
A letter of support from the chair of the nominee's academic home unit that is endorsed by the appropriate academic dean.
The Selection Committee will determine the awardees from the pool of finalists. Finalists, not selected as awardees, will receive special recognition for their outstanding contributions to graduate education. Application materials for all finalists will remain active for the review cycle and will be requested to update materials in again selected as a finalist.
A list of Doctoral Mentoring awardees and their essays on mentoring will be available on the Office of Graduate Studies home page.
SELECTION COMMITTEE
The Associate or Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies from each of the six colleges will serve on the committee. The Vice Provost for Graduate Studies and Research will serve as the chair.
TIMETABLE FOR NOMINATION AND SELECTION
Nomination letters submitted to Vice Provost - deadline 1st Monday in November
Request to Department Chair for documentation - 1st Friday in November
Receipt of Department Chair documentation - deadline last Friday in November
Committee selects short list of Finalists - last week in January
Request to Finalist for essay, list of graduated students, letters of support from chair of home department and college dean - 1st Monday in February
Receipt of Finalist's essay, graduated students etc.-deadline last Monday in February
Letters of support from graduated students - deadline last Monday in March
Awardees selected - second Friday in April