This award is part of the Research Matters initiative that demonstrates the added value of an undergraduate education at a research university.
Faculty who mentor undergraduate researchers are characterized as counselors and guides who encourage, instruct, and advocate. A good faculty mentor provides a role model for methods of inquiry in a field of study and for the responsible conduct of research. Good mentors often provide students with their first entry into professional circles and support the dissemination of the student’s work as through professional conference participation or publication.
letter from VP of Research Office
Criteria
College of Natural Resources nomination process:
The nominee must be a tenured or tenure eligible member of the faculty. There is no restriction with respect to years of service or FTE, however it is assumed that the bulk of the undergraduate mentoring will have occurred while employed at USU.
Nomination Materials
The nomination should packet consist of the following:
- A letter of nomination from the department head or faculty-student nominating committee (process is left up to each department)
- A statement of philosophy about undergraduate mentoring from the nominee
- A chronological list of undergraduate research projects under the faculty member’s supervision
- A chronological list of publications, and/or conference presentations (including posters) by undergraduate students directed by the faculty mentor. For publications, each citation must contain the names of all authors (noting student authors with an asterisk or in bold), year of publication, title of article, name of journal, volume number, and beginning and ending page numbers. For conference or professional meeting presentations (including posters), each citation must contain the names of all authors (noting student authors with asterisk or in bold); title of presentation; and the name, location, and date of the conference or professional meeting. If the presentation is accompanied by a published abstract, include the appropriate citation (as above for a paper).
- A chronological list of funding secured by the mentor for the primary purpose of supporting undergraduate research
Optional items in the nominating packet may include:
- A bulleted list of accomplishments that focus on activities directly related to undergraduate research.
- The “telling anecdote or story” of student successes as a consequence of completing undergraduate research.
- Solicited letters of support from former mentored undergraduate researchers.
Past Recipients
2009 Gene Schupp
2008 Karen Mock
2007 Wayne Wurtsbaugh
2006 Phaedra Budy
2005 Chris Luecke
2004 Helga Van Miegroet
2003 Mark Brunson