Faculty recognized for mentorship at the Provost’s Faculty Recognition Reception

The Office of the Provost and the Office for Faculty Affairs recently recognized faculty for providing outstanding mentorship to their colleagues and completing professional development programs during the Provost’s Faculty Recognition Reception, held April 10 during Faculty Appreciation Week.

“Seeking and providing quality mentorship has a profound impact on both the mentee and the mentor,” said Anna Zajicek, vice provost for faculty affairs. “Working with others on campus, I continually hear great stories about how our faculty have supported each other and how mentorship positively impacts our students.”

Mentorship awards and professional development recognitions presented to faculty include the Provost Award for Departmental Excellence in Faculty Mentorship, Outstanding Faculty Mentor Awards, Bridge Program Completion Badges, Beginning Investigator Research Development Support (BIRDS) Completion Badges, and Graduate Mentoring students and postdocs Certificates of Completion for Professional Development Workshops.

“I was honored to recognize our faculty for participating in mentorship and professional development programs,” said Zajicek. “These programs help our faculty launch successful careers at the U of A and provide excellent mentorship to their graduate students and postdocs.”

Provost Award for Departmental Excellence in Faculty Mentorship

This annual award is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office of Faculty Affairs. The award is presented to the department or academic unit on campus that best demonstrates excellence in the onboarding and mentoring of early-career and mid-career faculty, including tenure-track and non-tenure track faculties. The winning department will receive $8,000 and a trophy.

This year’s award was presented to the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Outstanding Faculty Mentor Awards

The Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award is sponsored by the Provost’s Office and is presented to faculty members nominated by their peers and colleagues for serving as outstanding mentors to other U of A faculty. The following faculty have received the 2024 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award:

• Lynda Coon, History department
• Jason Endacott, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
• Kristen Gibson, Department of Food Sciences
• Fionna Goggin, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
• Marcia Shobe, School of Social Work

Bridge Program Completion Badges

The Bridge Program is sponsored by the Office for Faculty Affairs and the U of A ADVANCE ENGAGE grant. This program provides mentorship and onboarding resources to new teachers through an innovative and comprehensive team-based approach. The Bridge Program also provides new faculty with the opportunity to network with other faculty across departments and schools.

The following faculty members received the Bridge Program Completion Badge:

• Christianne Corbett, Department of Sociology and Criminology
• Kathryn Norton-Smith, Department of Sociology and Criminology
• Ashley Purdy, Department of Philosophy
• Mahfuzur Rahman, Department of Food Sciences
• Teresa Tackett, School of Journalism and Strategic Media

Bridge Program and Completion Badges for Beginning Investigator Research Development Support (BIRDS).

The Bridge Program is offered in the fall semester and transitions into the Beginning Investigator Research Development Support Program (BIRDS) in the spring semester. The BIRDS program, offered by the Department of Research and Innovation, focuses on peer networking, finding funding and general training in grantmaking. Participants will learn about the services Research Development provides to researchers on campus and work with the Research Development team to create personalized research and funding plans.

The following faculty have completed both the Bridge Program and the BIRDS Program:

• Jenn Campbell, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Danqui Cai, art academy
• Jenna Donahue, Department of Philosophy
• Neelakshi Majumdar, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Erin Nolen, School of Social Work
• Charles Paillard, Department of Physics
• Rowena Pedrena, School of Journalism and Strategic Media
• Lin Tan, Department of Psychological Sciences

Mentoring graduate students and postdocs Completed professional development workshop

This workshop provides faculty with the opportunity to learn best practices in mentoring to inspire, direct, and professionally develop graduate students and postdocs. The workshop also helps faculty develop a mentoring philosophy, experiment with different mentoring methods, and discuss mentoring challenges and successes with colleagues.

The following faculty members completed the Fall 2023 workshop:

• Jenn Campbell, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Jiahui Chen, Department of Mathematical Sciences
• Jingyi Chen, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Terrell Jake Dionne, Communications Department
• Martin Edwards, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Lei Guo, Department of Civil Engineering
• Renee Hearon, Department of Physics
• Julie Hill, Department of Counseling, Leadership and Research Methods
• Nick Johnston, School of Human Environmental Sciences
• Jessica Kowalski, Department of Anthropology
• Jacob Monroe, Department of Chemical Engineering
• Jennifer Muriithi, Department of Occupational Therapy
• Anne O’Leary Kelly, Department of Management
• Kathleen Paul, Department of Anthropology
• David Reed, Department of Theatre
• Shannon Speir, Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
• Jody Thompson, art school

The following faculty members completed the Spring 2024 workshop:

• Shristi Bhochhibhoya, Ministry of Health, Human Performance and Recreation
• Michelle Evans-White, Department of Biological Sciences
• Sun Ferreira, Department of Food Sciences
• Difei Geng, Ministry of Economy
• Kat Gray, Department of English
• Maggie He, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Manuel Olmedo Gobante, Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures
• Samantha Robinson, Data Science Program
• Iana Shaheen, Supply Chain Management Department

During the reception, awards were also presented in recognition of excellent teaching to the teachers. Check out this Arkansas News story for information on education recognition.

The Provost’s next Faculty Recognition Reception will take place in April 2025 and coincide with Faculty Appreciation Week, which takes place the second week of April each year. The Provost’s Faculty Recognition Reception is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Office of Faculty Affairs and the U of A ADVANCE ENGAGE grant.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas’ flagship institution, the U of A offers internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity, while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation ranks the U of A among the few American colleges and universities with the highest levels of research activity. American news and world report ranks the U of A among the nation’s top public universities. See how the U of A is working to create a better world on Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.