The Peter V. Garrod Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award recognizes mentoring excellence by graduate faculty at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM). Each year, the Graduate Council invites nominations and presents one award to an outstanding graduate faculty who demonstrates foremost excellence in mentoring.

Amount of Award

The award consists of $1,000.

Eligibility

Any UHM graduate faculty may be nominated, with the exception of past recipients of the award.

Nomination Guidelines

Nominees must demonstrate an outstanding career record of mentoring graduate students at UHM.  A complete nomination requires both a nomination from one faculty colleague and at least one student. Faculty nominators should be someone from the nominee’s department or program who is familiar with the nominee’s mentoring work. Student nominators must be current or former students whom the nominee mentored directly.  Students may be graduate or undergraduate level.  Nominations that speak to the nominee’s experience mentoring undergraduate students should also address how the nominee contributed to the development of prospective graduate students.

The Graduate Council selects finalists based on nomination and application materials provided. Be concise, yet informative in your narrative. In addition to providing a fairly comprehensive account of the unique qualities and accomplishments of the nominee that warrant the nomination, the nominator letters should draw upon a wide range of comments from others who have been mentored by the nominee. The Graduate Council looks for evidence that not only documents the present effectiveness of the nominee as a mentor, but also continued excellence throughout the nominee’s career at UHM.

Nomination Procedure and Deadline Requirements

Nominations must be submitted using the online form between October and December 1. Awards will be conferred the following Spring semester. Any nominations submitted after December 1 and/or not using the online form will not be considered. Graduate Division will notify the nominees and provide further instructions for the submission of their application materials. The Graduate Council will select a finalist and forward its recommendation to the Dean of Graduate Division.

If you encounter problems accessing the appropriate online form, please contact: gradawdz@hawaii.edu. Please ensure you are logged in to your Google account to access the form.

  • Nomination form by faculty
  • Nomination form by student

Nominee Information

Nominees will receive an invitation from the Dean of Graduate Division to electronically submit a statement addressing the following areas.

  • Your philosophy of mentoring.
  • What has made you a successful mentor.
  • Some achievements of your past students.
  • Advice you might give to junior faculty on mentoring.

Selection Criteria

While it is impossible to develop a single set of criteria to measure excellence in mentoring, the Graduate Council in general looks for the following qualities in a nominee:

  • Maintains the highest standards of professional conduct and personal ethics and guides students to emulate such standards.
  • Teaches by example: setting and consistently attaining high standards of professional scholarship, creating quality publications, and willingly engaging in outreach activities.
  • Fosters the development of graduate students’ communication skills, both written and oral, as appropriate for the students’ disciplines by critiquing written work and oral presentations; is available for editorial assistance in the preparation of the thesis or dissertation and evaluates its progress in a timely manner.
  • Is accessible to students, communicates effectively and respectfully, and promotes such interactions.
  • Educates students in the culture and procedures appropriate to their discipline, helps students network with other scholars in their field.
  • Promotes intellectual growth and critical thinking.
  • Provides career guidance, actively helping students to find professionally-relevant employment.
  • Actively assists students’ progress through the degree in a timely manner and helps students develop in those areas particularly critical to their professional success.

Past Award Recipients

  • 2023 Kathryn Braun, Public Health
  • 2022 Henrietta Dulai, Earth Sciences
  • 2021 Lois Yamauchi, Educational Psychology
  • 2020 Jairus Grove, Political Science
  • 2019 Patricia Steinhoff, Sociology
  • 2018 Tamara Ticktin, Botany
  • 2017 Jon-Paul Bingham, Molecular Bioscience and Bioengineering
  • 2016 Leonard Andaya, History
  • 2015 Wayne Shiroma, Electrical Engineering
  • 2014 William C. Howes, English
  • 2013 Krisna Suryanata, Geography
  • 2012 Robert Toonen, HIMB
  • 2011 Joanne Cooper, Educational Administration
  • 2010 Richard Chadwick, Political Science
  • 2009 Ricardo Trimillos, Music
  • 2008 Alan Katz, Public Health
  • 2007 Mari Yoshihara, American Studies
  • 2006 Ian MacMillan, English
  • 2005 Bion Griffin, Anthropology
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