Faculty Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentor
The Office of Graduate Studies announces the award for an outstanding mentor of graduate students. This $1,500 award recognizes individual faculty who place a high value on and excel in mentoring graduate students. Nominations may be made to the Office of Graduate Studies through March 1.
Nomination Criteria
Nominees must be tenured members of the UNO graduate faculty currently teaching at UNO.
- A nominee must have been active in graduate education for a minimum of three years and established a record of excellence in mentoring graduate students, and provide evidence in the following areas to be considered for the Award:
- teaching excellence at the graduate level;
- chairing masters, specialists, and/or doctoral committees;
- having an established record of mentoring students who have received their degrees; and
- attracting graduate students to study at UNO through recruitment efforts, or through having a visible and respected academic reputation in his/her area of expertise.
- A nominee should have demonstrated success in easing the way for students to enter their chosen profession. There should be clear evidence beyond formal classroom teaching and teaching evaluations of helping students establish and socialize in their profession as scholars and professionals. Such activities may include encouraging and helping students to establish their own publishing records, acquiring external research funding, participating in conferences, and entering research areas. The evidence presented may cover work with students after they have been awarded their degree as well as during graduate study.
- A nominee should have demonstrated activities and success in student placement, including activities such as:
- aiding students toward further education;
- advising students on placement practices; and
- preparing students for seeking employment, especially their first employment after earning a degree from UNO.
Nominations
A nomination letter from someone other than the faculty member is required (e.g. a chair or director of an academic unit, a faculty colleague, staff, student, or alumnus of UNO). The nomination letter should be addressed to the Dean for Graduate Studies. The nomination letter must establish the case for the nominee's consideration of the award and be accompanied by:
- an up-to-date curriculum vita of the nominee;
- a secondary letter from the nominee's graduate program committee chair or department chair/school director; and
- mentoring philosophy (personal statement from the nominee)
Nomination letters and any accompanying information/documentation are due in the Office of Graduate Studies by March 1. As this is a mentoring award, letters focusing on the applicant’s mentoring skills and activities from past and present students are highly recommended. Please submit only documentation relevant to the mentoring of graduate students. All materials need to be submitted electronically following the order of the sections matching the checklist to nkersten@unomaha.edu ( Subject line: Faculty Award for Outstanding Graduate Mentor). Access the nomination form (check list) from the Forms & Resources page.
Nominations will be considered active for three years after the date of submission unless the nominee is a recipient of the award or withdraws his/her name from consideration. At their discretion, nominees may submit, in subsequent years, additional support materials to the retained nominations. An individual who has previously received the award may become eligible again after five years on the basis of mentoring achievement which was not used to support the previous award.
Selection Process
A selection committee composed of one faculty member from each college, to be appointed by the cognizant college dean, or Committee A, and B of the UNO Graduate Council, will screen the applicants and make their final recommendations to the dean for Graduate Studies. Terms for the Selection Committee will be for three-year terms, each beginning different academic years.
The awardee will be announced during the Faculty Honors Convocation. The Dean for Graduate Studies will present the awardee with notification of the award of $1,500 to be paid as a supplement to the awardee's salary. The awardee will be honored at the Faculty Honors Convocation, where the Dean for Graduate Studies will present the awardee a plaque.
Graduate Council Membership 2024-2025
The UNO graduate council acts as an advisory body to the UNO Dean for Graduate Studies, coordinates the graduate studies on the UNO campus, and recommends to the executive graduate council actions affecting students and programs on more than one campus. This council consists of 23 elected or appointed faculty members and two graduate student members.
| Member | College | Term |
| Juan Casas, Dean | Graduate College | |
| Julie Blaskewicz Boron, Associate Dean | Graduate College | |
| Andy Zhong | College of Arts and Sciences | 2024-2027 |
| Randy Adkins | College of Arts and Sciences | 2024-2027 |
| Abby Bjornsen-Ramig | College of Education, Health, and Human Services | 2024-2027 |
| Ren Rende-Mendoza | College of Education, Health, and Human Services | 2024-2027 |
| Isak Kim | College of Education, Health, and Human Services | 2024-2027 |
| Roma Subramanian | College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media | 2024-2027 |
| Yiwei Zhang | College of Public Affairs and Community Service | 2024-2027 |
| Ling Ren, EGC rep | College of Public Affairs and Community Service | 2024-2027 |
| Martina Greiner | College of Information Science & Technology | 2024-2027 |
| Sam Ammons | College of Arts and Sciences | 2023-2026 |
| Dale Eesley | College of Business Administration | 2023-2026 |
| Elliott Ostler | College of Education, Health, and Human Services | 2023-2026 |
| Amanda Steiner | College of Education, Health, and Human Services | 2023-2026 |
| Sharon Storch | College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media | 2023-2026 |
| Heidi Rueda | College of Public Affairs and Community Service | 2023-2026 |
| Christine Toh, EGC Rep | College of Information Science & Technology | 2023-2026 |
| Brett Kyle | College of Arts and Sciences | 2022-2025 |
| Tracy Bridgeford, EGC Rep (Alt) | College of Arts and Sciences | 2022-2025 |
| Chris Decker | College of Business Administration | 2022-2025 |
| Yanhui Zhao | College of Business Administration | 2022-2025 |
| Michaela Schenkelberg | College of Education, Health, and Human Services | 2022-2025 |
| Tomm Roland | College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media | 2022-2025 |
| George Grispos | College of Information Science & Technology | 2022-2025 |