Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring

This award is given annually to one member of the academic staff in recognition of outstanding performance in the area of mentoring summer research students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and visiting research scholars.

Mentoring may be related to, but is perceived as differing from, classroom teaching and administrative service and may be distinct and separable from the usual measures of research productivity.

The recipient receives a prize of $5,000 and a commemorative certificate at the Annual Killam Dinner.

Eligibility

• All continuing academic staff of the University of Alberta are eligible to be nominated. Only mentoring done at the University of Alberta will be considered.
• The nominee may be at any stage in their academic career but, by its nature, the award will tend to recognize those with more experience.
• The criteria for assessment of the nominees are:
  • Extent of mentoring of summer research students, undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, visiting research scholars, etc.
  • The collegiality of the mentoring experience and the desirable characteristics of the mentoring environment as judged by co-authored publications and presentations, other collaborative ventures (research cells, reading groups, etc.) mentees’ achievements (awards and prizes, grants and funding, mentees’ publication record, career paths) and testimony from those mentored.

Nomination Process:

Each Department is entitled to submit one nomination, supported by documentation as outlined below. Each Department may use whatever procedures it deems most appropriate in the selection of its nominee.

The following information shall be submitted by the Department in support of an individual's nomination:

1. A statement describing the procedures followed in making the nomination.
2. A statement as to why the nominee qualifies for the Award, with an emphasis on those essential and unique features of mentoring within the discipline in question.
3. A brief statement summarizing the qualities of the nominee's approach to, and success in, mentoring, along with reference to the record of the results of this mentoring activity (list of summer students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, etc, their publications or presentations, their career paths, etc).
4. A current curriculum vitae of the nominee including a chronological listing of all individuals mentored and a delineation of their subsequent awards, successes, and career paths (some of this information will complement that included in (3), above).
5. A description of the environment and experience provided by the nominee in his/her role as mentor. A poll of the views of a representative sample of the individuals currently being mentored by the nominee is suggested.
6. A short statement from the nominee about their mentoring philosophy. Three letters of support from former students, postdoctoral fellows, or other individuals mentored by the nominee. As part of their submission, these assessors are also asked to submit a summary of their experience with the nominee and their subsequent career development.
7. A letter of support from the Department Chair (or Dean of non-departmentalized Faculties). This letter should contain a statement comparing the nominee’s quantity and quality of mentoring so that of other Department members at a similar stage.

One copy of the nomination is to be submitted to Medha Samarasinghe in Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.

Nomination Deadline: March 16, 2012

Adjudication:

Adjudication of the Award will be done by a committee Co-Chaired by the Vice-President (Research) and the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (FGSR) or their designates.

The Committee will also comprise the President of the Graduate Students’ Association (or designate), and further members as agreed by the Vice-President (Research) and the Dean of FGSR (current and previous Associate Deans of FGSR, Faculty Deans, Department Chairs, and Department Graduate Coordinators, to a total of 5 members, are suggested).