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Biology Ph.D. Program, 2019 Dean’s Award Winner

March 11, 2019
Biology PhD program

“People tend to think of diversity training in the context of stopping harassment or overt bias. While this is a piece of the puzzle, we want to create an environment where people can succeed, thrive, and achieve their aspirations. We want to leverage the diverse perspectives into greater success. By bringing people with diverse backgrounds to the table, we can achieve more than we could by having people of only one background.”

Emily Pechar, 2019 Dean’s Award Winner

March 11, 2019
Emily Pechar

“The biggest thing that has evolved in my teaching is that my classes are a lot more student-focused. I find that students learn more through discussion and activities than they learn through lecture. I make class time about helping them ingrain that knowledge into their own personal experiences.”

Jessica Stark, 2019 Dean’s Award Winner

March 11, 2019
Jessica Stark

“The term ‘agitate’ implies discomfort but it also derives from impelling or moving forward. In that sense, I aim to agitate my students in terms of allowing them to engage in different exercises that might put them out of their comfort zone, but also to impel them forward and think more deeply about the written word.”

Brandon Fain, 2019 Dean’s Award Winner

March 11, 2019
Brandon Fain

“Computer scientists are starting to re-envision the way that they teach in order to think about it as a literacy concern in the same way that an English teacher has to think about not just giving someone the skills to become a novelist but about giving someone the basic skills they need to function properly in society.”

Natasha Parikh, 2019 Dean’s Award Winner

March 11, 2019
Natasha Parikh

“Collaboration in the classroom is so important. While each student should understand the concepts in their head, I think it is so much more meaningful if they get a chance to discuss those with others and really learn from each other.”

Jennifer West, 2019 Dean’s Award Winner

March 11, 2019
Jennifer West

“Students aren’t just here to work in the research labs. They are here to get an education and to prepare themselves for the next step. Giving them opportunities to learn, develop skills, explore, and see new environments is really important to that process.”

Leela Prasad, 2019 Dean’s Award Winner

March 11, 2019
Leela Prasad

“I think critical empathy makes all the difference: being very attentive to who you're talking to, developing a relationship with that person, knowing that this is someone that you are going to have a relationship with for a good six to seven years—sometimes life-long. Critical empathy makes all the difference toward facilitating the intellectual path as well as a lot of other things.

Raymond Allen, 2019 Dean’s Award Winner

March 11, 2019
Raymond Allen

“An aspect of mentoring that people don’t think about as much is the idea that your mentor has to be someone older than you. I think people in academia are learning that you can learn a lot from either your peers or people who are younger than you but have different backgrounds and different experience.”

Ashleigh Thomas, 2019 Dean’s Award Winner

March 11, 2019
Ashleigh Thomas

“I think a big part of helping students be independent is choosing attainable goals. The way that I like to set up goals for my students is choosing something that is close by. It doesn’t have to be something big, but it can just be something new that a student can say ‘I proved this and this is why its important.’ ”

Leigh Ann Simmons 2019 Dean’s Award Winner

March 11, 2019
Leigh Ann Simmons

“There are three main characteristics of a good mentor. The first is the mentor cares deeply about students’ personal and professional well-being and success and shows it by being available, linking students to resources and opportunities, and actively engaging in learning with the student. The second is the mentor encourages and supports students to work right up to their edge so they continue to grow and achieve to their maximum capabilities. The third is the mentor provides continuous, specific, constructive verbal and written feedback to help students develop the knowledge, confidence, and skills they need to successfully transition to independence.”

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