UCLA Academic Senate faculty (assistant, associate, or full professors) who have chaired or served as a graduate thesis/dissertation committee member.

A nominee may receive the DGE Graduate Mentoring Award only once in a five-year period.

The nominations deadline for the 2025 Faculty Mentoring Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring has elapsed.

Please check back in Winter 2026 for the 2026 Faculty Mentoring Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring.

Faculty must be nominated by a primary and secondary nominator for consideration. The primary nominator must be a CURRENT graduate student or FORMER graduate student who has graduated within the past two years. A student can nominate a faculty member regardless of whether that person serves as their primary formal advisor. The secondary nominator can be a current or former graduate student, faculty, or staff.

The nomination requires TWO* signed Letters of Support as file attachments. Letters of support should not exceed 800 words and must be submitted as either a Word document or PDF file.

*Additional supporters (beyond the two nominators) may cosign a letter since additional files will not be accepted.

Letters of support should answer the following central question:

“What makes the nominated faculty member an outstanding candidate for this award?”

The format of the Letter of Support is open and unstructured. However, you may consider the following components of exemplary mentorship to inform your letter of support. Be sure to provide examples that illustrate your experiences with any of the following criteria.

Value diversity and promote a sense of belonging to create an inclusive environment.

Foster a supportive and healthy environment where challenges, successes, and failures can be openly shared and examined.

Provide regular constructive feedback and set clear expectations through ongoing communication to build trust and mutual respect in the mentor-mentee relationship.

Work closely with mentees to explore their talents and interests to help them define and attain their academic, professional, and personal goals.

Promote research self-efficacy by providing sufficient professional/leadership opportunities for mentees to acquire the skills necessary to become an independent expert in their field.

Encourage professional development, recognize the existence of diverse career options, and promote career opportunities for mentees.

Serve as role models who maintain high standards for excellence within their discipline and encourage mentees to adopt similar principles of professional behavior.

The letters of support should focus on the nominated faculty member’s mentoring of graduate students and any examples given should pertain to graduate mentees.

78 faculty were nominated for the Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award, reflecting the depth of commitment across our campus. Eight exceptional finalists were selected, and the three awardees will be announced at the ceremony.

Awardees (in alphabetical order):
Timothy O’Sullivan, Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics
Vilma Ortiz, Sociology
A. Janet Tomiyama, Psychology

Award Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Jennifer Chun, Asian American Studies
Charles Corbett, Anderson School of Management, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Laura DeNardo, Physiology
Timothy O’Sullivan, Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics
Vilma Ortiz, Sociology
Carlos Portera-Cailliau, Neurology
David Shorter, World Arts and Cultures/Dance
A. Janet Tomiyama, Psychology

Nominees (in alphabetical order):
Cecila Rios-Aguilar, Education
Anastassia N Alexandrova, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Jesús Araujo, Environmental Health Sciences, Medicine
Sudipto Banerjee, Biostatistics
Harold Clark, Barrett Anthropology
Kathleen Bawn, Political Science
Aparna Bhaduri, Biological Chemistry
Aaron Blaisdell, Psychology
William Bodiford, Asian Languages and Cultures
Jennie E. Brand, Sociology
Siobhan Braybrook, Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology
Joseph Bristow, English
Guy Van den Broeck, Computer Science
Lia Brozgal, European Languages and Transcultural Studies
Carlos Portera-Cailliau, Neurology
Hao Cao, Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences
Jun Chen, Bioengineering
Liwei Chen, Epidemiology
Kristen Choi, School of Nursing
Jennifer Chun, Asian American Studies
Charles Corbett, Anderson School of Management, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Rick Dale, Communication
Erin Debenport, Anthropology
Laura DeNardo, Physiology
Cesar Favila, Musicology
Todd Franke, Social Welfare
Oliver I. Fregoso, Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics
Mark A. Frye, Integrative Biology and Physiology
Andrew Fuligni, Psychology
David G. Garcia, Education
Mekonnen Gebremichael, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Andrea Goldman, History
Jasmine D. Hill, Public Policy and Sociology
Chenfanfu Jiang, Mathematics
Kelly Kay, Geography
Robin D.G. Kelley, History
Christopher Kelty, Institute for Society and Genetics, Information Studies and Anthropology
Zeynep Korkman, Gender Studies
Paul Kroskrity, Anthropology
Anna Markowitz, Education
Sean Metzger, Theater, Film, and Television
Rashmita Mistry, Education
Matthew J. Nava, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Roch A. Niango, Epidemiology
Chon Noriega, Theater, Film, and Television
Edith Omwami, Education
Vilma Ortiz, Sociology
Timothy O’Sullivan, Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics
Veronica Paredes, Theater, Film, and Television
Carolyn Parkinson, Psychology
Julia Payson, Political Science
Margaret Peters, Political Science
Stephanie Pincetl, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Mason Porter, Mathematics
Marilyn Raphael, Geography
Dan Ruan, Radiation Oncology
Hiram Beltrán Sánchez, Community Health Sciences
Inmaculada M. García-Sánchez, Education
Cindy C. Sangalang, Social Welfare and Asian American Studies
Sucharit Sarkar, Mathematics
Danielle Schmitt, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Kirsten Schwarz, Urban Planning and Environmental Health Sciences
Aparna Sharma, World Arts and Cultures/Dance
David Shorter, World Arts and Cultures/Dance
Jennifer Sumner, Psychology
Timothy D. Taylor, Ethnomusicology, Anthropology and Musicology
Kevin Terraciano, History
Demetri Terzopoulos, Computer Science
Daniel M. Thompson, Political Science
Morgan Tingley, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Courtney Thomas Tobin, Community Health Sciences
A. Janet Tomiyama, Psychology
Tina Treude, Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences
Jasmine Nadua Trice, Theater, Film and Television
Lynn Vavreck, Political Science
Marco Velli, Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences
Andrés Villarreal, Sociology
Sean Walsh, Philosophy