Resources for Faculty and Staff
Outstanding Faculty Mentors
Mentoring is one of the central professional development pillars of graduate education. Every year, the Graduate College recognizes outstanding faculty members for their service to the graduate student and postdoctoral scholar communities through mentoring excellence, commitment to professional development and career advancement, and fostering inclusive, collaborative academic environments. Active, committed mentors not only offer coaching, modeling and feedback in academic and career development but also provide essential psychosocial and interpersonal connection and support.
The 2024-25 Outstanding Faculty Mentors are:
Kelly Jackson
Outstanding Doctoral Mentor
Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions
Dr. Kelly Faye Jackson is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. Dr. Jackson’s research is grounded in Black Feminism and Critical (Mixed)Race theories. She utilizes critical narrative and visual participatory methods to examine the identity development and overall wellbeing of persons of mixed-race heritage. It is from the lens of cultural attunement that Dr. Jackson approaches her teaching, mentorship, and service work.
Jeffrey Wilson
Outstanding Postdoctoral Mentor
Professor, Department of Economics, W.P. Carey School of Business
Dr. Jeffrey Wilson is a Professor of Statistics and Biostatistics at Arizona State University and serves as Associate Dean of Research and Inclusive Excellence in the W. P. Carey School of Business. As co-chair of the LIFT Initiatives, member of the APHA's mentoring program and contributor to the ASA’s mentoring committee, he has played a pivotal role in supporting the professional development of graduate students, postdoctoral researchers and junior professors.
Joshua Daymude
Outstanding Master’s Mentor
Assistant Professor, School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
Joshua J. Daymude is an assistant professor in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence with a joint appointment in the Biodesign Center for Biocomputing, Security, and Society. He researches algorithmic theory for the efficient coordination and characterization of collective emergent behavior in biological, social, and engineered complex systems.
Nalini Chhetri
Outstanding Instructional Faculty Mentor
Clinical Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, College of Global Futures
Nalini is a faculty member in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and School of Sustainability in the College of Global Futures. She has several mentors from the USA and Asia, but her first mentor was her mother, an elementary school teacher who taught in impoverished schools in the Himalayan region. Through her mother, she learned the priceless value of an education and the need to be empathetic to others. Nalini is an interdisciplinary scholar trained in the natural and social sciences. She has also worked for non-profit organizations on sustainable development, women empowerment and environmental issues. It is these life experiences that she brings to her classroom, to her research and to the mentoring of her students.
Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award recipients through the years
| Award Year | Recipient | |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | Cindi SturtzSreetharan | Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Division of Social Sciences, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| 2023-2024 | Arvind Varsani | Professor, School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Center for Fundamental & Applied Microbiomics, Division of Natural Sciences, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| 2023-2024 | Allan Colbern | Assistant Professor, Social and Behavioral Sciences, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences |
| 2023-2024 | Amy Markos | Clinical Associate Professor, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College |
| 2022-23 | Wei Li | School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning and School of Social Transformation, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| 2022-23 | Anthony Peguero | School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions |
| 2022-23 | Adela Grando | Biomedical Informatics, College of Health Solutions |
| 2022-23 | Jada Ach | College of Integrative Sciences and Arts |
| 2021-22 | Jeffrey Jensen | Professor, School of Life Sciences, The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences |
| 2021-22 | Carla Firetto | Assistant Professor, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College |