Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award

All members of the Graduate Faculty are eligible for nomination. Past awardees are not eligible for a period of three years following receipt of the award. Currently enrolled graduate students at the University of Maryland College Park are asked to make a nomination for the Award.

One letter of nomination per faculty member will be accepted (see Nomination Instructions). The nomination letter must be signed by at least five graduate students or recent graduates who support the nomination. Please identify one student to act as the contact person for the nomination.

The Award is intended for faculty mentoring doctoral students, but mentoring at the master’s level might be appropriate in some cases (such as MFAs).

One letter of nomination per faculty member will be accepted and must be signed by at least five graduate students or recent graduates who support the nomination. Please identify one student to act as the contact person for the nomination.

LETTER OF NOMINATION
Nominations will comprise a letter of no more than three (3) pages, single-spaced. Please use 12-
point font size and one-inch margins. The faculty mentor’s name, department, title, and rank must
be clearly noted on the top of the letter.

The letter should describe the mentor’s activities and positive effects on student success, and it
should convey the student’s (or students’) experience of those effects.

Each of the five points listed below must be addressed carefully, by providing concrete examples
for each one. Please prepare your letter in a format that clearly identifies each of these points,
one by one.

1. The faculty member’s engagement with the student or students in developing short and
   long term research goals.
2. The faculty member’s communication with the student or students regarding progress on
   the research and any changes in direction or schedule.
3. The faculty member’s facilitation of the student’s or students’ development of innovative
   research and dissertation topics.
4. The faculty member providing the student or students with significant opportunities to
   develop and practice professional skills.
5. The faculty member’s support of the student or students with encouragement and moral
   support.

SUBMITTING THE NOMINATION LETTER
Nomination letters must be in PDF file format.

Please submit nomination letters to the Graduate School Awards Portal.

The nomination deadline is 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Monday, February 15, 2027

The selection committee of faculty and students is appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School.

The 8-10 member multi-disciplinary committee will evaluate the nomination letters using the five criteria listed in the Letter of Nomination.

Please direct any questions to Robyn Kotzker in the Office of Funding Opportunities
at rkotzker@umd.edu or 301-405-0281.