Urbashi Mitra and Lorraine Turcotte Honored with USC-Mellon Awards for Excellence in Mentoring
Lorraine Turcotte, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Biological Sciences (left), Urbashi Mitra, Professor in the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering (middle), and Hanna Reisler, Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the WiSE Advisory Board (right)
The 4th Annual Mellon Mentoring Honors Reception was held on Tuesday April 22nd, at the University Club. The USC-Mellon Awards for Excellence in Mentoring seek to recognize exceptional mentoring. They are presented to faculty members and graduate students who demonstrate excellence in mentoring by guiding and nurturing collegial and professional development.
Among the awardees this year was Urbashi Mitra, Professor in the Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering. Mitra was honored for "Faculty Mentoring Faculty."
In her statement about mentoring published in the program book, Mitra said, "I cannot articulate the value of mentoring any more than I can state the obvious about the value of "breathing": it is simple, natural, necessary, and mostly unconscious."
Also honored was Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Biological Sciences, Lorraine Turcotte, who was recognized for "Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students."
In Turcotte's statement on mentoring she recounts, "My primary goal as a mentor to graduate students is to develop a relationship with each student who is interested in receiving advice. This, I think, is key to providing information that is pertinent to each student. In mentoring, I think it is also important to listen carefully to the students' concerns so that my advice and support can be individualized to each student's needs. Ultimately, my goal is to provide them with the insight they need to make professional decisions that are individually appropriate."
Hanna Reisler, Professor of Chemistry, Chair of the WiSE Advisory Board and a recipient of a 2007 USC-Mellon Mentoring award for "Faculty Mentoring Faculty" was a presenter at this year's ceremony.
Congratulations to Lorraine and Ubli and thank you for your mentoring efforts!
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