Graduate Mentor of the Year

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The Graduate Mentor of the Year Award recognizes an exemplary faculty member for outstanding graduate student mentorship that produces successful graduates who display competence, confidence, professionalism, and independence. Mentorship characteristics that will be evaluated include:

• Being accessible and approachable to their students while modeling professionalism
• Setting and communicating clear expectations and holding students to high standards of performance
• Providing guidance on students' research/creative projects and monitoring their academic progress
• Encouraging and helping students establish their own records of scholarship or performance by supporting travel to professional meetings and conferences; submitting articles or creative works for publication or exhibition; encouraging networking with professional colleagues
• Supporting students' professional development broadly

The nomination deadline is 5:00 pm, Friday, March 27, 2026. 

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

1. Nomination Form completed by a current graduate student.

2. Letter from the nominator addressing the attributes listed above.

3. Two additional letters of recommendation, (a) one from a former or current student, and (b) one from the school director or faculty colleague.

Submit Graduate Mentor of the Year Nomination

The winner will be awarded a cash prize and a commemorative plaque, which will be presented during the Susan A. Siltanen Graduate Research Symposium Awards Luncheon on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in the Thad Cochran Ballroom from 12:00pm to 1:00pm.

Questions about the award should be addressed to Shaadi.ShoubakiFREEMississippi.

We look forward to receiving your nominations!