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Advising and Mentoring Award

2024 Recipients

Congratulations to Marj Terpstra (education) and Sam Smartt (communication), the recipients of the 2024 Advising and Mentoring Award!

Purpose of the Award

The Advising and Mentoring Award recognizes and affirms the significant role of faculty advising and mentoring in forming the minds and shaping the lives of students. While all faculty members are expected to advise and mentor students in an effective and informed manner, this award recognizes those individuals whose efforts extend well beyond such expectations.

Eligibility

Any full-time or reduced-load member of the teaching faculty may be nominated for this award. It is expected that recipients of this award will have advised a significant number of students over the course of several years; however, there is no established minimum requirement in this regard.

Selection Criteria

Award recipients exhibit an excellence in developing and sustaining mentoring relationships with students. Award recipients will be selected based on the following criteria:

  • A strong commitment to student success through availability to advisees.
  • Commitment to guiding students in both academic and career paths.
  • Demonstrated willingness to extend academic learning beyond the classroom.
  • Commitment to helping students discern vocational goals.
  • Evidence of a formative influence in students’ post-Calvin lives.

Selection Process

From September through October, the provost will solicit letters of nomination from students, individual faculty members, department chairs, and the coordinator of academic advising. The academic deans will review faculty activities reports and state of the department reports and, based on their review, may make their own nominations. Nominations will consist of a one-page description of the nominee’s academic advising services, activities, and interactions, as distinct from the nominee’s teaching responsibilities. The letter may also include any special activities that relate to student development. In consultation together and with the provost, the academic deans will decide on up to three nominees to present to the Professional Status Committee. There is no restriction regarding how many nominees may come from a single department or division. The Professional Status Committee will select the award recipient by December 1.

Past Recipients

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