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Home » Discover Rackham » Announcing the 2016 GSI and Mentoring Awardees

Through the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Awards, Rackham recognizes young scholars who have been nominated by their program for teaching excellence. Winners of this award demonstrate superb skill in teaching, mentoring and advising. They bring creativity, inspirational commitment and intellectual excitement to the classroom, discussion section, or teaching lab, and communicate this passion with their undergraduate students.

The 2016 recipients of the Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Awards are:
Brandon Carter, Mathematics
Melissa Chalmers, Information
Jesse Crosson, Political Science
Tara Diener, Anthropology and History
Paulina Duda, Slavic Languages and Literatures
Ludmila Ferrari, Romance Languages and Literatures
Sara Grewal, Comparative Literature
James Hammond, English and Education
Benjamin Katz, Education and Psychology
Joo Young Lee, American Culture
Cheng-Wei Lin, Near Eastern Studies
Angela Lyle, Educational Studies
Ellen McGinnis, Psychology
Alyssa Penick, History
Angy Perez-Martinez, Epidemiology
Jeff Pettibone, Psychology
Sahithya Reddivari, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Logan Scherer, English Language and Literature
Nils-Hennes Stear, Philosophy
Christopher Sullivan, Economics

Supporting effective faculty mentoring of graduate students is a top priority of the Graduate School. Outstanding mentors guide students throughout their professional training with respect and concern, serving as advisor, teacher, advocate, sponsor, and role model. To recognize excellence in mentorship, Rackham asks graduate students and faculty for nominations for three awards: the John D’Arms Faculty Awards for Distinguished Graduate Mentoring in the Humanities, the Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award, and the Rackham Master’s Mentoring Award. The following faculty are being recognized for their records of excellence as mentors of graduate students:

John H. D'Arms Faculty Award for Distinguished Graduate Mentoring in the Humanities
Matthew Countryman, American Culture, History
Frieda Ekotto, Comparative Literature, Afroamerican and African Studies
Gareth Williams, Romance Languages and Literatures

Rackham Distinguished Graduate Mentoring Award
Allen Hicken, Political Science
Michael Imperiale, Microbiology and Immunology
Cagliyan Kurdak, Physics
Dale Ulrich, Movement Science

Rackham Master's Mentoring Award
Peter Ho Davies, English Language and Literature
Monica Marvin , Human Genetics

These students and faculty will be recognized on Thursday, April 14 at 3:30pm in the Rackham Amphitheatre. We invite all in the University—students, faculty and staff—to attend the event and reception to congratulate the award recipients.