Sentiments of gratitude for commitment and personalized attention to graduate students were among the testimonials spoken about this year’s winners of Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Award winners.

“[This professor]’s passion for research really shines through with their hands-on involvement in student projects,” said one nomination letter.

“[This professor] has an impeccable ability to identify students’ strengths and set them up to succeed,” said another.

“A commonly expressed sentiment from graduate students is that they “could not have done it without” [this professor,]” said a third.

Among the 30 faculty members who won the 2022 award, seven were from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, five were from the College of Biological Sciences, seven were from the College of Engineering, and nine were from the College of Letters and Sciences; the schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine had one winner each. This award is one of many Graduate Studies initiatives dedicated to showcasing and promoting positive advising and mentoring experiences within graduate education at UC Davis. 

Jean-Pierre Delplanque, vice provost and dean of Graduate Studies, said it was an honor to acknowledge this year’s winners who exemplify the importance of mentorship and advising in graduate education.

“Mentorship and advising are critical aspects of graduate student success and pillar of the UC Davis Graduate Studies’ strategic plan, but these faculty are truly living this mission through their energy and effort,” he said. “We are so grateful to them for sharing their time and talents with our graduate students and postdocs.”

Here are the 2022 winners by college/school:

College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

• Helen Dahlke                          Hydrologic Science
• Anna Denicol                          Animal Biology           
• Matthew Gilbert                     Horticulture and Agronomy
• Cassandra Swett                    Plant Pathology
• Richard Sexton                       Agricultural Resource Economics
• Jay Rosenheim                       Entomology   
• Andrew Whitehead                Pharmacology and Toxicology

College of Biological Sciences

• Siobhan Brady                       Plant Biology
• Ele Grandi                               Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology         
• Tonya Kuhl                              Biophysics
• Marilyn Ramenofsky              Animal Behavior
• Anna La Torre                         BMCDB

College of Engineering

• Zhaojun Bai                            Computer Science
• Michele Barbato                    Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Coleman Kronawitter            Chemical Engineering
• Alan Jenn                               Transportation Technology & Policy
• Omeed Momeni                     Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Scott Simon                            Biomedical Engineering
• Yayoi Takamura                      Material Science Engineering

College of Letters and Sciences

• Kyle Crabtree                          Chemistry
• Frances Dolan                         English
• Bo Feng                                   Communications
• Eugene Gorsky                       Math  
• James Griesemer                   Philosophy
• Meaghan O'Keefe                  Religion
• Thomas Lee                            Statistics
• Andrew Wetzel                       Physics
• Georgia Zellou                        Linguistic

School of Medicine

• Diana Cassady                        Public Health

School of Veterinary Medicine

• Damian Genetos                     Integrative Pathobiology                                           

More about the award                                 

To be considered for this award, graduate programs nominated faculty members who displayed outstanding excellence in advising and mentoring of their graduate students. As part of the nomination process, these Graduate programs highlighted faculty for their service to the program, commitment to advising and mentoring, and positive impact on graduate students and colleagues. This was an optional recognition program and graduate programs participated at will. The award recipients received a letter of recognition from the Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies that can be included in merit and promotion files or to document their service for grant applications or organizations.

For more information on Graduate Studies' mentoring resources, awards, and programs, visit the mentoring website.