Purpose

The UMass Lowell Award for Excellence in Faculty Mentoring Students recognizes the exceptional service of one faculty member who has made major contributions in the area of mentoring students at UMass Lowell. Student mentoring at the University is a vital component of the impact that education can have on their academic success, personal growth, and career readiness. Through effective mentoring, we empower students from all backgrounds to overcome challenges, achieve their goals, and realize full potential.

Eligibility

  • Full-time faculty member at UMass Lowell and currently in a tenure, teaching, or clinical-track position. Adjunct faculty members at UMass Lowell teaching at least 3 credit hours during the current academic year are eligible to apply. Self-nominations are welcome.
  • Previous nominees are eligible, and it is hoped that they will be nominated again.
  • Previous winners are not eligible to be considered for a period of six years.

Criteria for Award

  • Effectively mentors students: demonstrates clear examples of how mentoring positively impacted mentees' academic, personal, or professional growth.
  • Builds trust and support: demonstrated ability to foster a trusting, supportive relationship, helping mentees overcome challenges and achieve goals.
  • Provides guidance on growth: shows evidence of guising mentees towards deeper intellectual engagement and skill development relevant to their aspirations.
  • Committed to mentoring: shows sustained efforts overtime, showing leadership in mentoring initiatives at UMass Lowell or beyond.

Please visit the detailed evaluation rubric on the Faculty Excellence Awards landing page.

Application Process

Any full-time faculty member may nominate a colleague or themselves for this award. The deadline for applications is April 3, 2026. All submissions must be made online through the Faculty Excellence Awards portal. The submission must include:

  • a short statement (500-1,000 words) describing the applicant’s mentoring philosophy when working with students, the impact on students, and how the applicant meets the award criteria;
  • three letters of support that contain specific examples of the applicant’s activities that are aligned with the review criteria:
    • a letter from the nominator or, in the case of a self-nomination, a letter from a colleague familiar with the nominee’s mentoring contributions.
    • two letters from students – the letters can be from current student(s) or former student(s) who graduated from UMass Lowell (UML) within the past five years.
    • Note: A single individual may write no more than one support letter for each award category.

The Faculty Excellence Committee will meet to review the nominations and make a recommendation to the Provost or designee.


Award Winners

The winner of this award will be announced in April 2026. The winner will be invited to present a lightning talk on faculty mentoring methods for students at the Fall 2026 Faculty Symposium. The winner will also receive a $1,000 award.

For questions, please email: Faculty_Success@uml.edu.

The Faculty Excellence Committee embraces and celebrates diversity in all its forms and encourages individuals from underrepresented populations to apply or to nominate others for these awards.