Mentoring Awards

Overall Nomination Evaluation Philosophy

The Office of Undergraduate Research values the depth and transformation of the student-mentor relationship. Our committee prioritizes high-quality, long-term impact on a smaller number of students over high-volume research production. Nominations that provide deep, narrative detail about one or two individuals are weighted equally to—or higher than—those highlighting a large volume of students.

Submission Requirements and Formatting

Please submit the following five-part packet as separate documents via OUR’s application platform, Community Force.

To help the review committee organize your materials, include a header in the top margin of every page in the following format: [Document Type] – [Nominee Last Name] (e.g., Mentorship CV – Smith).  For each document, include a page number in the footer (e.g., "Page 1 of 2").  Please strictly adhere to page limits for each document. 

Please note that failure to follow the required formatting guidelines may result in a lower score.  Materials exceeding the designated limits will be truncated, and the review committee will evaluate the submission based only on the pages within the limit.

1. Mentorship CV --  Please curate this CV to reflect your history of undergraduate research mentorship, rather than a full dossier of all your works and accomplishments. Do not submit a comprehensive research CV. Focus specifically on your interactions with undergraduates, including student-led projects, conference presentations, and professional development milestones. Please do not include graduate student mentees.  (3-page maximum)

2. Mentorship Philosophy & Transformational Impact Reflection -- Please describe your mentoring philosophy.   Then select 2-3 undergraduate research students from the past 3-5 years who you believe illustrate your mentoring philosophy most effectively.  Rather than providing a list of all mentees, for each representative student, describe the student “transformation”, including specific moments or milestones.  For each, please utilize the "Starting Point → Mentorship Intervention → Transformational Growth" framework (as defined below).  Focusing on more than three students is discouraged.  The committee prefers deep narrative detail about a few individuals over a broad summary of many students.  (4-page maximum)

   Student Name and Project Title

   Starting point: What was the student’s skill level, confidence, academic trajectory, level of preparation, etc. as they     began working with you? 

   Mentorship intervention: What specific guidance, support, or “scaffolding” did you provide and how does it align with your mentoring philosophy? Instead of saying “The student published a paper,” consider “I guided the student through the iterative revision process, helping them translate their findings into a submission-ready manuscript.” 

   Transformational growth: What was the resulting growth or outcome from your mentorship, such as a skill gained, a personal breakthrough, a shift in career trajectory, the development of a professional identity, the building of confidence, etc., that resulted from the undergraduate research experience and your mentorship?

3. Scholarly Products/Outcomes List -- Please create a copy of the Scholarly Products/Outcomes List Template and name the file “Scholarly Products/Outcomes List - [Nominee Last Name].”  Use the template to create a list of undergraduate student research mentees (do not include graduate students).  Please use the “Notes” column to share any additional details that you think are important for the committee to know about this specific mentee that is not captured in the template.  Please star (*) student names that you are including as representative students in Part 2 of your application. 

   Please “print to PDF” your completed list before uploading to the application portal.  In the print settings, please select to include “page numbers” and “workbook title.”

4. Mentor Context Statement -- Please respond to the following prompt: Discuss the effort it takes in your discipline, department, and appointment to involve students in research and the breadth of different research topics/projects in which your undergraduate students engage.   (1-page maximum)

5. Letters of Support -- Please provide the following letters:

   • One letter from a colleague, department or associate/assistant chair, or dean or associate/assistant dean, etc.  This letter should highlight how you exemplify the role of undergraduate research mentor at UWF, with an emphasis on your contribution to the department, college, or field.  **The person writing this letter must be employed by UWF at the time of the submission.**
   • Two letters from current or former undergraduate student mentees.  These letters should highlight specifically the impact of your mentorship on the students and should specifically address your ability to adapt to individual student needs and the long-term professional impact of the mentorship.

Resources:

• Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Awards Guidelines for Nominees - Application Materials Submission

• Scholarly Products/Outcomes List Template

• Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Awards Nominee Evaluation Rubric

OUR is pleased to open the call for Faculty Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentoring Awards nominations. These awards recognize faculty who exemplify UWF's commitment to undergraduate research and convey the University's high regard for faculty contributions outside the traditional classroom.

The Office of Undergraduate Research values the depth and transformation of the student-mentor relationship. Our committee prioritizes high-quality, long-term impact on a smaller number of students over high-volume research production. Nominations that provide deep, narrative detail about one or two individuals are weighted equally to—or higher than—those highlighting a large volume of students.

We anticipate making two awards (one Early Career Award for faculty with fewer than seven years in an academic setting and one Senior Career Award for faculty with seven or more years in an academic setting, including at least four years at UWF) of $1,500 (before tax). Awards will be presented to recognize exemplary undergraduate research mentoring, focusing on the mentoring relationship.

The selection committee will include the Director of OUR, and at least one faculty member from each college or school. Evaluations and discussions by the committee will highlight mentoring activities included on the Mentor Award Nomination Review Rubric. The Director of OUR will make final decisions.

Award recipients will be announced as part of the UWF Faculty Awards Celebration on Thursday, November 19, 2026 in the Commons Auditorium (2-3:30pm).