MPA Award for Outstanding Graduate Faculty in Psychology

The 2024 Award Nomination period is now closed. 

The Minnesota Psychological Association is seeking nominations for the MPA Award for Outstanding Graduate Faculty in Psychology. This award recognizes a faculty member who brings a special quality or commitment to working with graduate students in psychology. The award will be presented at the MPA Annual Conference. The procedures and criteria for the award are outlined below.

CRITERIA: Nominations will be judged on the following criteria, although nominees will not be expected to have achieved recognition in all areas.

  • Excellence in instruction. Evidence might include student and colleague evaluations, teaching awards, or other forms of recognition as well as evidence of providing excellent training in research/practice/professional ethics.
  • Involvement of students in research, scholarship, and professional development activities. Evidence might include publications of students, awards to students, and a list of advisees and their accomplishments.
  • Development of programs for graduate students. This might include the development of special programs for graduate students relevant to teaching, practice, or research, or special programs of a more social nature.
  • Advising and mentoring of students. Evidence of being accessible to and supportive of students and their goals and ideas, responsive to students’ needs at different stages of development, and providing helpful feedback regarding students’ strengths and weaknesses. More objective criteria might include membership on graduate committees.
  • Professional identity as a teacher/mentor. Evidence might include publication of articles on teaching/mentoring, attendance at professional meetings relevant to teaching/mentoring, and effective mentoring of new faculty.

Nominations of an outstanding graduate faculty member can be made by the head of the nominee’s program/department, a colleague, or former student. Nominees should have been at their current institution for at least five years, but the award can be for distinguished performance over many years or a single extraordinary contribution. Neither the nominee nor the nominator needs to be a member of MPA. The nomination packet should contain:
1.)  The nominee’s vita, including his/her educational history (e.g., degrees, granting institutions, and years granted), professional work history, and membership in professional and honorary organizations.
2.)  No more than three letters from current or former (within five years) graduate students.
3.)  A letter (3 page maximum) from the nominator that addresses the criteria listed above.

Questions can be directed to Joan Ostrove at Macalester College ([email protected]).

All 2024 awards will be presented at the MPA Annual Conference on Thursday, April 4, 2024.