2012 Outstanding Mentoring Awards
Dr. Gary T. Green is an Associate Professor in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Dr. Green was recognized for his high level of engagement in graduate student mentorship and the supportive environment that he provides for the students under his supervision. Dr. Green stresses three key elements in facilitating a graduate student’s development: developing a relationship of understanding, empathy, and trust; providing opportunities for development and constructive feedback; and building a lifelong relationship with each student that extends beyond their graduation and into their professional and personal lives. “To help facilitate a student’s development implies, to me, identifying and incorporating a wide range of resources (in addition to myself) to help the student, and a reciprocal relationship where all individuals involved in the learning process develop and grow together,” Green says. Several of Dr. Green’s students having won awards for their presentation skills in the Warnell School as well as local and international conferences. Dr. Green’s students additionally have become involved with natural resource agencies, the Athens community, the state of Georgia, and various professional associations, with the majority of their research having direct applications for natural resource agencies and their visitors. Dr. Green’s students have been awarded the “Richard B. Russell Foundation Scholarship” for excellence in teaching, the Graduate School and Warnell School awards for “Outstanding” and “Excellence” in Teaching, and the “Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificates” from UGA’s Teaching Program.
Dr. Jennifer McDowell is an Associate Professor in the Psychology Department. Dr. McDowell was recognized for her ability to develop her students scientifically and academically while maintaining a supportive, positive social and workplace environment. “My first and foremost goal is to train excellent scientists who think critically and are ready for an independent career,” McDowell says. “In addition to that important basic foundation, the three areas in which my contributions are strong include: emphasizing professional development, training graduate students in grant writing and submission, and garnering graduate student support.” Dr. McDowell’s laboratory research focuses on the neurocognitive underpinnings of psychological disorders, primarily schizophrenia, using neuroimaging tools such as fMRI. Many of her studies apply to mental health and mental illness, with a more recent application to the area of exercise and obesity, all centered around the topics of societal welfare and public policy. Dr. McDowell’s students have been selected for nationally competitive events like the Cold Springs Harbor Summer Courses, University of Michigan fMRI Training Courses, the Multimodal Neuroimaging Workshop at Carnegie Mellow University, the American Psychological Foundation Graduate Research Scholarship, and National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships. At the state level, Dr. McDowell’s students have been awarded the Achievement Rewards for College Students Foundation Awards, UGA Graduate Research Fellowships, the UGA Graduate Recruitment Opportunity Fellowships, and the UGA Franklin Foundation Neuroimaging Fellows.
