Call for Nominations for the Shirley M. Malcom Prize for Excellence in Mentoring

We are pleased to solicit nominations for the Shirley M. Malcom Prize for Excellence in Mentoring.  Established in 2021, the Malcom Prize is named for senior trustee Shirley Malcom, whose long-standing commitment to personal mentorship, national leadership, and international advocacy seeking to make STEM education and access equitable for all, serves as an inspiration at Caltech and beyond.  The prize honors annually a professor who, through mentoring, supports the achievement and well-being of students.  The prize is the Institute's highest honor for professorial mentors.

Nominations for the Malcom Prize are welcome from faculty, students, postdoctoral scholars, staff, and alumni.  Guidelines for the prize follow.  Please submit detailed nomination packages to the Provost's Office by April 1, 2022.    

Criteria for the Prize
The Shirley M. Malcom Prize for Excellence in Mentoring is to be awarded annually to a professor who, through mentoring, supports the achievement and well-being of students. Criteria include, but are not limited to, effective mentoring practices such as offering regular feedback, guidance, and advice; providing access to academic and professional information, resources, and opportunities; and helping to ensure a safe, encouraging, and inclusive environment.

Terms of the Prize
The prize consists of a cash award of $5,000.

Eligibility
All Caltech tenured and tenure-track professors, teaching professors (including teaching assistant professors), research professors (including research assistant professors), and emeritus professors are eligible. All Caltech professors, including teaching and research professors but excluding visiting professors, are eligible.

Nominations for the Prize
Announcements inviting nominations for the prize are made at the beginning of the winter term. Nominations for the 2021-22 Malcom Prize may be made by any member of the Caltech community, including faculty, students, postdoctoral scholars, staff and alumni. Nomination packages should include a letter of nomination of no more than 750 words with up to five additional letters from students and colleagues, each of no more than 500 words. Supporting material, such as a curriculum vitae and materials that demonstrate the nominee's mentorship, can also be included. Email nomination packages no later than April 1, 2022 to [email protected].  

Renominations
Renominations should conform to the guidelines for nominations.  Nominees not selected in a given year will be considered part of the nomination pool for each of the following two years.  Consideration of a nominee after three years will require renomination.

Selection
Selection of the recipient will be made by a committee appointed by the Provost. The committee chair and members will be rotated frequently in order to ensure broad representation across the Institute. The committee will consist of at least three faculty members (with the awardee joining the committee after year 1), a vice provost, and one representative each from the undergraduate student body, the graduate student body, and the postdoctoral community. The assistant vice provost and director of the Student-Faculty Programs office will serve as an ex-officio member.

Presentation of the Prize
The Malcom Prize will be presented at a regular meeting of the Caltech faculty in the third term.