[Botanygraduatestudents] Last reminder - PLEASE nominate BPSC students and postdocs for awards - DEADLINE TODAY Friday (May 5th 11:59 PM).

[April Meinzer]

Dear BPSC faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and staff:

I promise this is the last reminder.

It is time to honor our graduate students, postdocs and research scientists by nominating them for one or more of these awards.

We are extending the deadline for nominations for the graduate student and postdoctoral fellow/research scientist awards to 11:59 PM on Friday (May 5th).

The 2023 graduate student awards are the:

  *   30th Annual Graduate Student Achievement Award
  *   2nd Annual Graduate Student Inclusivity Award
  *   WW Thomson Graduate Student Achievement Award in Honor of Bill Thomson

The 2023 postdoctoral/research scientist award is the:

  *   1st Annual Postdoctoral Fellow/Research Scientist Inclusivity Award

Awards will be announced at the BPSC Awards ceremony at the end of the Corteva Symposium and Gomez-Pompa lecture, on Wed, May 17.

How to nominate a graduate student?

  *   Use the online application form for nominations for the graduate student awards. https://forms.gle/qScdKgwDoVYWqF8v8
  *   Nominations for each award are limited to a single page.
  *   Please refer to the award descriptions for the criteria and eligibility for each award as they differ.
  *   Please submit your nominations no later than 11:59 pm, May 5, 2023.

How to nominate a postdoctoral scholar or research scientist?

  *   Use the online application form for nominations. https://forms.gle/hResYUL1nh8k8rGJ9
  *   Nomination letters for this award are limited to a single page.
  *   Please refer to the Inclusivity Award description for the criteria that will be considered in the selection of the awardee.
  *   Please submit your nominations no later than 11:59 pm, May 5, 2023.

Who can nominate a graduate student or a postdoc for an award?

  *   Faculty, BPSC-cooperating faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and staff may nominate graduate students for these awards.
  *   Self-nominations are allowed for the Inclusivity Award.
  *   For the WW Thomson Graduate Student Achievement Award and the 30th Annual Graduate Student Achievement Award, self-nominations should be supported by an additional nomination letter.

Can a student be nominated for multiple awards?

  *   You can nominate a graduate student for multiple awards if they meet the criteria.
  *   Previous winners of one award are eligible for other awards

The BPSC Awards Committee and DEI Committee thank you for taking the time to acknowledge the excellence of our graduate students and postdoctoral scholars/research scientists. The awards are described below.

Sincerely,

Linda Walling (Chair BPSC Awards Committee)
Loralee Larios (Chair, DEI Committee)


The 2023 BPSC Graduate Student Awards

1. The WW Thomson Graduate Student Achievement Award in Honor of Bill Thomson

Professor Thomson was a Professor of Cell Biology in BPSC.  Upon his retirement in 1999, the department established a fund in his name. Several faculty members, including Professor Thomson, have been generous donors to the endowment that funds this award.  The criteria considered in choosing a recipient for this award are “Academic excellence and achievement in research.”

2. The 30th Annual Graduate Student Achievement Award

This award is made possible from the proceeds of the Botany and Plant Sciences Graduate Student Endowment Fund.  This award was created by the efforts and generosity of Professor Tim Close and his wife Sheila.  Since its establishment, this fund has accumulated value due to additional contributions of numerous faculty donors and several businesses. The goal of this award is to encourage, facilitate, and recognize graduate student achievements and creativity.  Students must be in the Plant Biology Graduate Program to be eligible and selection criteria considered in choosing a recipient in the Plant Biology graduate program involve "evidence of creativity and ambition.”

The endowment provides this explanation:  "For example, a painting related to the research subject and displayed in an art gallery would be a creative example, as would an app related to the research for a smartphone. Starting a business or taking on a leadership position for an organization outside of UCR and related to the research would be ambitious, or gathering wild germplasm from a center of diversity to establish or expand a collection. Having a publication from performing technical tasks under the explicit direction of a Major Professor who is corresponding author would be neither creative nor ambitious. These statements of criteria are just for calibration; of course each applicant will have a unique portfolio.”

3. The 2nd Annual Graduate Student Inclusivity Award

This is the second year of the award, and we hope to continue this trend of recognizing those individuals who promote inclusivity in our academic spaces, as this is a core value of the department and campus.

The goal of this award is to honor students who have demonstrated a deep and ongoing commitment to social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion, who have promoted a culture of equity and inclusion, who exemplify UCR’s principles of community<https://diversity.ucr.edu/media/46/download> demonstrating diversity, respect, and social responsibility in their UCR or the broader community. We will select one graduate student awardee. Graduate students must be in the Plant Biology Graduate Program to be eligible.
The Awards Committee welcomes nomination letters. Nominations may come from faculty, staff, professional scientists, or other graduate students. An individual may also self-nominate themselves. In the nomination letter, please make sure to touch on these questions:

  *   Describe the student's(your) specific involvement with and/or experience in creating a more inclusive UCR and/or community. What have they done in the past year to improve the university climate for students with marginalized identities?
  *   How has the student demonstrated what it means to be a student leader in equity initiatives? Please include specific examples.
Note: We will use the answers to these questions to select our awardees, nominators please make sure your letter specifically addresses these points and when possible identify information that can speak to the impact of activities.
What makes a strong candidate? A person’s involvement should demonstrate a strong commitment to inclusivity. This could include repeated involvement in events, a collection of activities, leadership roles in events/activities but should go beyond single activities (e.g. mentoring an undergraduate, judging at a science fair) to demonstrate excellence.

2023 Postdoctoral Researcher/Research Scientist Awards

First Annual Postdoctoral Researcher/Research Scientist Inclusivity Award

The goal of this award is to honor postdoctoral researcher/research scientists who have demonstrated a deep and ongoing commitment to social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion, who have promoted a culture of equity and inclusion, who exemplify UCR’s principles of community<https://diversity.ucr.edu/media/46/download> demonstrating diversity, respect, and social responsibility in their UCR or the broader community.

We will select one postdoctoral researcher/research scientist awardee. Postdoctoral researchers/research scientists should be in a research group of a BPSC or BPSC-cooperating faculty member to be eligible.

Nominations may come from faculty, staff, professional scientists, or other graduate students. An individual may also self-nominate themselves. In the nomination letter, please make sure to touch on these questions:

  *   Describe the nominee's specific involvement with and/or experience in creating a more inclusive UCR and/or community. What have they done in the past year to improve the university climate for people with marginalized identities?
  *   How has the nominee demonstrated what it means to be a leader in equity initiatives? Please include specific examples?

Note: We will use the answers to these questions to select our awardees, nominators please make sure your letter specifically addresses these points and when possible identify information that can speak to the impact of the nominee's activities.

What makes a strong candidate? A person’s involvement should demonstrate a strong commitment to inclusivity. This could include repeated involvement in events, a collection of activities, leadership roles in events/activities but should go beyond single activities (e.g. mentoring an undergraduate, judging at a science fair) to demonstrate excellence.

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