Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring
The Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring has been created to recognize outstanding performance in the area of mentoring summer research students, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, visiting research scholars and undergraduate students.
Mentoring may be related to, but is perceived as differing from, classroom teaching or administrative service and may be distinct and separable from the usual measures of research productivity.
The award is open to all disciplines and up to two awards may be given in any one year, one for mentoring excellence in the humanities, social sciences, and/or fine arts, and one for mentoring excellence in the natural sciences, health sciences, and engineering.
The Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring consists of $5,000 cash award and a commemorative plaque. The Award will be presented at the Killam Event, which is held each fall.
All continuing academic staff of the University of Alberta are eligible to be nominated. Only mentoring done at the University of Alberta will be considered. The nominee may be at any stage in their academic career but, by its nature, the award will tend to recognize those with more experience.
The Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring recognizes exceptional mentoring through considering both quantitative and qualitative success in:
The number and diversity of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, visiting research scholars, and undergraduates in special roles, within the context of disciplinary norms; Developing a mentoring approach that uniquely enhances student/trainee career success within the discipline, as evidenced by (a) trainees' professional development, achievements, scholarly impact, and testimony about their mentored experience, (b) the nominee's mentoring philosophy statement, and (c) other information provided in the nomination letter.
Each Department or non-departmentalized Faculty is entitled to submit one nomination, supported by documentation as outlined below. Each Department or non-departmentalized Faculty may use whatever procedures it deems most appropriate in the selection of its nominee.
A nomination package will contain the following elements, which must be provided in the order listed below:
- A brief statement describing the procedures followed in making the nomination.
- A nomination letter signed by the department chair (or Dean in the case of a non-departmentalized Faculty) that (a) addresses why the nominee is deserving of recognition for exceptional mentoring, (b) situates the nominee's mentoring approach and success within the context of the discipline and other faculty members at a similar stage of career, and (c) provides any other information about the nominee's other activities or responsibilities that may be helpful to assessing the exceptional quality of mentoring abilities and success.
- A statement of no more than 3 pages from the nominee that describes the nominee's mentoring approach, how the nominee has evolved or developed the approach to fit unique characteristics of their discipline, students, or trainees, and examples of any uncommon opportunities or interventions the nominee has used or developed to enhance mentee success.
- A chronological listing or table of all individuals mentored, along with summary information (if possible) on their subsequent career placement, their unique successes, and their scholarly impact - either as individuals or in collaboration with the mentor - that occurred during the mentorship period or shortly thereafter (e.g., performances or exhibitions, publications, professional leadership, and others)
- Three letters of support from former students, postdoctoral fellows, or other individuals mentored by the nominee, that summarize their experience with the nominee and describes how the nominee's mentoring has had a unique impact on their learning and subsequent career development. Please make sure these letters are signed and dated by the referee.
- A summary of brief comments from a representative sample of current mentees.
- An abbreviated CV (no more than 3 pages) that provides information on the nominees' educational history, professional appointments, awards, and that summarizes professional activities and scholarly output.
Submission Instructions: Please send nomination package (in the order specified above) to grad.awards@ualberta.ca using the subject heading "Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring Nominee".
The adjudication committee will be co-chaired by the Vice-President (Research) and the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) or their designates.
The Committee will include the President of the Graduate Students' Association (or designate), and two additional members, as agreed by the co-chairs, normally drawn from current and previous Associate Deans of GPS previous mentoring and teaching award winners.
Nomination deadline for the 2026-2027 year: Friday, March 27, 2026