2003 Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of GSIs Presented to Professor Joseph J. Duggan

May 7, 2003

Each year at the conclusion of the Outstanding GSI Award ceremony we take a few minutes to present to a faculty member on the campus the Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of GSIs. This award acknowledges the outstanding work that a faculty member on the campus has done to assist GSIs in their teaching.

The person whom we have selected for the award this year -- and, by the way, he is not aware yet that he is receiving it--has contributed more than any other faculty member on this campus to the welfare of GSIs. Yet at first glance this may seem like an odd claim given that this faculty member has never had a GSI for one of his courses; his courses in medieval French literature rarely draw more than a seminar-size group of students.

But in reality, this faculty member has been the staunchest advocate that GSIs could wish for. In the 1980s he played a central role in the establishment of the Graduate Division's GSI Teaching and Resource Center. As the Associate Dean who has overseen the center since its inception in 1989, Joe Duggan has helped guide the development of the GSI Teaching and Resource Center from a desk in the basement of California Hall to one of the finest teaching centers for graduate students in the country.

As Director Linda von Hoene has stated, "Joe Duggan understood earlier than most that learning to teach is an important component of graduate education and that undergraduates benefit from the intellectual engagement with graduate students. He also understood that to teach well, GSIs need guidance, mentorship, and an environment in which they can flourish both as teachers and scholars."

Over the years, Joe Duggan has represented the interests of graduate students steadfastly on the Graduate Council and on other committees as well. The hours that he devoted to the negotiation of the GSI contract were innumerable. As Dean Mason recently stated, "no one has put in more time at the table negotiating better conditions for GSIs. Although he theoretically represented the university--he always had first in his mind the best interests of the GSIs."

Joe Duggan has also been a strong advocate for the contributions made by international GSIs to the campus and has worked closely with the GSI Teaching and Resource Center and the Graduate Council to develop programs and courses that can enable undergraduates to benefit from the knowledge and perspectives that international students bring to the campus.

A superb teacher himself, Joe Duggan models for us what it means to support and guide the work of others, in essence what it means to be an extraordinary mentor. Please join us in acknowledging Associate Dean Joseph Duggan as we present him with this year's Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of GSIs.