STP Mentorship of Teachers Award

The Society for the Teaching of Psychology (STP; Division 2 of the American Psychological Association) invites applications for the Mentorship of Teachers Award. Consistent with our Mission Statement and the Statement on Addressing Systemic Racism and Inequity in STP (located in the STP Policies and Procedures Manual), we encourage applications from colleagues who are from underrepresented groups and have diverse backgrounds and experiences.

The purpose of this award is to recognize various forms of mentoring of teachers, including sharing knowledge and expertise, providing support and encouragement, offering feedback on performance, helping to identify opportunities and resources, and serving as a professional role model. The mentorship award, which honors those who mentor teachers, is distinct from the Excellence in Teaching Awards, some of which recognize mentoring of student professional development. The award is not limited to mentoring teachers of psychology, but may include mentoring of teachers in other disciplines. The award is for STP members, and STP encourages applications from colleagues who are from underrepresented groups and have diverse backgrounds and experiences. The recipient will receive $1,500, a plaque, and up to $1,500 to attend the Annual Conference on Teaching during the award year.

Call for Applications

2024 Award Recipient

Seungyeon Lee, Chair the award committee, is pleased to announce that this year’s recipient of STP’s Mentorship of Teachers Award is Dr. Jordan Wagge, PhD, a Professor and Chair of Psychology at Avila University, in Kansas City, Missouri, where she teaches courses related to research methods, statistics, and cognitive psychology, with the occasional side quest to teach special topics courses such as Teaching of Psychology. Dr. Wagge also serves as the Executive Director for the Collaborative Replications and Education Project (CREP). CREP’s mission is to provide training, support, and professional growth opportunities for students and instructors completing replication projects while addressing the need for replications of highly cited effects in psychology. Her current research involves student replications mentored through CREP, studying the effectiveness of CREP as a learning tool, the practices and obstacles related to teaching open science in the curriculum, and documenting the ways in which scholarly works in the field discuss the relationship between body weight and health. Dr. Wagge lives in Kansas City with her two young kids, spouse, pets, and doesn’t have “hobbies” so much as a series of very strange hyperfixations. The most interesting thing about her is probably the way she is surrounded by the absolute best friends, family, and mentors, sort of how a hole is surrounded by a doughnut. Please join us in celebrating her accomplishments at the awards ceremony this October at STP’s Annual Conference on Teaching (ACT)!

Past Recipients

2023: Jessica Hartnett, Gannon University (PA)

2022: Richard L. Miller, Texas A&M University - Kingsville

2021: Melissa Beers, The Ohio State University

2020:  Judith Bryant, University of South Florida

Criteria

Awardee plays an exceptional role in using psychological expertise to mentor teachers that may include the following:

• The person provides exceptional mentorship to aid colleagues at any level who are developing their skills in teaching
• The person supports faculty at any stage of their careers (e.g., graduate student teachers, early-career faculty, mid-career faculty, and/or senior faculty) with their professional development as teachers
• The person provides valuable advice to teachers at any stage on preparing for tenure and promotion, supporting and collaborating with faculty on Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and/or any professional training/workshops for teachers

In summary, the award recipient is both a leader and role model for a broad range of teachers across career stages and/or disciplines.

How to Apply

The deadline for applications is February 15 of the award year.   Priority will be given to individuals who have not received the award in the past. STP reserves the right not to make an award if the STP Mentorship of Teachers Award Committee believes no applicant is qualified in a particular year. 

A complete application consists of the following:

• A two-page cover letter highlighting the applicant’s contributions to various forms of mentorship
• A full CV
• Three letters of support, including at least one from a teacher who has benefited from the applicant’s mentorship
• A letter of support from the applicant’s supervisor (e.g., department chair, dean, program director, or provost)

All application materials must elaborate on perspectives and values added through their mentorship, and letters of support need to complement the applicant’s contribution. 

For further instructions on how to apply, click here (requires login).

If you have questions, please email the Chair of the Mentorship Award Committee

Mentorship Award Committee