Fiona M. Doyle
Fiona M. Doyle

Teaching is an incredibly important part of Berkeley’s academic landscape, and this is the time of year when a variety of awards and ceremonies recognize exceptional accomplishments in teaching and mentoring.

On April 9, the Graduate Division and the Graduate Assembly honored the faculty recipients of the 2015 Carol D. Soc Distinguished Graduate Student Mentoring Awards and the 2015 Faculty Mentor Awards. The coverage of this occasion here in this edition of GradNews conveys the professionalism and dedication of the awardees, and the enthusiasm of their students.

Coming soon — maybe to a classroom near you — is the annual bestowal of the Faculty Award for Outstanding Mentorship of GSIs. Faculty recipients will be ‘ambushed’ in their classrooms by a ‘surprise patrol’ of their own GSIs announcing the honor – an occasion of delight for everyone involved.

On April 21, faculty recipients of the prestigious 2015 Distinguished Teaching Award will be honored by the Academic Senate’s Committee on Teaching. All are invited to attend the ceremony, which will be inspiring, and guaranteed to provide great ideas for effective teaching.

On May 5, the Outstanding GSI Award ceremony and, on May 13, the Outstanding Teaching Effectiveness Award ceremony will be hosted by the GSI Teaching & Resource Center — a Graduate Division unit familiar to all graduate student instructors. Both awards give campus-wide recognition to excellence in teaching by graduate students who provide crucial links between undergraduates and faculty. I look forward to seeing many of you there.

At Berkeley, we strive to support the hard work, talent, and dedication brought by our communities of teachers, scholars, and mentors at all levels. Together, we create a dynamic intellectual and productive community that is, I believe, truly unique.

Fiat Lux! Go Bears!

Fiona M. Doyle
Dean of the Graduate Division
Donald H. McLaughlin Professor of Mineral Engineering