Vice Provost Rebecca Stoltzfus presented Cornell faculty members Austin Bunn, Ella Maria Diaz, Michael Goldstein and Irby Lovette with 2017 Kendall S. Carpenter Memorial Advising Awards at a May 27 trustee-faculty dinner.
Bunn, associate professor in the Department of Performing and Media Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences, teaches screenwriting and is co-author of the 2013 film, “Kill Your Darlings.” He has created a “Professional Directions” interview series and other resources to help students succeed and is described as “thoughtful, generous, enthusiastic and indefatigable in imparting to [PMA] students not only the tools, skills, and resources but also the emotional support and confidence-boosting they need to thrive.”
Diaz, assistant professor in the Department of English and the Latina/o Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences, encourages and facilitates interaction between her students with authors, artists and audiences, and with people involved in Diaz’s own scholarship, projects and communities. Her students report she invests time in them, inspires, motivates and shows she believes in their potential. Diaz has been particularly supportive mentoring women of color and students with undocumented or DACA legal status.
Goldstein, associate professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, takes time to help students, including undergraduate researchers and honors thesis students in his lab, understand how to approach graduate and professional school applications in addition to advising on course selection and research. One student wrote, “Mike has never been too busy to write a letter or pick up a phone call from a potential employer.” Goldstein is also readily available to students struggling with mental health needs, ensuring they get counseling and support.
Lovette, professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is described as an exceptional adviser who is deeply invested in undergraduate education. One student wrote: “[Lovette] is a brilliant, hard-working and caring mentor … when it came to courses but also in relation to my future goals and aspirations. … He has given me the encouragement to learn and achieve things that I may not have, had he not been part of my education.” Of the many undergraduates who have worked on research projects in his lab, more than 30 have published their research in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Carpenter award recipients receive $5,000 each. The awards, which underscore the importance of undergraduate advising, were established by emeritus trustee Stephen Ashley ’62, MBA ’64, to honor his adviser, the late Professor Kendall S. Carpenter, who taught business management from 1954 to 1967.
This story also appeared in the Cornell Chronicle.
