Nominations open for Vic Neufeld Mentorship Award

Vic Neufeld Mentorship Award in Global Health ResearchCCGHR

This is a call for nominations for the Vic Neufeld Mentorship Award in Global Health Research. The award will be presented at the CCGHR Annual General Meeting held during the Canadian Conference on Global Health 2015.

Nominations will be accepted until 5:00pm EST, October 23, 2015.

Award Description

This award is intended to recognize those who have provided exemplary mentorship to new and developing global health researchers.  By mentorship we mean a reciprocal, one-to-one relationship that is built between a more experienced and less experienced person or small group, pursued for purposes of scholarly, professional, and personal development. Building networks and fostering partnerships can also involve a significant amount of mentoring.  In global health research, because it spans disciplines and places, mentorship is increasingly recognized as critical to the development of new generations of scholars.

This award was approved by the CCGHR Board in 2014, and is named in honor of Dr. Vic Neufeld, the Coalition’s founding National Coordinator. Throughout his global health career as clinician, teacher, researcher and administrator, Vic Neufeld has been an outstanding mentor and showed exceptional leadership in the development of mentorship opportunities and structures for global health researchers worldwide.

The award is adjudicated annually by a subcommittee of the CCGHR Board, and announced at the CCGHR Annual General Meeting, held at the Canadian Conference on Global Health each year.

Criteria

To submit a nomination:

  • The person nominating the candidate must be either:
    • a current mentee of the candidate who has been involved in a mentoring relationship with the candidate for a minimum of one year, or
    • a previous mentee, who was mentored by the candidate for a minimum of one year, or
    • a colleague who is knowledgeable of the candidate’s dedication to mentoring service.

To qualify as a candidate for the Vic Neufeld Mentorship Award in Global Health Research the individual must have shown commitment to global health research mentorship over an extended period of time (likely more than five years). Mentorship could occur within a number of contexts including, for example, academic, government, NGO or civil society.

Nominees must have evidence of superb performance in mentoring, including for example, some of the following:

  • Accessibility and commitment to “be there”.
  • Excellent guidance of individual research and/or creative projects.
  • Willingness to assist mentees in pursuit of their stated goals, actively guiding development of teaching skills, research and pursuit of professional goals, clearly articulating expectations.
  • Holding their mentee to high standards, encouraging and helping them establish their own records of scholarly activity or performance, evidence of supporting mentee’s participation in events (e.g., meetings, conferences, committees, speaking engagements).
  • Ability to involve their mentees in “networking” and partnership building activities with other professionals.
  • Evidence of mentees completing defined projects (such as successful competition for grants, completion of publications, meeting promotional goals) in a timely manner.

The award will be based on the following criteria:

  • A demonstrated commitment to fostering the intellectual, creative, scholarly and professional growth of their mentees;
  • Evidence of sustained commitment to professional mentoring relationships that result in career growth or personal development for mentees;
  • Demonstrated valued behavior, attitudes, and/or skills that aid the mentees in achieving competence, confidence and a clear professional identity;
  • Candidates may hold the award more than once, but not within a five-year period.

Nomination Process

The nomination must be provided in a single pdf document submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 23, 2015 to Roberta Lloyd (ccghr@ccghr.ca) 

The nomination should include examples, such as:

  • A testimonial of what your mentor has meant to you.
  • Descriptions of specific behaviors and their significance.
  • Specific examples of mentoring interactions.
  • Descriptions of accomplishments that you directly credit to the influence of the nominated mentor.
  • A statement providing a simple explanation of your work that is directly or indirectly influenced by the mentorship, dating from the mentorship relationship.
  • Mentees are strongly encouraged to give specific examples of goals they attained, projects completed, promotions, grants or awards earned, obstacles overcome, lessons learned in addition to anything else that they feel is attributable to the mentoring relationship. A CV could be provided.

Letters of Support

Although not mandatory, those making nominations are encouraged to ask for up to three additional letters or statements of support from professional colleague(s) and/or the candidate’s past or present mentees (individuals who were/are mentored).

Review Committee

Nominations will be reviewed and selected by the Vic Neufeld Mentorship Award in Global Health Research Committee. The committee comprises members from various professional levels and disciplinary areas. From 2016 onwards, the committee will also include past recipients of the Mentoring Award.

Please email ccghr@ccghr.ca with any questions and to make your nominations today!