Professor Keith Clarke has been selected as one of three recipients of the 2014/15 UCSB Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award. The award was initiated in 2005/06 in recognition of UCSB faculty whose mentoring is considered exemplary, and Professor Clarke is the fourth faculty member of the Department of Geography to have been given it (Reg Golledge received the award in 2005/06, Dar Roberts received it in 2007/08 and Rick Church received it in 2012/13).
To quote the Academic Senate web site, “Mentoring graduate students is a vital component of our mission as a research university; it includes training graduate students for careers in research and teaching and preparing them to meet the highest professional and ethical standards as scholars and educators. The Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award recognizes the contributions of faculty whose mentoring is considered exemplary.”
Ram Seshadri, Professor of Materials, Chemistry, and Biochemistry, presented the award to Keith on April 9, 2015. According to Professor Seshadri, the award is usually presented as a surprise while the recipient is teaching class. However, Keith is teaching an online class this quarter, so Ram, along with Geography staff and graduate students, surprised Keith in his office.
The citation by Howard Giles, Chair of the Committee on Outstanding Graduate Mentor Awards, reads: “Dear Keith, Congratulations! The Committee on Outstanding Graduate Mentor Awards is pleased to inform you that you have been named a recipient of the 2014-15 Academic Senate Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award. The Academic Senate will honor your achievement at the Faculty Legislature meeting on Thursday, April23. There will be a reception in the University Center Harbor Room at 3:00 pm, immediately followed by the meeting at 3:3opm. All recipients of the Distinguished Teaching Award, Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award, and Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award will be honored. I hope that you will be able to attend this event. Once again, congratulations on receiving this distinct honor in recognition of the outstanding quality of your mentoring.”
The UCSB Academic Senate announced the award as follows:
Professor Keith Clarke has served on the faculty of the Department of Geography since 1996. Since coming to UCSB, he has served on a total of 54 Ph.D. committees, including 14 as chair and dozens more Master’s committees (10 as chair). He is praised not only for the large volume of graduate students he has mentored, but also for the exceptional quality of his mentoring. Professor Clarke has also been very successful in placing many of his graduates, and his advisees have gone to work at a wide range of sites, including the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Oracle, and academic positions at a number of prestigious universities around the world.
Professor Clarke’s students attest that he is not only a renowned geographer but also a dedicated “advisor and role model.” He is noted for his “enthusiasm for students” and one writes that he “gets excited about my ideas with me.” He “not only teaches but builds self-confidence in his students.” He receives particular praise from his international students for providing extra support for their transition here. And a former student of his who now holds an associate professor appointment states, “Keith was an absolutely outstanding mentor to me, not only in the past when I was in graduate school, but even today, eight years after graduating.”
Finally, the chair of his department writes, “When Professor Keith Clarke first interviewed at UCSB, the answer he gave me when asked why he was applying was that he wanted better access to higher quality graduate students than were available at Clark University, where he was a professor for 14 years. He has most certainly achieved this goal, and done it well. He is well deserving of this award.” For his dedication and exemplary mentorship of graduate students Keith Clarke is awarded an Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award. Congratulations!
