Earth Science’s Anderson receives Presidential Mentoring Award

Earth Science’s Anderson receives Presidential Mentoring Award

BY JADE BOYD
Rice News staff

If adversity forms strong bonds, then it’s no surprise that John Anderson has a special connection with most of his students. Many of them spend several weeks at sea with Anderson, often in subzero temperatures.

Anderson has taken students on more than 20 scientific cruises in the Antarctic Ocean and countless more in the Gulf of Mexico. But to hear his students tell it, little things that Anderson does in the lab, around the office and at scientific meetings mean just as much or more than experiences at sea.

Anderson, the W. Maurice Ewing Chair in Oceanography, is winner of the 2004 Presidential Award for Mentoring, a faculty award established in 2003 by Rice President Malcolm Gillis to recognize outstanding achievement in mentoring students. The award includes a $2,000 prize.

Anderson said he was both surprised and honored to receive the award.

“I’ve always enjoyed working with students,” Anderson said. “In fact, it’s one of the most rewarding aspects of being a professor.”

One of Anderson’s students nominated him for the award, and current and former students responded with a flood of letters and e-mails in support. Some of their comments included:

• “When he gives a talk in the department or at a national meeting, he never refers to his work; it is always the work of his students,” said Ph.D. student David Heroy.

• “I credit the NSF ‘Presidential Early Career Award’ I received in 2001 to the mentoring (both pre- and postgraduation) I received from John Anderson,” said Philip Bart, associate professor of geology and geophysics at Louisiana State University.

• “There is often a line outside his door, but he always seems to make time to see each person,” said Julia Smith Wellner, a postdoctoral researcher and former Ph.D. student.

• “As a student, I just took (John’s) equal and fair treatment of women for granted,” said Jill Singer, professor of earth sciences at Buffalo State College. “[Since leaving Rice], I have come to respect John even more for entrusting me with so much responsibility and never showing deferential treatment based on gender.”

• “John first took me in as a freshman with a grand total of two weeks of GEO 101 under my belt,” said Craig Meyer, one of Anderson’s former undergraduate researchers. “Even though I had little experience, he took the time to develop a project that was both interesting and useful to the overall field — iceberg scars in Antarctica.”

The Presidential Award for Mentoring is given annually to a faculty member who has demonstrated a commitment to mentoring students, either graduate or undergraduate. Particular emphasis is given to candidates who have promoted diversity by mentoring women and underrepresented minorities.

Anderson estimates that more than half of his graduate students have been women or underrepresented minorities. Part of that is by design — he said he makes a special effort to recruit minorities — but students are just as likely to ask to join his group after talking with their peers.

“I think it means a lot to minority students to come to campus for visits and to see other minority students working in the lab,” Anderson said.