Scime named recipient of WVU’s Distinction in Graduate Research Mentoring award
Earl Scime, Oleg Jefimenko Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Director of the School of Mathematical and Data Sciences, Director, Center for KINETIC Plasma Physics at West Virginia University, has been named the recipient of the Faculty Award for Distinction in Graduate Research Mentoring.
Jointly sponsored by the Office of Graduate Education and Life and the Research Office, the award was created in the 2018-2019 academic year to honor faculty who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the mentorship of graduate students.
“The criteria for this award includes 12 examples of how one might be an excellent mentor,” said Associate Vice President for Creative and Scholarly Activities Melanie Page, who coordinated the selection committee. “Each year the competition for this award is stiffer and stiffer – we have some really excellent graduate mentors here at WVU. What sets the finalists apart is their absolute commitment to creating the simultaneously most challenging and most supportive space they can for students. Dr. Scime spends hours each week personally present in the lab to make sure that the students get both of those needs met and remains their mentor and becomes their friend long after they graduate.”
In his career, Scime has mentored over two dozen PhD students and MS students and ten postdocs and is currently supervising 8 PhD students.
Scime says his mentoring philosophy and approach towards mentoring were shaped partially by his life experiences of being a first generation college student and also not receiving or seeing the type of mentoring that he thought was possible. He wanted to do things “differently” and create a lab in which all members were valued and could reach beyond what they thought possible. Scime says “I wanted to build a world class research and teaching program that was fundamentally a good place to work and to study. A program that was encouraging to students and faculty, that provided opportunity for everyone –no matter what their background, and that sought to make a difference in the world”.
According to his former students and current colleagues, he has done just that. One of his letters of recommendation from a student summed it up this way: “It is with great enthusiasm I write this letter supporting Dr.Earl Scime’s nomination …I believe my success is direct evidence of Dr. Scime’s mentorship. Without him as my graduate advisor, I know that I would in no way have had the career I have enjoyed.” Another student stated that “ Earl works to create an inclusive environment for students that are in underrepresented groups in physics”. His colleague stated that “I am relishing the opportunity to share the ways that Prof. Earl Scime has distinguished himself as a mentor to graduate students at WVU over the past 25 years. It is hard to overstate how impactful Earl has been on the lives of his graduate students. He has an excellent record of mentorship and job placement, and his former graduate students have reached great heights in their careers.”
The Distinction in Graduate Research Mentoring Award, which the University awards annually, requires nomination from current and former graduate students, faculty, or staff. The selection committee reviews nominations and solicits a full application from semi-finalists. Finalists are identified from the following disciplinary categories: Physical Sciences and Technology, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Biosciences and Health Sciences, and Humanities and the Arts.
In addition to Scime, who was the Physical Sciences and Technology finalist, the other finalists for 2020-2021 were:
· Alan Goodboy, Communication Studies (Behavioral and Social Sciences)
· Mary Ann Samyn, (Humanities and the Arts)
· Ranjita Misra, (Biosciences and Health Sciences)
Scime will receive a $5,000 honorarium and will be honored by President Gee and Provost Reed at the annual Faculty and Staff Awards Celebration.