H&S recognizes Paul Sniderman with inaugural faculty mentorship award
Sniderman, a political science professor, was nominated for the award by his colleagues in recognition of the wisdom he shares with others, his scholarly values, and his high standard of professional ethics.
Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences has named Paul Sniderman as the first recipient of its Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring Faculty.
The new annual award, which comes with a $1,000 prize, recognizes faculty who have gone above and beyond their expected responsibilities in mentoring another faculty member or lecturer.
In addition to creating a program that assigns a teaching mentor to every assistant professor, the school’s leadership team felt it was important to publicly recognize faculty who mentor others in both research and teaching, said Debra Satz, the Vernon R. and Lysbeth Warren Anderson Dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences.
“Mentoring colleagues has largely been invisible work. But this work of learning from one another is crucial,” Satz said. “Sniderman was singled out by his colleagues for his outsized role in shaping their careers.”
Sniderman, the Fairleigh S. Dickinson, Jr. Professor in Public Policy and professor in the Department of Political Science, said that mentoring is mutually beneficial.
“How better to learn from others than to mentor them?” he said. “It gets you into a larger, richer intellectual world than just your own.”
The colleagues who nominated Sniderman for the award cited many examples of his intelligence and generosity.
Stephen Haber, the A.A. and Jeanne Welch Milligan Professor and professor of political science and of history, described Sniderman as having uncommon wisdom, exemplary scholarly values, and an “unshakeable moral compass.”
Department Chair Michael Tomz credited Sniderman with helping make the department the top program in the nation and having a widespread influence on both students and faculty.
“I have worked at Stanford for nearly 25 years. During that time, Paul has been an extraordinary mentor and role model for practically every member of the department, including me,” wrote Tomz, who is also the William Bennett Munro Professor in Political Science. “It is no exaggeration to say that Paul has transformed my research, teaching, and leadership.”
The new award will honor up to three faculty members annually. More information on the award and nomination process is available on the H&S dean’s awards web page.
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