The IU Indianapolis Graduate Mentoring Center Outstanding Mentor of the Year Award is given to encourage and recognize outstanding mentoring of graduate and professional students and identify best practices for graduate mentoring at IU Indianapolis.
Nominees must be current or retired graduate faculty at IU Indianapolis and all nominations must be completed by midnight February 15, 2025. The award will be presented during the Elite 50 celebration dinner on April 7, 2025.
The recipient of the 2024 IUPUI Outstanding Graduate and Professional Student Mentor award is Dr. Jennifer Embree (Jeni), Chief Wellness Officer, Clinical Professor of Nursing, and Clinical Nurse Specialist at IU School of Nursing. Dr. Embree currently leads the Master of Science in Nursing Leadership and Health System’s Track at IU School of Nursing. Board certified in nursing leadership and as a critical care clinical nurse specialist, Dr. Embree teaches writing for publication, leadership, informatics, and strategy, finance, and human resources in the DNP Executive Leadership, Population Health, and MSN Leadership in Health Systems’ Programs.
Dr. Embree is also a Research Scientist at Eskenazi Health.
Dr. Embree’s current research focuses on quality of nursing work life, safe staffing, developing faculty and staff wellness, nurse coaching for advocacy and policy, Professional Identity in Nursing, and enhancing a civil work environment. Dr. Embree is passionate about wellness programs and initiatives she facilitates to holistically support nursing faculty, staff, and student wellbeing at the intersection with diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging. She facilitates the development of nurse leaders who inspire cultural change in health care organizations.
In her nomination application, students said the following:
“Dr. Embree is an outstanding mentor due to her exceptional dedication, personalized guidance, and unwavering commitment to nurturing the professional growth of her students. Her mentorship transcends traditional academic boundaries, as she invests deeply in the holistic development of each individual.”
“Dr. Embree is passionate about what she does. She inspires passion in her students and creates excitement when we are feeling beaten down, burnt out or feel like giving up. Dr. Embree encourages all of us to reach our maximum potential which has definitely fostered talent within the nursing profession that otherwise may not have pursued a higher nursing degree.”
The recipient of the 2023 IUPUI Outstanding Graduate and Professional Student Mentor award is Dr. Katrenia Reed- Hughes (Dr. K), Assistant Professor of Organizational Leadership in the Department of Technology Leadership and Communication at the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology. Dr. Reed-Hughes is a founding member of the Midwest Experiences in Mentoring Excellence (MEME) collaborative, and a Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) trained facilitator. Dr. Reed-Hughes’ research focuses on culturally responsive mentoring, and project management as career trajectory catalyst for marginalized population workforce development. As a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) she has been invited to present internationally on culturally responsive mentoring, project management self-efficacy, and building bridges between higher education and industry with intentional relationship-based communities. Dr. Reed-Hughes’ lived experience growing up in a sharecropper village in rural southeast Missouri affords her a unique perspective on building resilience to help sustain people during difficult times. Whether functioning in the role of mentor, advocate, educator, scholar or colleague, her primary motivation remains constant. She meets people where they are to help them articulate and realize their dreams. Dr. Reed-Hughes’ view of learning to successfully address life’s challenges is inspired by Nelson Mandela’s words, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
The recipient of the 2022 IUPUI Outstanding Graduate and Professional Student Mentor award was Professor Genevieve G. Shaker, Associate Professor of Philanthropic Studies at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and Adjunct Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. Professor Shaker’s research focuses on fundraising and fundraisers, workplace philanthropy, philanthropy education, and higher education advancement—including faculty work and the public good as well as philanthropic practices within higher education.
Her nominations spoke of her personalized mentoring, collaborative nature, and constructive feedback. One nominator wrote: “She seeks to build a personal relationship based on her genuine commitment to the person, their interests and their competence. She works on developing new skills and she especially seeks to demonstrate that continual efforts are what pay off. Every setback is a learning point, every attempt, even if it is not successful, helps to define objectives more clearly. She sees work as a collaborative effort.”
