Durham, NC - Duke sociology professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva recalled the time in 1984 when he scored a 98 on a statistics exam. The professor wrote "excellent" on the exam in red ink, which at first glance would appear to be a compliment.

But Bonilla-Silva noticed that two white classmates had scored a 100, and their perfect grades came with no additional praise.

The implied message, he said, was that scoring a 98 was exceptional for him because he's black and Hispanic, but not for the white students.

Racism, Bonilla-Silva said, is just as pervasive in academia as it is in society. It's not as blatant as it once was and sometimes it's even disguised as a compliment as it was for him in 1984. But, he said, negative assumptions are constantly being made about international students and students of color, and part of his job as a mentor is to help them overcome the obstacles they will face due to their race, their ethnicity, or their nationality.

"He has created a safe space for us to come and discuss our own issues and frustrations," said one of his doctoral students. "His willingness to expose his own vulnerability and discuss the difficulties he faced in graduate school and academia are what make professor Bonilla-Silva unlike any other."

Great Teachers

Aaron Thornburg, a doctoral candidate in cultural anthropology, is considered by faculty to be "a model of dedicated, innovative teaching" during his time at Duke" who is "beloved by his students" and who is "a friendly, energetic, smart teacher who commits great thought and energy to his teaching." Read more about Aaron here.

Allison Wisecup's students enthusiastically respond to her teaching style, saying that "the content is interesting and the professor is very passionate and engaged, making it fun" to listen to her, noting that "her lectures always kept me enticed." Wisecup is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology. Read more about Allison here.

Bonilla-Silva is one of three professors to receive the 2011 Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring. The other two are Paula D. McClain, professor of political science, and Kristine Stiles, France Family Professor of Art, Art History and Visual Studies.

(Two graduate students, Kaoru Ikouma of civil & environmental engineering and Terry Jackson of genetics and genomics, were honored with student awards for excellence in mentoring.  For more, see below.)

The Graduate School initiated the award in 2004 to acknowledge those who consistently help students navigate the rigors of graduate school. It's designed to promote a culture of mentoring, which in turn leads to more engaged students who are more likely to both graduate and excel in the job market.

How that happens takes myriad forms. McClain, for example, was commended for including students in the Durham Pilot Project, a long-term assessment of tensions between blacks, whites and an emerging Latino population in the South. She "did not use the graduate students on that project simply to provide grunt work," one student said. "She gave us the opportunity to be collaborators and co-authors."

Stiles received high marks for bringing out the best in her students. She "exhibited great enthusiasm for my ideas and fostered my intellectual growth with continuous support," one student said, "meeting with me on a regular basis, always answering my emails and encouraging me to ask questions and seek out her help."

The road to a Ph.D. is rife with pitfalls. "This is not easy," McClain said. "There are lots of points where one can stumble, whether it's in graduate school or as an assistant professor. There are certain periods where students need a lot of support."

All three - McClain, Bonilla-Silva and Stiles - made it very clear that they do everything they can to make sure that when their students stumble they do not fall. As Stiles put it, "I am a very attentive adviser, and I am always available to my students." But, she noted, "I am also very demanding."

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Students are called upon to be mentors as well, aiding other students navigate aspects of graduate school life.  Each year the Graduate School honors two students for their mentoring efforts. 

Kaoru Ikuma is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Kaoru's nominators appreciate the personal qualities she exhibits that demonstrate her concern for others and which extend from the individual to the entire department, as one observes, "Kaoru is an excellent mentor because she understands the patience and empathy required to be a good teacher.

Read more about Kaoru here.

Terry Jackson is a doctoral candidate in the University Program in Genetics and Genomics. Terry's collaborative nature and his ability to connect with others are seen by his nominators as among his strongest assets, who note that "Terry's greatest strength is his ability to create strong connections with those around him." They say that he is "one of those people that you can immediately connect with" and that he "truly cherishes engaging in the development of his fellow students."

Read more about Terry here.