Stephanie Danette Preston, associate dean for graduate educational equity at Pennsylvania State University, received one of two national Faculty Mentor of the Year awards earlier this month at the annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring  Oct. 29-Nov. 3 in New Orleans. 

The Institute is the nation’s largest annual gathering of underrepresented doctoral students and college faculty members of color.

Preston was nominated by Sloan Foundation student Cierra Chandler, an engineering doctoral candidate at Penn State. A mentee of Preston’s since 2019, Chandler said Preston has supported numerous graduate students in their search for funding and support and “has been instrumental in my growth as a leader.”

“Dr. Preston’s commitment has not been limited to her official responsibilities,” Chandler said. “She selflessly offers her time and personal resources to ensure her students are okay, no matter how busy she is. I know I am just one of hundreds, if not thousands, of students whose lives and careers she has significantly impacted.”

Now in its 31st year, the Institute, hosted by the SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program, gives the issue of faculty diversity a national focus and provides scholars from underrepresented groups with the strategies necessary to survive the rigors of graduate school, earn the doctoral degree and succeed as members of the professoriate.

Contact: Janita Poe, SREB News Manager, at Janita.Poe@sreb.org or 404-879-5516, ext. 216

The Southern Regional Education Board works with states, districts and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. An interstate compact and a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region.