Outstanding Mentor Award

Most of our Center’s efforts in global health involve large transdisciplinary teams. But we also appreciate that individual and small-team efforts and achievements are impactful in their own and special ways and should be recognized.

Our biennial book award recognizes outstanding scholarly reflection and dissemination that supports our goals of putting people first in global health solutions. Our outstanding mentor award similarly recognizes the importance of committed and careful one on one mentoring to the training the next generation of global health experts.

CGH Book Award

The Center for Global Health at Arizona State University has a mission to put people first in understanding and addressing major, complex health challenges. Sustainable solutions will need to address not just the medical, but also the complexly interrelated social, cultural, political, ecological, and economic challenges we face in a globalized era. We also need research in global health to identify and manage the health challenges that communities identify priorities. The biennial CGH Book Award highlights exemplary scholarly work, published in book form, that places people first in our understanding of global and/or local health challenges.

Learn more about the book award:

Nomination and submission criteria

Nominations Due: May 31, 2025

Winner Announced: Fall 2025

Eligibility

The book must have been published within five years of the nomination (e.g., published in 2020 or more recently for an award given out in 2025).
Books may be singled-authored, multi-authored, or edited and first edition (unless substantial revisions have been made since the prior edition.
Textbooks are eligible.
Books by authors based in LMIC are encouraged.
Books may be in any language, but preferably available in translation to English or Spanish (although this is not a firm requirement).
Global health is defined broadly, and authors can write in other domains with health-related implications.

Nomination Process

The Nominator must be affiliated in some manner with either ASU (including alumni) or CGH. The Nominee does not require any ASU or CGH affiliation and can be from any institution or an independent researcher.
Nominations are sent directly to CGH@asu.edu by the due date.
The Nominator prepares a letter of nomination that describes the book’s contributions and includes an explanation of how the book “places people first” and the implications of the book for improving global health (broadly defined). Please also attach any relevant reviews of the book to the nomination.
The book award competition is held every other year, with nominations and awards in odd-numbered years.
Book nominations are due by May 31.

Selection Process

The CGH program coordinator will contact the author/publisher to request a digital copy of the book.
Selection is made by a committee of core CGH faculty, with the following criteria:
The general scholarly contributions of the book.
The success of “putting people first” in how the research and/or the publication was designed and executed.
Implication for and innovations relevant to improving human wellbeing.
Readability.

Award

A plaque/or plaques will be given to the author(s)/editor(s).
A $1000 honorarium will be made available to the recipient. In the case of multi-authored books, the honorarium will be divided.
The book will be highlighted on the CGH website.

The Center for Global Health recognizes the value of sustained, high-quality, impactful mentoring relationships. Mentors can have life-changing effects on students, particularly when they invest significant time and energy in these relationships. Mentorship is essential for professional development and career advancement in the broad field of global health.

The Outstanding Mentor Award recognizes current ASU faculty or staff who have built substantive, meaningful connections with ASU undergraduate students, graduate students, and/or postdoctoral fellows engaged in global health degrees or Center for Global Health outreach and/or research activities by offering exemplary mentorship. Students and postdoctoral researchers nominate our distinguished awardees.

Learn more about our award:

Past awardees

2023 | Robin Nelson
Associate Professor
School of Human Evolution and Social Change

2022 | Meskerem Glegziabher
Clinical Assistant Professor
School of Human Evolution and Social Change

2021 | Maria Cruz-Torres
Associate Professor
School of Transborder Studies

2020 | Megan Jehn
Associate Professor
School of Human Evolution and Social Change

2019 | Emir Estrada
Associate Professor
School of Human Evolution and Social Change

2018 | Ersula Ore
Professor
School of Social Transformation

2017 | Cindi SturtzSreetharan
Associate Professor
School of Human Evolution and Social Change

Nomination and submission criteria

Who can nominate?

Any current or former undergraduate student, graduate student, or postdoctoral researcher enrolled in global health degrees and/or engaged in the Center’s research programs can nominate a mentor for this award. Keep in mind mentoring takes many forms, but typically is sustained over time as the mentee’s career grows and transitions, such as training of undergraduate or graduate students, high school students transitioning to university, or helping emerging professionals as they move beyond the university.

Nomination Process

The nomination is in the form of a letter to the committee, written by the mentee, explaining how the nominee meets the criteria of the award (maximum 2 pages) along with the nominee’s current CV. Additional materials supporting the nomination are permitted, provided as supplementary materials. Effective mentee letters will give specific examples of goals attained, projects completed, promotions, grants or awards earned, obstacles overcome, and lessons learned. The nominated candidates may then be contacted and asked to provide additional materials, including the general details of their student mentoring activities. Please feel free to contact CGH Director Amber Wutich (amber.wutich@asu.edu) or CGH Founding Director Alex Brewis (alex.brewis@asu.edu) if you have any questions.

Criteria for granting the award

A demonstrated commitment to fostering the intellectual, creative, scholarly and professional growth of mentees
Evidence of quality outcomes from professional mentoring relationships, e.g., career growth or personal development for mentees
Demonstrated valued behavior, attitudes and/or skills that aid the mentees in achieving competence, confidence and a clear professional identity
Evidence of commitment to the goals of advancing a diverse global health workforce.
Preference is given to mentorship that engages with global health issues relevant to the Center’s goals (e.g., health disparities, mental health, sustainability, environmental health/justice, water and food insecurity, structural violence, gender equity, cultural issues, methodological innovation etc.)

Award

A plaque/or plaques will be given to the author(s)/editor(s).
A $1000 honorarium will be made available to the recipient. The awardee will receive $1,000 and a plaque commemorating this award.

Nomination

Nomination should be submitted no later than 11/27 each year. The award should be announced by 12/13 each year, and we plan an event honoring the awardee for the spring. Please send nominations to: Miranda Bellah, CGH Program Coordinator, at mjbellah@asu.edu.