2016 AAG Susan Hardwick Excellence in Mentoring Award: Kenneth Foote
The AAG bestows an annual award recognizing an individual geographer, group, or department, who demonstrates extraordinary leadership in building supportive academic and professional environments and in guiding the academic or professional growth of their students and junior colleagues.
The Award was launched last year, and its inaugural awardee was the late Susan Hardwick. It has since been renamed in her honor and memory.
Dr. Kenneth E. Foote has been selected for this Award in recognition of his career-long dedication to not only being a mentor, but to helping others be successful mentors themselves.
His co-leadership in the AAG’s Enhancing Departments and Graduate Education (EDGE) and resultant books and articles uncovered and disseminated effective means of mentoring graduate students. His launch, organization, and dedicated hosting of the Graduate Faculty Development Alliance (GFDA) workshops (2002 – 2015) and of the Department Leadership workshops (2010 – 2015) have included sessions on working with and mentoring graduate students, as well as approaches to mentoring junior faculty.
Foote has worked diligently to mentor department chairs and other leaders, and he has tirelessly promoted and encouraged colleagues along their career paths. He constantly shows and acts upon his desire to transform the academy through mutually supportive environments for faculty and students of all backgrounds.
It is for these and so many more reasons that we are pleased to recognize Dr. Kenneth E. Foote as the AAG’s 2016 Susan Hardwick Excellence in Mentoring Awardee.
