By Laurel White
A leader in the School of Education has been honored for her exemplary mentorship of scholars across campus by the University of Wisconsin Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR).
Dorothy Farrar-Edwards, the School of Education’s associate dean for research and professor in the Department of Kinesiology, was selected as an inaugural recipient of the ICTR Faculty Mentorship Award. According to ICTR, the award aims to recognize faculty who have “contributed to the career and personal growth of clinical and translational research faculty through intentional, culturally responsive, evidence-based mentorship practices.”
Award winners were selected by a panel of six faculty from across campus. In the award letter, ICTR executive director Allan Brasier and co-director Elizabeth Burnside commended Farrar-Edwards for her commitment to helping other scholars grow and flourish.
“The committee was impressed by your longstanding record of faculty mentorship both locally and nationally, dedication to continuous improvement, and advocacy for your mentees,” Brasier and Burnside wrote.
They also noted the crucial role of mentorship in faculty success, satisfaction, retention, and diversity.
Farrar-Edwards was nominated for the honor by her Department of Kinesiology colleagues Elizabeth Larson, an associate professor, Beth Fields, an assistant professor, and Janet Branchaw, an associate professor.
ICTR, a campuswide organization that supports research that directly benefits human health, offers a wide range of training, support, and other research infrastructure resources to researchers. That includes grant funding for projects, help with participant recruitment, access to data management tools, government compliance support, writing workshops, and mentorship opportunities. The School of Education became an official ICTR partner earlier this year.
Farrar-Edwards also holds faculty appointments in the Departments of Medicine and Neurology at the School of Medicine and Public Health. Her research focuses on quality of life and well-being in older adults, primarily by examining the impact of cognitive and physical impairment on performance of complex activities of everyday life.