Bruce Mandt Wins Assistant and Associate Dean’s Leadership Award
CGS Contact: Kelley Karnes
602-791-8278 / kkarnes@cgs.nche.edu
PDF Version of Press Release
Washington, DC – Bruce Mandt, Graduate School Associate Dean at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (CU AMC), received the Assistant and Associate Dean’s Leadership Award today during an award ceremony at the Council of Graduate Schools’ (CGS) 64th Annual Meeting in St. Louis, Missouri.
The award was created by the CGS Board of Directors to recognize individuals who have shown exemplary commitments to graduate education. Mandt has made significant contributions to the Graduate School at CU AMC since 2016, beginning as the Graduate School Postdoctoral Office Director and progressing to Associate Dean in 2023.
His leadership has had a lasting impact on students and postdoctoral fellows, especially through his work in career development. Mandt created and developed the highly successful Career Development Office (CDO), offering workshops, seminars and individual coaching, and led the creation of the Career Exploration Research (iCERch) program, which has significantly boosted participants’ confidence and career preparedness.
He also formed strong partnerships at local, state, and national levels, serving as Vice Chair of GradCO and co-chairing the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Research, Education and Training. His commitment to enhancing research training is demonstrated by initiatives like the Mentoring Academy and his advocacy for improved research trainee mentorship standards through the Appropriate Treatment of Research Trainees, or AToRT document.
Jennifer Richer, Dean of the Graduate School at CU AMC, celebrated her colleague’s dedication to career development and support for PhD students.
“Over the years I have witnessed Dr. Mandt’s leadership with students and postdoctoral fellows at our institution. When he was the Director of the Career Development and Postdoctoral Fellow Office, I saw firsthand how the trainees benefited from his commitment and the impact that he has on the quality of the training environment on our campus,” Richer said. “His creativity in program development has led to later stage PhD students’ ability to establish professional networks and have more confidence in career transitions. Dr. Mandt epitomizes the qualities set forth in the CGS 2024 Assistant and Associate Deans Leadership Award and he is highly deserving of the recognition that this honor bestows.”
Susan Carvalho, CGS committee chair and Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Alabama, also celebrated Mandt’s achievements.
“The committee was most impressed with Dr. Mandt’s ability to forge partnerships within his institution, across his state, and nationally, to broaden graduate and postdoc career development skills,” Carvalho said. “His success in building a mentoring academy on his campus, and in creating opportunities for career exploration, has not only had a significant impact on his students and faculty, but offers an inspiring model for the mentorship field across all universities.”
Assistant and Associate Dean Leadership Award nominees must demonstrate creativity and innovation in response to institutional challenges and/or limited budgets or resources. They must also demonstrate evidence of building partnerships both internal and external to the graduate school; identifying and obtaining resources, both internal and external to the graduate school; effectively advocating on behalf of graduate education; fostering inclusiveness in the graduate community; and engaging diverse student voices.
Nominees for the award must be a current assistant or associate-level dean at a CGS member institution (Regular or Associate) with primary administrative responsibility in graduate education. The winner receives a $1,500 honorarium and is invited to plan and participate in a session at the CGS Summer Workshop on a topic of their choosing.
CGS gratefully acknowledges Duolingo English Test’s financial support of the Assistant and Associate Dean’s Leadership Award. Duolingo English Test, a CGS Sustaining Member, offers a digital language proficiency tool designed for international students and institutions.
# # #
About CGS
The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) is an organization of approximately 460 institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada engaged in graduate education, research, and the preparation of candidates for advanced degrees. The organization’s mission is to improve and advance graduate education, which it accomplishes through advocacy in the federal policy arena, research, and the development and dissemination of best practices.