Cilia Zayas, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics (HOBI), has been chosen to receive a Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Institute on Teaching and Mentoring Travel Award. The award covers each recipient’s travel, lodging, and conference registration expenses for the annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring for up to three years. This year, the Institute will take place from Oct. 25-28 in Arlington, Virginia.
The SREB’s mission is to improve public education at every level by helping educators strengthen student learning through professional development. The Institute on Teaching and Mentoring is the largest gathering of minority doctoral scholars in the country. Now in its 25th year, the Institute provides workshops, recruitment, and networking opportunities to enhance the professional development of historically underrepresented Ph.D. scholars.
The Institute’s mission is to provide an environment for doctoral scholars from all disciplines to share insights, build community among themselves and faculty representatives, and enrich their research and teaching strategies. The goal is that these approaches will increase faculty diversity on college campuses across the nation.
To be eligible for the award, students must be from a historically underrepresented ethnic/racial group, show that they are on track to earning a Ph.D., and demonstrate a strong desire to become academic faculty. Additionally, their participation must be supported by their committee chair/advisor. Zayas’ mentor is Bruce Vogel, Ph.D., associate professor in HOBI.
“I am extremely grateful to be a recipient of this year’s SREB Institute on Teaching and Mentoring Travel Award,” said Zayas. “Attending the Institute not only provides me the opportunity to establish connections with other SREB awardees across the greater University of Florida campus, but also with additional mentoring and training resources to support my academic career development.”