Gary J. Hunter Excellence in Mentoring Award

Nathaniel V. Nucci is a trusted friend to students in the classroom, lab, and beyond. As associate professor of Biological and Biomedical Sciences in the College of Science & Mathematics, he has trained more than 70 students in the last 10 years. In addition to instructing students at the bench or computer, he brings them to conferences, assists them with their presentations, and supports them as they apply to graduate and professional programs. Students have flourished under his mentorship, gaining acceptance to prominent Ivy League doctoral, medical school, and other academic programs and landing corporate and academic positions.

As graduate coordinator of his department, he worked diligently to form a community of scholars for the new M.S. and PH.D. program in Complex Biological Systems, responded to concerns, organized a boot camp to train teaching assistants and held a review to ascertain their experience. These efforts extend above and beyond his responsibilities as graduate coordinator, his colleagues note. "He did it simply to help the students," says a colleague, who describes him as an "outstanding scholar and caring mentor".