Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

April 5, 2024

Abigail Arnold | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Sarah Mayorga of Sociology and Bing Xu of Chemistry are the 2024 co-recipients of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Mentoring Award. In their nominations, Mayorga and Xu both received high praise from their students.

Charles Golden, Interim Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said, "We are thrilled to be able to recognize these two highly deserving faculty members, who exemplify all the goals that we aim for as teachers at Brandeis working to support the success of our students. Although we are only able to make two awards, it was a real privilege for me to read the other nominations from students on behalf of so many of my colleagues - I was moved and impressed and wish we could recognize them all."

In nominating Mayorga, students praised the way she went above and beyond to support them. One wrote, “Sarah Mayorga is an outstanding, kind, and generous mentor. She is always available for her students and is not only interested in our work, she is also interested in us as people…Most importantly, she makes her students feel seen.” Another wrote, “Sarah is an excellent mentor in every way possible: she responds promptly and always steps up to support grad students, even to last minute requests where she really doesn't have to. She manages to provide feedback that is kind, encouraging, and pushes us all at once.” Students also commented on Mayorga’s role in the department and campus communities, with one writing, “Since becoming the Sociology department chair, Professor Mayorga has made significant efforts to bring together faculty and students. Even further, she is an active community member of the Brandeis campus and goes out of her way to create spaces for students of color on campus through reading groups, talks, and more.”

Mayorga was excited to be a winner of this year’s award. “I’m really honored to receive this award. Working with the brilliant, compassionate, and thoughtful students at Brandeis is joyful and exciting work,” she said. “I am very fortunate to have had a wonderful graduate school mentor, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, who funny enough, I jointly nominated for a graduate mentor award when I was in school, so this is a lovely full-circle moment. Eduardo taught me how to think like a sociologist and cared about me as a person. But most importantly for me, he believed I could do excellent work, even as a first-year student (trust me, that was not immediately obvious). I bring that same steadfast belief in my students to my role as an advisor. I see my job as meeting students where they are and helping them reach new heights. And when they do? Pure joy! I’m grateful I get to do this work and humbled to be recognized by my student colleagues in this way. Thank you.”

Students who nominated Xu praised his kindness and the ways he helped students access resources. “He not only provides valuable suggestions to guide me through various stages of my PhD program but also creates opportunities for us to undergo training and participate in diverse conferences,” wrote one. Another wrote, “Excellent mentorship, patience and great platform for students’ career development.” Students also described him as “very kind and respectful,” “the most supportive and open-minded advisor I’ve worked with,” and “a caring and considerate supervisor.”

Xu was also very pleased to be a winner this year. “It was an unexpected and pleasant surprise to receive the Faculty Mentoring award,” he said. “Working with the graduates over these years has been a blessing. I am grateful for the opportunity to have both worked with them and learned from them.” Like Mayorga, Xu spoke to the importance of mentorship, saying, “I have been fortunate to learn from great mentors, such as Tim Swager and George Whitesides. Tim showed me what research is, and George showed me what a scientific paper is. My lab still uses the Whitesides ‘outline approach’ for planning and communicating research.”

GSAS is delighted to present this year’s Mentoring Award to Sarah Mayorga and Bing Xu and extends our warmest congratulations and thanks.