Four faculty members at Stony Brook University have received the 2025 Provost’s Outstanding Mentor Award. The award is presented annually by the Provost’s Office to senior faculty who demonstrate exceptional commitment to mentoring non-tenure track, pre-tenure, and mid-career colleagues.
“In recognition of their long service as exemplary mentors and their exceptional commitment to mentoring and supporting the intellectual, creative, scholarly, and professional growth of their faculty mentees, each of these faculty has been nominated and awarded the 2025 Provost’s Outstanding Mentor Award,” said Mónica Bugallo, vice provost for faculty and academic staff development, and professor of electrical and computer engineering.
The recipients are Suparna Rajaram, Sierra Washington, Ken Weitzman, and Lonnie Wollmuth. According to David Wrobel, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences: “Congratulations to Drs. Rajaram, Washington, Weitzman and Wollmuth on being named this year’s Outstanding Mentors by the Office of the Provost. We are truly grateful for their dedication and leadership in supporting their colleagues at Stony Brook and in their respective fields of study. Institutional excellence and community strength rest on a foundation of exemplary mentorship. Each of our awardees are role models for all of us as we work to build a community that nurtures, encourages, and guides the success of every member. We owe them a great debt of gratitude and can be inspired in our own work by their dedication to the intellectual and professional growth of others.”
Suparna Rajaram is recognized for her research on social transmission of memory and collective memory formation. She has served as president of the Association for Psychological Science and authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles. Nicholas Eaton from the Department of Psychology said: “Dr. Rajaram’s dedication to mentoring is unparalleled in its depth, breadth, warmth, shared vulnerability, experience and expertise…She mentors not only to help others succeed, but to ensure they feel seen, valued, and sustained as they do.”
Sierra Washington leads Stony Brook Medicine’s global health program in Mozambique through the Center for Global Health Equity. This initiative involves sending clinicians from Stony Brook to provide care at Maputo Central Hospital while training local professionals. William M. Burke from Obstetrics and Gynecology stated: “Dr. Washington embodies many of the qualities of an outstanding mentor: dedication, expertise, and an ability to inspire growth in others…Her mentorship has helped enhance their teaching abilities.”
Ken Weitzman serves in both English department roles as well as with the Alda Center for Communicating Science. He founded Science on Stage—a project linking playwrights with scientists—and supports early-career faculty across disciplines. Matthew Salzano from Writing & Rhetoric commented: “Through every stage of my promotion process, Ken has been a patient and reassuring presence…His guidance has been transformative for me.”
Lonnie Wollmuth directs research into glutamate receptors’ biophysics at Stony Brook’s Center for Molecular Medicine with over $11 million in NIH funding during his career. Alfredo Fontanini from Neurobiology praised him: “He sets ambitious but realistic goals…Lonnie is generous with his time…In cases in which faculty members were having difficulties with funding, Lonnie teamed up with them to successfully write collaborative grants.”
