Lydia Bright named RSCA Faculty Mentor of the Year

SUNY New Paltz’s Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (RSCA) office named Assistant Professor of Biology Lydia Bright the 2021 Faculty Mentor of the Year during the virtual Student Research Symposium at the end of the spring semester.

Bright’s nomination materials describe a dedicated researcher and educator who has “maintained the most vibrant research lab in the Biology Department,” according to department chair Jennifer Waldo.

Since joining the College in 2016, Bright has provided a research home for biology students studying everything from ecosystems to DNA. She is a generous mentor who supports undergraduates’ development as scholars, helping many students achieve peer-reviewed publications, graduate school admissions and jobs in biological fields.

Bright earned a special citation for safely keeping her research lab active during the COVID-19 pandemic, which required adopting new procedures and staggered schedules to allow students to safely continue their work.

“It is hard to overstate how important this was to her students,” Waldo said in the nomination letter. “Many of her students are graduating this year, and had been working diligently on long-term projects. Without her commitment to making a safe lab environment, they would not have been able to complete their projects […] She understood the need and she exerted tremendous efforts to ensure that her students could have the best experience possible.”

That extra effort did not go unnoticed by students. A nomination letter signed by more than a dozen current and former undergraduates asserted Bright’s qualification for the award in no uncertain terms:

“On behalf of the current and past members of the Bright Lab, we insist that the superior mentorship which Dr. Bright has provided to us must not go unrecognized.”

As RSCA Faculty Mentor of the Year, Bright receives a $500 award to support professional development.

The 2021 Student Research Symposium, including all 50 presentations created by more than 100 students and 28 faculty mentors in diverse academic fields, can be accessed online via this link.

Click here to learn more about Undergraduate Research at SUNY New Paltz.