July 15, 2014

Psychology professor honored for outstanding mentorship

Brian Detweiler-Bedell, associate professor of psychology, was recently awarded the 2014 Outstanding Mentor Award in Psychology by the Council on Undergraduate Research. The award acknowledges faculty who exhibit exceptional mentorship to students and act as role models for those doing undergraduate research.

Brian Detweiler-Bedell, associate professor of psychology, was recently awarded the 2014 Outstanding Mentor Award in Psychology by the Council on Undergraduate Research. The award acknowledges faculty who exhibit exceptional mentorship to students and act as role models for those doing undergraduate research.

“The real power of a liberal arts education comes from close mentoring relationships,” Detweiler-Bedell said. “When professors and students work together and take ownership of the ideas and questions of a field like psychology, magic happens. Students grow rapidly into promising researchers and transform into colleagues. These colleagues, my students, are the best part of my job.”

Detweiler-Bedell and Associate Professor of Psychology Jerusha Detweiler-Bedell literally wrote the book on mentoring students in their psychology research. Doing Collaborative Research in Psychology uses an innovative team-based approach to assist undergraduates with their research—in their courses and in collaboration with faculty or graduate student mentors. The book reflects the collaborative nature of research methods and experimental psychology. Students learn how to work as a team, generate creative research ideas, design and pilot studies, recruit participants, collect and analyze data, write up results in APA style, and prepare and give formal research presentations.

Said Detweiler-Bedell, “The mentoring I have done at Lewis & Clark over the past 12 years means the world to me, and the lasting effects of this mentoring are humbling. When Jerusha and I completed Doing Collaborative Research in Psychology, our former students put together a wonderful, emotional video congratulating and thanking us. Their success, rather than any award, is what really matters!”

Psychology Department