Inaugural Clio (Hall) Award Recipients Celebrated at the 2021 GradFUTURES Forum

May 21, 2021

At the 2021 GradFUTURES Forum, the inaugural GradFUTURES Clio (Hall*) Awardees were celebrated, as twelve partners and champions for graduate student professional development were announced. A range of faculty, staff, graduate alumni and graduate students, the 2021 Clio (Hall) Awardees are:

This inaugural cohort of 12 awardees is sure to grow exponentially in the coming years to recognize the intrinsic and integral support and partnership of hundreds of GradFUTURES partners who work every day with and on behalf of graduate students.

Announced in 2021, Clio (Hall) Awards are awarded by the GradFUTURES Professional Development Team to faculty, staff, graduate alumni, and graduate students in recognition of significant contributions to the professional development of Princeton graduate students. A committee reviews nominations submitted from across campus, and the award is presented annually at the GradFUTURES Forum.

The GradFUTURES initiative launched in July 2019 with an intentional focus on creating a broad, campus-wide coalition including more than 40+ partners, among them faculty, directors of graduate study, graduate program administrators, staff from nearly all centers and administrative offices, alumni and, at the center, graduate students.

During a virtual ceremony held on Friday, April 30, Eva Kubu, associate dean for professional development and director of GradFUTURES recognized the awardees and acknowledged the critical role of every member of the campus-wide coalition. “It is the close collaboration and partnership of each partner-- their dedication, creativity and innovation-- that makes graduate student professional development visible, viable and valuable on Princeton’s campus. As we celebrate each of our awardees, we gratefully acknowledge all of our campus partners, faculty and alumni mentors for their tireless efforts to support graduate students!”

Each awardee received a letter from Acting Dean Cole Crittenden acknowledging their contributions to graduate student professional development, as well as a 3D-printed Clio Hall (pictured below), the printing of which was generously sponsored by the Council on Science and Technology. An on-campus reception to fete the awardees is planned for Fall of 2021. To submit recommendations for future Clio Award recipients, please visit the GradFUTURES Clio Award website.

*Note that to avoid any possible confusion with another award that uses the name Clio Award, the award was renamed Clio Hall Award beginning in 2022. This change has been noted after the original news story appeared in 2021.

3d printed clio hall with inscription: 2021 Clio Award John Weeren

The 2021 Clio (Hall) Award Recipients:

Rodney Priestley

Rodney Priestley became Princeton University's vice dean for innovation in 2020. In his newly created role as Vice Dean of Innovation, Dr. Priestley and his team have created a campus-wide innovation ecosystem to support Princeton’s goals for entrepreneurship and innovation--and a close partnership with GradFUTURES. In the fall of 2020, he joined the Graduate School in launching the Inclusive Leadership Learning Cohort by facilitating sessions on Inclusive Innovation with Senior Associate Director of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, Shawn Maxam. These sessions focused on how inclusion enhances the creativity and problem-solving effectiveness of diverse teams through the infusion of new ideas, people, and technology to meet complex societal and global challenges. He and his team also launched the Princeton-TechStars bootcamp in partnership with GradFUTURES. In virtual workshops held during Wintersession 2021, 33 graduate students and postdocs formed ten interdisciplinary teams. The teams received training on how to transition their ideas into entrepreneurial ventures that can grow opportunity and benefit society. Ten experienced startup founders and investors mentored the teams and provided feedback on their ideas. The bootcamp ended with a virtual pitch competition judged by a panel of friendly venture capitalists, after which Dr. Priestley presented a $10,000 prize to the top startup.

“Rod’s strong leadership and partnership has led to the development of several immersive learning experiences for graduate students through which they can build professional skills and competencies that catalyze inclusive leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation. Moreover, he has helped galvanize the graduate community’s entrepreneurial spirit through programs that not only allow graduate students to explore entrepreneurship as a career path, but show them how to apply an entrepreneurial mindset and fundamental principles of equity and inclusion to their own professional development. We look forward to many more collaborations with Princeton Innovation in the years ahead!” -- Evangeline Kubu

Spencer Reynolds

Spencer Reynolds works with campus partners to build University relationships with industry in the fields of the physical sciences and engineering. He is also a member of the Professional Development Working Group and leads the External Relations Project team which includes members of the Bendheim Center for Finance, the Pace Center for Civic Engagement, the Center for Career Development, and graduate students. Under Spencer’s leadership, the external relations team curated a comprehensive list of current industry partners within the public and private sector with whom GradFUTURES might partner to develop a range of professional development programs and experiential opportunities. He was instrumental in expanding Siemens’ existing University partnership to include sponsorship of a new Sustainability Learning Cohort for graduate students to come together with experts from Siemens, faculty, alumni, and other industry professionals to focus on the elements of the United Nations’ 2030 agenda for sustainable development and understand how they might apply their doctoral training to develop solutions. Spencer was also integral to helping GradFUTURES launch partnerships with nonprofit organizations in developing our new GradFUTURES Fellowship program which provides a mentored, immersive experience for graduate students to engage in social impact projects during the academic year.

“Spencer has played such an integral role in building and deepening Princeton’s relationships with academic, public, and private sector partners. We are truly fortunate that he has volunteered to lead the external relations project team for GradFUTURES. He has taken a holistic, entrepreneurial, and collaborative approach to helping us discover new and meaningful ways to engage University partners. We are so grateful for his efforts which have led to the development of many unique and immersive opportunities for graduate students." --Evangeline Kubu

Drew Harker *81

After leaving Princeton, Drew served on the professional staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he handled foreign policy and international security issues for the Committee from 1981 to 1986, an experience made possible by one of Drew's mentors from three summer internships at the State Department. After leaving the Committee, Drew practiced law with Arnold & Porter, a Washington, DC based law firm. He retired in 2018, and has continued his interest in public interest law, including representing a client currently detained in Guantanamo and successfully challenging several restrictions imposed by the Trump Administration on access by low income citizens to family planning services. Drew worked with the Graduate School to establish a pilot mentorship program in Washington, DC in the summer of 2019 which has now expanded to over 100 PhD students across the globe. He will continue to serve as the program's Graduate Alumni Advisor as the program expands in 2021. Drew’s advice to graduate students: “ Be proactive. Your professional development is too important to leave to someone else. You would be surprised how helpful people will be if you ask them for help and guidance."

“Without Drew the mentorship program would not have been possible given the amount of care and attention it takes to nurture a program of this nature. He has gone above and beyond our expectations to make this program successful and continues to offer advice to improve and expand it." -- Amy Pszczolkowski

Carol Barash *89

Award-winning author, educator, and entrepreneur Carol Barash holds degrees from Yale (BA, summa cum laude), UVa (MA), and Princeton (Ph.D.) and has spent 20+ years innovating EdTech. In 2014, with support from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses and investments from Techstars and Kaplan Ventures, she founded Story2 to improve speaking, writing, and collaboration and to accelerate cross-border communication. More than 200,000 students, businesses and organizations around the world have used her patented Moments Method® software to outperform competition in admissions, career development, and personal writing and to launch new products and companies.

In addition to holding events for graduate students on Alumni Day, and helping kick off the GradFUTURES Virtual Forum, Carol also led a weekly storytelling workshop for graduate students and graduate alumni/ae in 2020. Carol also was in conversation with Rod Priestley at the 2021 GradFUTURES Forum, where they discussed "Amplifying Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Humanities."

"Carol Barash dedicates significant time and effort to supporting graduate students, and her support for graduate students has only increased since the pandemic. One of her many contributions to support graduate students was a dynamic and supportive series of workshops which helped graduate students learn how to harness the power of story in order to quickly and powerfully connect with others, including academic search committees and prospective employers beyond the academy. Her one on one meetings with graduate students always spark insights and connections, and her contributions during the first two years of the GradFUTURES Forum have been invaluable." -- James Van Wyck

Leon Wang *21

Leon Wang defended his dissertation in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering in 2021. Leon served as the president of the Princeton Graduate Consulting Club, and also as a member of the GradFUTURES Professional Development Working Group. He exemplifies the type of graduate student leader that inspires others to take charge of their own professional and career development. Leon was instrumental in launching the first Accelerated Business Skills Intensive Workshop hosted by GradFUTURES for graduate students during the inaugural WinterSession. He will be pursuing his passions in business, technology, and healthcare as an incoming consultant for Bain & Co.

“Leon was a pleasure to work with at Princeton. He was truly a leader among his peers and contributed so much to the professional development ecosystem at Princeton during his time as a graduate student. We are excited to continue to partner with Leon and seek his advice now that he is a graduate alum working in consulting!” --Amy Pszczolkowski

Sarah Schwarz

Sarah Schwarz joined the McGraw Center in 2013 and works with graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty to enhance and promote excellence in teaching. She coordinates the graduate programming at McGraw, including the Teaching Transcript Program and the orientation for new AIs; she also leads pedagogy workshops and consults individually with graduate students and faculty on a range of topics related to teaching. Sarah is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned her Ph.D. in Religious Studies. During graduate school she was also an exchange scholar in the Department of Religion at Princeton. She has taught at Haverford College and then for a number of years at Colorado College. As a faculty member, she worked to bring innovative pedagogical concepts and approaches into the classroom.

“Sarah has been an incredible partner to the Graduate School from the very beginning of her tenure at Princeton. She is truly innovative in her work with graduate students. For instance, Sarah helped conceptualize and launch the Community College Teaching Fellowship program, and was a key participant in the initial conversations around the establishment of the University Administrative Fellowship program. Both of these programs are now signature offerings of the GradFUTURES initiative. Sarah has inspired many graduate students to pursue their passion for teaching and helped develop them into successful candidates as they pursue the academic job market.” -- Amy Pszczolkowski

John Weeren

John is founding director of Princeton Writes, a program established in 2013 to strengthen the practical communication skills of our University community. Prior to assuming this role, he served as assistant to and speechwriter for now University President Emerita Shirley M. Tilghman and as an archivist at a number of institutions, including Princeton's Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library. He holds a BA (Hons) in History and Spanish from the University of King's College and Dalhousie University and an MA in History from the University of British Columbia.

“John’s commitment to graduate student professional development is long-standing and well-known. Central to his support of graduate students at Princeton was the creation of GradSpeak, an inviting series that has afforded hundreds of graduate students the opportunity to hone their public speaking skills in a supportive community. More recently, John and I co-created a GradFUTURES Learning Cohort, "Tell Me More: Humanizing Our Research," which was a boon to graduate students looking for ways to rethink the nature of scholarly communication in the 21st century. John was--not surprisingly-- integral to the launch of GradFUTURES -- assisting with the creation and final edits of the Vision and Mission statements for GradFUTURES. In a range of ways, John leaves an indelible imprint at Princeton, and in the lives of hundreds of graduate students. He is the model of a servant leader, and it has been an honor to partner with him!” James Van Wyck

Trang Dinh

As a member of the IR team, Trang Dinh assists in conducting analytical studies to support the University’s planning, assessment and decision-making. Her work involves survey research, statistical analyses, data reporting and visualization. She also works with National Student Clearinghouse data and supports data sharing with American Association of Universities Data Exchange. Trang works closely with the Graduate School and the GradFUTURES team on data analysis and reporting of graduate alumni outcomes data as well as graduate student and alumni surveys. She also serves on the Professional Development Working Group and is a member of the Assessment project team. Most recently, she has shared her expertise in survey design in helping develop a survey for incoming graduate students to explore their unique professional interests and level of prior professional development experience.

“Trang’s work has been critical to our goals of increasing the transparency and understanding of graduate alumni career outcomes. She has helped us to map more than 10 years of alumni career outcomes in ways that illuminate the diverse array of paths our alumni have taken within and beyond the academy. This has been critical to the creation of multiple customized resources for academic departments and graduate students.” -- Evangeline Kubu

Carolina Tamara

As a member of the Provost’s Resource Planning team, Carolina conducts special studies and analyses regarding major institutional priorities. She partners closely with the GradFUTURES team to curate, analyze, and share data pertaining to the impact of graduate student professional development. She designed a customized dashboard to assist GradFUTURES in measuring graduate student engagement with professional development programs offered through the Graduate School. She also serves on the Professional Development Working Group and is a member of the Assessment project team where she has offered her expertise to look more holistically at the programming offered campus-wide through the efforts of coalition members.

“As we significantly expand the programmatic support available to graduate students with the launch of GradFUTURES, Carolina has been instrumental in helping us take a data-driven approach to understanding the reach and impact of professional development. Moreover, as we continue to shift the culture, we are so grateful for her expertise in using data to tell the story of the holistic impact of professional development to the graduate student experience and how Princeton’s efforts connect to national trends in graduate education.” -- Evangeline Kubu

Yuzhou Bai (GS, EAS)

Yuzhou served as one of our inaugural professional development associates on the GradFUTURES team. Through this role he was instrumental in communicating the value of professional development to his department as well as the broader community of graduate students. He worked on bringing transparency to the career outcomes of PhDs in the EAS department through their stories. Yuzhou worked on countless programs both as part of the GradFUTURES initiative as well as other humanities programs to empower graduate students to get involved in shaping their futures. In addition, he was an original member of the team that created the Financial Literacy program at Princeton serving the broader Princeton community.

“Yuzhou is someone you want on your team. From the moment I met him, I knew he would be driven by the mission of GradFUTURES and engaged in the process through his entrepreneurial mindset. He is also a kind and humble leader. We truly value all that Yuzhou contributed to help us launch not only the professional development associates program, but also the GradFUTURES initiative!” -- Amy Pszczolkowski

Max Horder (GS, ANT)

Max Horder is a PhD candidate in Anthropology, studying Brexit and populism in the United Kingdom. Max has held two University Administrative Fellowships: first with the Keller Center, where his mentor was Cornelia Huellstrunk, and he worked on generating graduate student engagement with entrepreneurship and design. He then took up a UAF with the GradFUTURES team, where he co-created (with Assistant Dean James M. Van Wyck) the Trailblazers Beyond the Tenure Track series, as well as organizing meetups with graduate alumni and crafting and moderating a panel at the GradFUTURES Forum.

"Every subject or project that I've thrown Max's way has led to exciting outcomes and connections. In the Trailblazers Beyond the Tenure Track series, Max has left behind something that will benefit countless graduate students who will follow in his wake. Not only has Max created a slate of great profiles and events, he's also created a system and a method for continuing the series. It has been an honor to work with Max as his mentor. More importantly, it has been a joy to co-create with Max. I look forward to partnering on a range of fronts in the future!" -- James M. Van Wyck

Hannah Stamler (GS, HIS)

Hannah Stamler is a Ph.D. candidate in History and IHUM, and served as a University Administrative Fellow in the Center for Digital Humanities, where she was instrumental in the creation of "How We Work." In addition, Hannah participated in the inaugural Inclusive Leadership Learning Cohort.

"Hannah co-created the popular "How We Work" series, and her leadership on the global level and attention to the granular details will make it a model for similar events in the future. The series, spearheaded by the Center for Digital Humanities, in collaboration with GradFUTURES, is centered around the theme of academic work. As the series website notes, the series poses and seeks to answer fundamental questions about the changing nature of work in the academy: what does it mean to work in “alternative” academia? What does it mean to pursue “traditional” academic jobs in today’s changing educational landscape? Breaking down the barrier between traditional and alternative, the series invites CDH staffers and postdocs to have open and honest conversations about their jobs, how they got there, and how they get them done. Working with Hannah has been a real joy: she met and surpassed all the goals that were set for the series, and her leadership has been inspiring." -- James M. Van Wyck