This award's purpose is to acknowledge the critical and central role honors thesis or project mentors perform. All who distinguish themselves in this work are to be thanked by one and all, and special recognition is bestowed each year on an individual mentor. The award nominations come from honors students who have worked with these outstanding mentors.

You were nominated by Mackenzie Berschel, your undergraduate research student. She reflects on your stellar mentorship by saying:

Dr. Bates has been the best thing to happen to me throughout my 4 years at the University of Iowa. She is always encouraging and pushes me to be the best I can be despite life's rollercoaster ride full of ups and downs. She recognizes student burnout and reminds us to take care of ourselves which is something not many of my professors have acknowledged. Dr. Bates is dependable, she will jump on zoom at 7pm to have a meeting with me even after a full workday on zoom. Dr. Bates cares about the entirety of her students, she wants to be a part of our academic career, but she also wants us to succeed as people. She constantly sends us links to possible research awards and scholarships to help students like me who are paying for college on our own. Dr. Bates is truly an asset to the University of Iowa family and I feel so fortunate to have been able to look up to her as my mentor and my role model for the last two years.