Qiao receives Graduate Student Mentoring Award

by Charles Anzalone

The award is presented by the Graduate School to recognize UB faculty for their support and development of graduate students through their mentoring activities.

Established in 2012, the award is given annually to members of the graduate faculty who have demonstrated “truly outstanding and sustained support and development of graduate students from course completion through research and subsequent career placement.”

Mary McVee, professor in the Department of Learning and Instruction, Graduate School of Education,  also received the award.

The winners were announced by Graham Hammill, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School. Hammill said McVee will be UB’s nominee for the Geoffrey Marshall Mentoring Award administered each spring by the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS).

The winners will also be recognized at a reception on Feb. 9 at UB.

In his nomination letter, Jinhui Xu, professor and chair of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, praised Qiao for his ability and willingness to “treat his students as his own children.”

“He cares deeply about them and is always there for them, whether they encounter difficulties in life or challenges in school,” Xu wrote.

“He celebrates their joys in life or success in school. For example, when one of his student’s younger sisters in China needed to borrow money to receive urgent medical treatment, Chunming lent a helping hand and also made sure his student received financial aid. When another student had his baby, Chunming brought flowers and baby items to his apartment.”

The nomination packets for each award recipient also included supporting letters from some of the students they have mentored.

A former student of Qiao’s attributed his success as a professor and active researcher “largely because of the astute tutelage of Professor Qiao.”

“I owe a great deal to Professor Qiao for whatever national and international recognitions I have achieved today as a researcher,” the former student wrote. “I could weather the hardship of many professional challenges because of the training that I got through the intense scrutiny that Professor Qiao had on my progress as a researcher, as well as a person.”