The Department of Animal Sciences' Dr. Monique Pairis-Garcia, Assistant Professor, was honored by the Council of Graduate Students (CGS) with the 2017 James M. Siddens Award for Distinguished Faculty Advising. In 2002, upon the retirement of James M. Siddens (CGS faculty advisor for nearly twenty years) the Council created the James M. Siddens Award for Distinguished Faculty Advising to recognize those faculty who exemplify the best in graduate student advising at Ohio State. The only award of its kind on campus, this award is given annually each spring to one member of the graduate faculty.
Dr. Pairis-Garcia was nominated by a trio of her first graduate student advisees: Allison Pullin, Caitlyn Mullins, and Brady Campbell. All three graduated with a Master's degree during the Spring 2017 Commencement ceremony.
According to Mullins:
Dr. Pairis-Garcia has made it a point to support high-quality and extensive research projects both at Ohio State facilities and within large-scale commercial farms, where she allowed us to exercise some flexibility in designing and implementing our own studies. Furthermore, we have been able to travel internationally (Scotland and Denmark) and domestically (Ohio, Iowa, and Nebraska), to share our novel findings and gain critically important academic connections. She additionally invested significant time to provide individual mentorship related to careers, teaching, research, and working directly in the animal industries. She granted us professional development opportunities related to judging team coaching, speaking with animal producers, and animal welfare auditing. Finally, Dr. Pairis-Garcia is a friend to each of us and shows concern for our well-being. Her drive for excellence is contagious and has pushed each of us to achieve what we did not know was possible.