Pacific University Faculty Mentors Recognized for Sustained Contributions to Academic Excellence
How Faculty Mentorship Shapes Student Success in Higher Education
>The quality of a university education extends far beyond textbooks and lecture halls. At Pacific University, the relationship between faculty and students represents a core pillar of the institution’s 175-year legacy. The recent announcement of the 2026 Faculty Mentor Awards highlights how dedicated educators create measurable differences in student outcomes, career trajectories, and professional development across multiple disciplines.
Mentorship in higher education encompasses academic guidance, career counseling, research collaboration, and personal support. Studies consistently show that students who form meaningful connections with faculty members demonstrate higher retention rates, greater academic achievement, and stronger post-graduation outcomes. Pacific University’s approach to faculty mentorship exemplifies this principle, with over 60 active and emeriti faculty members having received recognition since the award’s inception in 2008.
For prospective students evaluating USA education options, understanding a university’s commitment to faculty-student relationships provides valuable insight into the institutional culture and potential return on investment.
The 2026 Faculty Mentor Award Recipients
The Pacific Alumni Association selected four faculty members for the 2026 Faculty Mentor Awards, each representing distinct academic programs and demonstrating unique approaches to student development. These educators will be formally recognized during Homecoming and Family Weekend on October 11, 2026.
Ben Carlston: Building Financial Leaders Through Practical Experience
As Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Finance in the Eberhardt School of Business, Ben Carlston has established himself as a transformative figure for finance majors since joining Pacific in 2013. His approach combines rigorous academic instruction with hands-on portfolio management experience.
Carlston advises the Eberhardt Student Investment Fund, where students manage an actual stock portfolio exceeding $5 million. This responsibility provides graduates with demonstrable investment experience that distinguishes them in competitive job markets. Katelynn Salcedo, a 2026 graduate now working as a financial analyst at Bloomberg, credits Carlston with helping her discover her passion for finance and leadership while securing her position at a top-tier firm immediately after graduation.
Beyond the investment fund, Carlston facilitates the annual Dreyfuss Wall Street Fellows trip, organizing visits to elite New York financial institutions. During summer months, he leads the Investing in Stocks Camp for high school students through the Pacific Summer High School Institute, extending his mentorship impact to younger audiences interested in understanding financial markets.
Dan Croxall: Pioneering Niche Legal Education
Dan Croxall, a 2008 Pacific alumnus serving as Associate Dean and Professor of Law at McGeorge School of Law, has earned national recognition for his innovative approach to legal education. Over his decade at McGeorge, Croxall created the world’s first craft beer law course and is completing the first comprehensive textbook on craft beer law for educational and industry use.
His mentorship extends across multiple dimensions: counseling students through job searches, facilitating federal and state clerkship placements, advising the University of the Pacific Law Review and Craft Beer Law Society, and coaching award-winning moot court teams. Dakota Councilman, a 2023 graduate, emphasizes that Croxall provided practical legal advice still used daily in practice while introducing students to specialized legal niches that expand career possibilities.
Croxall’s dual perspective as both McGeorge alumnus and faculty member allows him to relate to students’ experiences while offering professional guidance grounded in recent legal practice realities.
Xiaoling Li: Three Decades of Pharmaceutical Science Leadership
Professor Xiaoling Li of the Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy brings more than 30 years of mentorship experience to his role, having guided thousands of PharmD students along with dozens of PhD candidates, master’s students, post-doctoral fellows, and visiting scientists. His influence spans continents, having established clinical rotation sites in China and developed master’s programs addressing pharmaceutical technology sector needs in Asia.
Li’s expertise in drug delivery mechanisms led him to champion an interdisciplinary pharmaceutical and chemical sciences graduate program that incorporates insights from industry leaders. Raj Birudaraj, a 2000 graduate, describes how Li’s mentorship during challenging research periods provided both technical guidance and emotional support that proved essential to completing graduate work.
Having served as department chair, graduate program director, and associate dean, Li has received numerous professional accolades including Pacific’s Distinguished Faculty Award, the university’s highest faculty honor. His graduates frequently maintain active connections with Pacific, creating mentorship pipelines that extend his influence across generations of pharmaceutical professionals.
Jeannene Ward-Lonergan: Expanding Clinical Training in Speech-Language Pathology
As the longest-serving faculty member in Pacific’s speech-language pathology department, Jeannene Ward-Lonergan has spent 27 years shaping the program through teaching, clinical work, administration, and mentorship. Her most visible contribution is the Language-Literacy Center on the Stockton Campus, which provides reading instruction to hundreds of Central Valley children while giving Pacific students essential clinical experience.
Ward-Lonergan’s mentorship extends to newer faculty members as well as students. Megan Black, who joined the faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic, describes how Ward-Lonergan’s guidance proved invaluable during the difficult transition to remote instruction. Her clinical supervision focuses on youth with spoken and written language disorders, preparing students for specialized practice in high-need areas.
Now serving as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in the School of Health Sciences, Ward-Lonergan oversees academic program quality, supports learning environment development, and participates in faculty recruitment and retention efforts, ensuring that mentorship values continue throughout the department.
Why Faculty Mentorship Matters for Academic Excellence
The recognition of these four educators reflects broader institutional priorities at Pacific University. As Provost Gretchen Edwalds-Gilbert notes, the Faculty Mentor Awards celebrate not just teaching and scholarship excellence, but specifically the work faculty members do to help students develop as lifelong learners. This distinction matters because it acknowledges that effective education requires relationship-building alongside content delivery.
Vice President Scott Biedermann characterizes faculty mentors as “the heart of Pacific,” emphasizing that their influence extends beyond graduation to keep alumni engaged with the university and motivated to contribute to future student success. This cycle of mentorship and giving back creates compounding benefits that strengthen institutional reputation and expand opportunities for current students.
For students considering higher education options, the presence of robust faculty mentorship programs signals several positive institutional characteristics: faculty stability, investment in teaching quality, attention to individual student outcomes, and a culture that values relationships over transactional education models.
Evaluating Mentorship Opportunities When Choosing a University
Prospective students should actively investigate mentorship opportunities during their college search process. Several indicators can help assess a university’s commitment to faculty-student relationships:
Faculty Accessibility: Look for information about office hours, advising loads, and whether faculty contact is encouraged or discouraged. Institutions that emphasize faculty accessibility typically foster stronger mentorship relationships.
Undergraduate Research Opportunities: Programs that involve students in faculty research projects create natural mentorship structures while providing valuable experience. Pacific’s model of student-managed investment funds and clinical training sites exemplifies this approach.
Alumni Engagement: Strong alumni-faculty connections often indicate lasting mentorship impact. When alumni maintain relationships with former professors and contribute to current student opportunities, it suggests that initial mentorship experiences were meaningful.
Program-Specific Examples: Request specific examples of how faculty in your intended major support student development beyond classroom instruction. The diversity of mentorship approaches among Pacific’s 2026 award recipients demonstrates that effective mentorship takes many forms depending on discipline and individual student needs.
The Long-Term Value of Faculty Mentorship Networks
The benefits of faculty mentorship extend well beyond the college years. Graduates who developed strong faculty relationships gain access to professional networks, recommendation letter writers, career advice sources, and potential collaborators throughout their careers. In competitive fields like finance, law, pharmaceutical sciences, and healthcare, these connections can provide significant advantages.
Pacific’s 175-year history of personalized education has created extensive alumni networks strengthened by shared mentorship experiences. When multiple generations of graduates reference the same faculty members or programs as formative, it creates connection points that facilitate networking and professional opportunity-sharing.
The university’s approach also demonstrates how mentorship programs benefit institutions themselves. Engaged alumni who credit faculty relationships for their success become natural advocates, donors, and recruiters for the university, creating sustainable competitive advantages in higher education markets.
Moving Forward: Nominations and Future Recognition
Pacific University continues to accept nominations for the 2027 Faculty Mentor Awards, ensuring that the recognition of exceptional mentorship remains an ongoing institutional priority. This continuous acknowledgment reinforces the value placed on faculty-student relationships and encourages all faculty members to consider how they can expand their mentorship impact.
For those interested in learning more about Pacific University’s programs and faculty, exploring the specific schools and colleges mentioned—Eberhardt School of Business, McGeorge School of Law, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy, and School of Health Sciences—provides concrete examples of how mentorship principles translate into program design and student experience.
Share your experiences with faculty mentors in the comments below, or explore related articles on higher education trends and student success strategies for additional insights on making the most of university relationships.
