Professors Ramón Saldívar and Jordan G. Starck Receive Inaugural Mentoring Award

The Research Institute of CCSRE is delighted to announce that Ramón Saldívar, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, the Hoagland Family Professor of Humanities and Sciences, and Faculty Director of Academic Programs at CCSRE, along with Jordan G. Starck, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Faculty Director of the Starck Lab, were recently honored with the inaugural Research Institute Mentoring Award. Professors Saldívar and Starck were selected among the many distinguished nominees by a committee of CCSRE faculty, staff, and student affiliates and they were celebrated at a special ceremony during the 2025 Research Institute Open House on March 5th.

The kind of investment demonstrated by the nominating faculty, staff, and students in their letters of support—written with sincerity and overflowing with personal anecdotes—underscores the significant impact these professors have made on the intergenerational and multi-disciplinary community of scholars at CCSRE. Most moving were words speaking to their exceptional contributions to the intellectual maturity, professional development, and personal growth of their mentees and equally those graduate students pursuing research on race, ethnicity, and inequality in other Stanford programs.

The following are but a few student statements given in support of their nominations:

Under Professor Saldívar’s mentorship, I have grown not only as a scholar but also as an individual. His guidance has enabled me to work with purpose, dignity, and self-assurance. Today, I am more confident and grounded in my research, able to face challenges with a renewed sense of purpose and hope.

Professor Saldívar has imparted to me—and to many other students—a sense of what it means to be an engaged, empathetic scholar in the world. He has given me the invaluable gifts of resilience and intellectual curiosity, which I will carry with me throughout my career.

Jordan has created an advising relationship where I feel safe, supported, and seen. From our first meetings, he has been intentional about creating an environment of mutual respect and open communication, in our one-on-one advising relationship. This has allowed me to prioritize my growth and feel confident in taking intellectual risks while being able to assuage feelings of belonging uncertainty or imposter syndrome that disproportionately impact scholars of color.

Jordan also nurtures our collective objective to become justice-focused researchers; throughout this year, he is devoting a portion of lab meetings to a book he shared with us on how to bring research outside of academic contexts to address inequity, in collaboration with communities on the ground.

It is clear that Professors Saldívar and Starck truly embody the spirit of mentorship that CCSRE values, as they are actively enriching the academic and personal journeys of many members of the CCSRE community.

Please join us in congratulating Professor Ramón Saldívar and Professor Jordan G. Starck. In these particularly challenging times, their efforts are inspirational to us all!