For her leadership in championing mentorship and advancing institutional change at Michigan Technological University, Adrienne Minerick has been selected as the 2025 recipient of the Faculty Distinguished Service Award.
Adrienne Minerick, a distinguished professor of chemical engineering and affiliated professor of biomedical engineering at Michigan Tech, has dedicated much of her career to fostering a more inclusive, collaborative and supportive academic environment. The University's 2025 Faculty Distinguished Service Award recognizes her efforts to develop mentoring structures like Early Career Management (ECM), Advanced Career Management (ACM) and Cross-Institutional Mentoring Committees (CIMC) — systems she helped create which support faculty growth and retention across Tech's campus.
"I was amazed and humbled by the individuals who cared so much to go out of their way and do all of this work to compile and submit letters that made this Faculty Distinguished Service Award possible," said Minerick. "It just struck me how all of our efforts by the ADVANCE team with Sonia Goltz and Patty Sotirin to start and institutionalize the ECM and ACM committees as well as the CIMCs have impacted individuals and improved the quality and satisfaction of their academic careers."
"Championing faculty mentoring systems definitely helped others' professional careers, which collectively makes the world a better place."
Minerick noted that while the team worked collaboratively across all programs, she led the development of ECM, while Goltz and Sotirin led ACM. Each supported the others' leadership efforts.
A Vision for Equity and Support
Minerick's service stems from a strong belief in removing hidden barriers in academia. "Throughout my career, I've never been a fan of 'gotchas'," she said. "I've participated in a variety of evaluative panels where someone in the discussion expresses, 'They should've known better,' or 'Someone should've told them.' The only way to get ahead of this was to provide personalized and equitable guidance from the start."
Distinguished Faculty Service Award
The Michigan Tech Faculty Distinguished Service Award recognizes faculty whose service to the University community has significantly improved the quality of some aspect of campus or community life. The award is intended to recognize exceptional rather than integrated service. The work could have resulted, in part, from compensated efforts, but it must have been of a level that distinguishes itself above and beyond the normal execution of those tasks. Nominations are solicited from University members and reviewed by the award committee. Winners receive $2,500 and a plaque at an awards dinner sponsored by the Office of the President in the fall.
That belief in revealing barriers became the catalyst for the creation of Michigan Tech's ECM, ACM and CIMC programs, initiatives designed to equip faculty with the tools and networks they need to succeed at every stage of their careers. Through structured support and shared insight, these mentoring programs have shifted the culture of faculty development at Tech.
"Mentoring is part reflection, part pattern recognition and mostly empathetic transparency of information and strategies to set another person up for success," Minerick said. "In most cases, mentoring exchanges are beneficial for all individuals."
Scaling an Idea Into Lasting Institutional Change
Launching a formal mentoring system across campus was not without its challenges. "During the first year of implementing the ECMs in 2015, I reached out to each department chair with a new faculty hire," Minerick said. "Some ghosted our efforts, while others dismissed the concept as unnecessary because they already had a mentoring program, and still others indicated that mentoring in general wasn't necessary."
Minerick remained determined. Her team's persistence and the visible benefits of the ECM program began to shift perceptions across departments.
Despite initial skepticism, momentum grew quickly. About half of the eligible departments participated in the pilot ECM program. Within a year, interest quadrupled. "Soon, we were being asked by the individuals who did not have ECMs if they could get one," she said. "In the second year of the program, we had four times the number of new faculty participating, and the program became institutionalized so that every new faculty member is set up to succeed with a dedicated ECM."
Andrew Storer, Michigan Tech's provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, agreed that the mentoring systems Minerick helped create are beneficial. "Some of the programs that came from this work have been institutionalized as important parts of faculty mentoring and professional development and have an enduring positive impact on the University," he said.
"Adrienne's support in mentoring both faculty and students is unwavering. She helped make Michigan Tech a home for many faculty."
Mentorship That Transforms
Minerick has seen firsthand how mentorship can shift not only individual trajectories but entire outlooks. "When a faculty member reached out to me and asked me to collaborate on a grant proposal, she was so enthusiastic, positive and empowered. She conveyed that the ACM I had facilitated had changed her attitude and outlook as she strove for full professorship," Minerick said.
These ripple effects are what Minerick finds most rewarding. Moments like these reflect the power of mentorship to build confidence and connection, something she believes is especially vital in academia, where inclusion isn't always automatic.
"Exclusion is often invisible to those who inherently feel like they belong," Minerick said. "For the rest of us, having a transparent, regular community that listens, acknowledges and empathizes with challenges being faced, and then simultaneously provides guidance and belief in your ability, transforms Michigan Tech into a home invested in the success of all individuals within the community."
Learning from Others, Shaping Culture
Minerick credits her growth as a faculty member in part to learning from the experiences of others. "I've tried to learn from others' perspectives so that when I'm serving on a committee or in a position of influence, I provide suggestions for or implement mechanisms to eliminate or reduce barriers," she said.
Her own approach to mentorship was shaped by mentors like Noel Schulz, a former Michigan Tech faculty member and past Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) president. "She led a faculty development program which met regularly and included trips to Washington, D.C., to visit the National Science Foundation headquarters," said Minerick. "When I moved to Michigan Tech, I was part of the team that piloted the first faculty visits to D.C., which is now also an institutionalized program in the Vice President for Research Office."
Minerick believes meaningful mentorship operates across three different timescales: short-term, midterm and legacy. On the shortest timescale, she encourages small, consistent actions. "This includes setting aside time to directly mentor a colleague or a student," she said. The mid-term timescale is about addressing structural challenges through advocacy, collaboration, and partnership, she explained. On the longest timescale, the one that truly matters to her, Minerick hopes to leave a legacy through people. "This is the lasting impact of setting a good example and having a willingness to meaningfully engage with others to share your skills, perspectives and optimism for a future that they lead," she said.
Today, Minerick looks to the future of mentoring at Michigan Tech with optimism. "I'm hopeful that all of the challenges our team overcame to institutionalize these programs will pay off, and ECM and ACM will continue to have lasting positive impacts," she said. "I further hope that these individuals will maintain a collaborative mindset and grow into leadership positions, thereby fostering a culture of eliminating barriers for everyone."
Minerick's faculty service recognition affirms not only the success of the mentoring programs she helped institutionalize, but also the values behind them: trust in people, commitment to transparency and a belief in the lasting power of community.
Michigan Technological University is an R1 public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan's flagship technological university offers more than 185 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
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