May 15, 2025 - 5:00pm
The Center for Undergraduate Research and Engagement (CURE) announced its 2025 recipients of the Faculty Research Mentor Award. Two of the three recipients are faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences: Sociology Assistant Professor Raoul Liévanos and Global Studies Associate Professor Jo Weaver. CURE is a campus hub for undergraduate students to pursue advanced learning opportunities in research, scholarship, and creative endeavors.
Weaver's research falls in the Homelessness Policy Health Research Group, which comprises of undergraduate and graduate research assistants, lab managers, faculty colleagues, and research volunteers. Her team lauded her direction of “work on an interdisciplinary NSF-funded project addressing stress, health, and resilience among people experiencing homelessness.”
Weaver’s mentees conveyed how she “practices responsive, reciprocal, and adaptive mentorship with every member of our team and has opened doors for our future that we never imagined possible. The actions she has taken to listen to and acknowledge our struggles, embrace our strengths, and make space for our ideas has been a crucial factor in our development as confident and capable researchers and as better people. Dr. Weaver’s investment in our growth goes far beyond what is expected or required of a faculty mentor, and she has helped us build networks that will set us up for success after our time at UO.”
Liévanos was nominated by the Sociology Honors cohort, they stated in their nomination that "Professor Liévanos holds strong reciprocal relationships with all of his mentees and balances them as equals to himself, promoting respect between himself and mentees, but more importantly, developing trust in the relationship. He can trust that mentees will challenge him, take his advice, and show up for him, just as mentees can trust that Liévanos will challenge them, take their advice, and show up for them in return. It is impossible to meet Professor Liévanos and not be struck by the incredible care and dedication he has for his students. Our respect for him transcends beyond words, and there is no individual more worthy of this award than Professor Liévanos."