Kirsten Read Recognized by the College of Arts and Sciences
Bernard Hubbard, S.J., Creative Collaboration Award
In recognition of having established a well-deserved reputation for excellence in educating students by including them in professional research projects or creative activity, thereby transcending traditional teaching models to reach the heart of the research and creative process.
Kirsten’s lab routinely sports “a full complement of undergraduates,” and it is often said that at any given time Kirsten has one of the largest contingents of undergrad lab assistants in the department. Hearing that “she’s always looking out for her students,” it’s no surprise that her lab always has a waiting list of students wanting to work with her.
The aptly named “Dr. Read” conducts research on children and reading, a very popular topic with SCU undergraduates. Over the last two years, Kirsten’s lab continued to include more than a dozen student researchers, even under the difficult circumstances of conducting research online. Kirsten also amplifies her work tremendously by collaborating with the Bhagwat and Whitfield labs as part of the Child Development Research Group at SCU.
Kirsten is an avid, encouraging mentor, helping students prepare work that they start in her lab for presentation at notable conferences. She’s an enthusiastic advisor for students interested in graduate school, and she often helps with funding opportunities. Her students come from the Honors Program, the LEAD Program, among others, and they have received many types of SCU grants supporting their research and travel to conferences to present it—the DeNardo, REAL internship funding, dean’s grants, and provost’s grants.
A quick look at Kirsten’s CV reveals a dozen academic publications co-authored with Santa Clara undergraduates who have worked in her lab. Her lab students and advisees go on to great achievements after SCU, like doctoral programs, post-doc fellowships, teaching positions, school counseling offices, and clinical practice.
For her dedication to education through collaborative research, I am pleased to honor Kirsten Read with the Bernard Hubbard, S.J. Award.