Every year, the University Honors Program invites students to nominate UC Davis and UHP faculty for Outstanding Teaching and Faculty Mentorship awards. These are our 2025 winners.

2025 Outstanding Mentorship Award Winner: Dr. Mark Fedyk

The University Honors Program provides students with the opportunity to connect with faculty and develop mentoring relationships that often shape their undergraduate careers. The UHP Outstanding Mentorship Award seeks to acknowledge the dedication of faculty in being a guiding force for undergraduate students during this crucial period of academic and professional development. Faculty receiving this award have provided excellent mentorship by being responsive, accessible, helpful, and impactful. This year, six outstanding faculty received nominations. UHP is proud to present Dr. Mark Fedyk with the Outstanding Mentorship Award.

Mark Fedyk is an associate professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing and the UC Davis School of Medicine Bioethics Program.  In both roles, he provides teaching and mentorship for medical and nursing students, ensures that ethical considerations play a prominent role in the joint missions of the School of Nursing and the School of Medicine, and collaborates with researchers to develop cutting-edge techniques for advancing the integration of ethical inquiry and scientific research.

Dr. Fedyk’s students say about him, “Dr. Fedyk is someone I hope to learn from for my entire future of my career because of his encouragement and open nature. He’s boosted my confidence, encouraged me to pursue my dreams in nursing, he’s always responsive, gives amazing advice, and connected me with great opportunities and motivated and challenged me. If it were not for Dr. Fedyk I would not be where I am today -he’s a life changing professor”

Congratulations Dr. Fedyk!

2025 Outstanding Teaching Award: Dr. Scott Herring

One of the most unique aspects of the University Honors Program are the innovative, discussion-based, honors courses. UHP students have the opportunity to engage with their professors and peers through these honors classes in a way they may not be able to in a large, lecture-style course. The UHP Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching is presented to Dr. Scott Herring. Students nominated Dr. Herring for being an inspirational and engaging part of the honors experience. Students remarked how Dr. Herring continuously offered encouragement and support, creating a space for open dialogue, and accessibility to their students.

“As a professor, Dr. Herring was so encouraging about our work and open about his own. Motivated by my “History of Scientific Writing” class, I asked him to advise an independent project, and he readily agreed. Having his perspective and guidance for my project made it much stronger and more fun and interesting. It is also thanks to his mentorship and teaching that I gained confidence reaching out to experts in my field”

Congratulations Dr. Herring!