Lauren Calandruccio
Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences

A winner of Case Western Reserve’s Wittke and Jackson awards for exceptional teaching and mentoring—the first to earn both in the same year—Lauren Calandruccio is no stranger to top university awards.

This year, she’s being honored with the Innovator of the Year: Education award for work on her $1.25 million National Institutes of Health grant to continue building a yearlong mentoring program for students from underrepresented minority (URM) groups at Hampton University, a top historically Black university, and Case Western Reserve.

The program, Innovative Mentoring & Professional Advancement through Cultural Training, is designed to provide students with access to diverse communication sciences and disorders professionals, exposure to research opportunities, and preparation for graduate school.

“Dr. Calandruccio has combined established best practices into an innovative mentoring program for URM students that prepares them exceptionally well for future career success,” her nominator wrote. “The potential for broader impact of this program is exceptional.”