Dr. Lawrence Kupper, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Biostatistics, is the winner of the 2007 UNC Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement, which acknowledges "teaching beyond the classroom." Created in 1997, this award carries a one-time stipend of $1,000. He was recognized during halftime of the Carolina-N.C. State men's basketball game

While Larry is well known as a researcher and teacher (he won the 1996 UNC Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction), this award recognizes Larry's generous contributions to academic life for his outstanding mentoring of students, postdoctoral researchers, and junior faculty.  Perhaps Larry's contributions are best described by comments from the seventeen letters of nomination submitted on Larry's behalf.

"When he won his award for excellence in teaching . . . with the money awarded he established a grant [helping] people to publish their dissertation papers . . . ."

"When I came [to UNC] from China, Dr. Kupper gave me the confidence I needed to begin study and work in a totally foreign environment.  He even spent time with my dear parents who came from China to visit me.  I often tell people that Dr. Kupper is the best thing that happened to me at UNC besides the fact that I met my boyfriend here.   [In fact,] Dr. Kupper gave advice to my boyfriend, who became a tenure-track professor at another university, and helped him through some very frustrating times . . . ."

"He won the School of Public Health's 2003 Award for Mentorship.  He has personally supervised the research efforts of 80 biostatistics students and three who have won the [School's] prestigious 'outstanding doctoral dissertation award.'

"Now that I am a professor, I model my own mentoring on Larry's example . . . ."

"What he has been doing and is doing for is students is a vivid realization of the idea . . .  pay it forward."