Introduction of William F. Font, Recipient of the 2012 Clark P. Read Mentor Award

Being his former graduate students, we are thrilled and honored to present the 2012 Clark P. Read Mentor Award to Dr. William (Bill) F. Font. Bill is a native of New Orleans, where he obtained a B.S. from Tulane University in 1966. He served honorably in the U.S. Navy from 1966–1970 and is a Vietnam Veteran. In 1970, he began his academic career at Louisiana State University under Dr. Kenneth Corkum. He earned an M.S. in 1972 and then a Ph.D. in 1975. His first appointment was as an Assistant Professor in 1975 at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UW–Eau Claire) and became an Associate Professor in 1983. In 1985, he moved to Southeastern Louisiana University (SELU) where he obtained the rank of Professor in 1988. In 2010, Bill retired from classroom teaching but remains a Scholar in Residence and Professor Emeritus at SELU. Presenting ASP’s mentor award to Bill speaks volumes to Bill’s mentoring impact in the field of parasitology. You see, Bill is the first recipient of this award to have been at institutions where there were no Ph.D. programs. At both UW–Eau Claire and SELU, there is a greater emphasis on classroom teaching and fewer resources available to establish and maintain a large-scale research program. Nevertheless, Bill’s mentoring has reached far and wide to many students and colleagues at all levels. He has mentored 14 students in an M.S. degree, served as an external committee member for 10 students in a Ph.D. degree, 3 students for an Undergraduate Honors Thesis, and 46 undergraduate students in scientific research. Bill is a natural, thoughtful, and dedicated mentor and, today, we recognize and celebrate his mentoring contributions. Bill has stated on several occasions that the best part of his career was working with students. He is a gracious and giving person and outwardly expresses his gratitude for the opportunity to work with students. Upon his recent retirement, he wrote a heartfelt letter to his students stating, ‘‘I am writing to let you know that I have retired. I think that this is a good time to thank you all for what you have meant to me. Both teaching and research have been enjoyable parts of my career, but I would have to say that the very best part of the past 25 years at Southeastern has been getting to know, and doing research with, my graduate students. Working with you has been absolutely great!’’ When we requested letters for Bill’s nomination for this award, there was overwhelming enthusiasm by his past students to support his recommendation. We would like to share several themes that are common throughout the support letters. Bill has had an enormous impact on each of our professional and personal developments. His role has been integral in helping us determine our career paths, and for many this guidance came at pivotal times in their lives. Bill is a truly caring and supportive mentor for both professional and personal matters, and this support has been extended far past our graduation days. Also, Bill held up the highest expectations for each of us and truly believed that we could meet them. He expected us to put in the same long hours and dedication as he did. Bill is also very talented at inspiring students and he could easily maintain his faith, support, and encouragement to live up to his high standards even through what felt like trying times for his students. Part of what made him such a great mentor was that he had an ‘‘open-door policy’’ and, thus, was never too busy to mentor. We could walk into his office at any time and he would put down what he was doing to talk with us. This unique mentoring quality is one we took for granted then, but now, as overbooked faculty members ourselves, we realize the time sacrifices he made to help us. Another insight gained from reading these letters is that Bill was able to tailor his mentoring style to be what each of us needed. This is the hallmark of a good mentor: that one can understand and appreciate the differences among students and how to best guide them. For Sarah Brock, it was encouraging her that she could do more; for Amanda Vincent it was challenging her to think critically and guiding her to discover links between biology and policy; for Chrystal Kain it was his faith in her to succeed as a graduate student; for Ashleigh Smythe it was patience and faith in her ability; for Ricky Fiorillo it was ‘‘tough’’ love, honesty, and continued support. Speaking from a personal experience (CDC), Bill possessed several traits that made him a great research mentor. He was patient, enthusiastic, knowledgeable, supportive, and inquisitive. He often led by example rather than dictating how one should conduct research. Indeed, it is said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I must say that Bill’s methodological (and often ‘‘anal’’) attention to detail in his research is probably one of the most important skills I have taken with me in my own career. I cannot state with more sincerity that Bill’s mentorship has greatly influenced my career and he deserves much of the credit for where I am today. From the very beginning, he was responsible for my current academic path. I recall when I applied to SELU, I wanted to work with a herpetologist who ended up not taking students. Bill called me out of the blue and offered me a chance to work with him. I said yes, and ever since am indebted to the opportunity he provided me. As with all his students, Bill continued to look out for our future interests. Indeed, I remember when he came back from a meeting in England, where he saw a talk by Dr. Mike Blouin. Bill made it a point to direct me to Mike’s papers. A year later, I was starting my Ph.D. in Mike’s laboratory. Even through my Ph.D., I often relied upon Bill for research advice. Mike was a population geneticist, but not a parasitologist. Thus, I would often call Bill to get his guidance on parasitological methods. Bill always provided me with the time, even though I was no longer his responsibility. Today, Bill’s research continues to inspire me and we continue to work * Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, 3258 TAMU, College Station, Texas 77843-3258. DOI: 10.1645/12-79.1