ABSTRACT
John Sullivan mentored by example. His students learned by example from how he spent his time and how he lived his life. He sustained a productive environment by supporting a community of scholars, by teaching people to learn by doing, and by showing his students that many paths are worthwhile. Sullivan thought holistically about graduate mentoring, focusing not only on individual research projects, but also engaging with the graduate community by considering group boundaries and individual well-being both in and out of the academy. He also worked to engage students within the larger scholarly community and mentored them into that community while also showcasing the rights and responsibilities of being a member. The author also learned a lot from Sullivan about how to be most helpful and effective for students. His teaching practices were ahead of his time. Sullivan deeply believed in learning by doing and frequently created opportunities for his students to do just that by delivering lectures designed for undergraduate classes or creating opportunities and mentoring students in the art of journal reviews.
