By Christopher McCracken, Honors Link
The Honors College is pleased to announce the selection of College of Public Health and Human Sciences Associate Professor Sam Logan as the 2020 Margaret and Thomas Meehan Honors College Eminent Mentor. Each year, one faculty member is selected for this recognition by a panel of distinguished honors faculty and mentors from a pool of undergraduate research mentors nominated by students and recent alumni.
“It is a great honor and privilege to receive the 2020 Margaret and Thomas Meehan Honors College Eminent Mentor award,” Sam says. “I urge everyone to take a minute out of their day and learn more about the Meehans. They were dedicated faculty members at OSU and left a lasting legacy on the university, the Honors College and the community.”
Sam came to Oregon State in 2014 after receiving his Ph.D. in Kinesiology from Auburn University and completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Delaware. His research focuses on the health and wellbeing of typically developing children and children with disabilities, as well as the role of independent mobility in healthy pediatric development.
In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Sam serves as the Director of the Social Mobility Lab & PlayTech Workshop at Oregon State. The Social Mobility Lab investigates the design, prototyping and testing of toy-based technologies, with particular emphasis in designing modified ride-on toy cars and providing them to children with disabilities to encourage independent mobility and healthy development.
“During my first term at Oregon State University in the fall of 2015, I began volunteering in Dr. Sam Logan’s Social Mobility Lab,” says Jenna Fitzgerald, the recent honors alum who nominated Sam. “Over the rest of my undergraduate educational career at OSU, I remained committed to this lab due to both the passion I developed for research with children with disabilities and Dr. Logan’s mentorship.
“Dr. Logan’s mentoring style facilitates effective independent learning and problem solving, yet he is always eager to answer questions and provide more direct guidance if necessary,” Jenna says. “Throughout my experience, this approach helped me to develop independence in the lab, all the while knowing that I could turn to Dr. Logan when I faced a challenge.”
Honors students have a unique opportunity to explore and participate in Sam’s research and outreach work by taking Toy-Based Technology for Children with Disabilities, a hands-on colloquium class that Sam teaches in the Honors College nearly every term.
Often, students that take Toy-Based Technology for Children with Disabilities find themselves interested in the field and stay on in the lab after their term in the class is over.
In addition to his colloquium, Sam further supports the honors experience by serving as a frequent thesis mentor. He has already mentored eight different students; a significant accomplishment made even more impressive by the fact that his first mentee defended their thesis in 2017.
“I’ve had a fantastic experience with mentoring undergraduates through the thesis process and teaching a colloquium in the Honors College,” Sam says. “I’d like to thank all of the students who have worked with me in the past who contributed to receiving this recognition.”
This story was originally featured on Honors Link.