Lander’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Recognizes Faculty Mentors

As part of its commitment to each individual student’s academic success, the strategic plan of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences emphasizes the importance of mentorship. From guided internships, undergraduate research opportunities and experiential learning initiatives that take a Lander education outside the classroom, the college has a strong track record of faculty who carefully and intentionally mentor students across all its academic disciplines.

At the conclusion of the 2025-26 academic year, the college named two professors as inaugural Mentors of the Year: Dr. Jonathan Bassett, professor of psychology, and Dr. Matthew Malone, associate professor of political science and homeland security.

"In the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, we know that personal guidance is what transforms a student's academic journey into career readiness,” said Dr. Lucas McMillan, the college’s dean. “Dr. Bassett and Dr. Malone excel in representing the very best of our faculty's commitment to walking alongside students as they transition into graduate programs and meaningful careers.”

Dr. Jonathan Bassett

Having served on the University’s faculty for 21 years, Dr. Jonathan Bassett was lauded as having the largest record of providing students with undergraduate research experiences in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Bassett has on multiple occasions taken students to state, regional and national academic conferences to present their research, and has co-authored publications alongside some of his students.

Bassett’s students have also won awards for their work, and thanks to guidance received from Bassett, many of those students have gone on to study in graduate schools across the country. Bassett’s former students can now be found working in classrooms of their own, or serving as therapists, counselors, social workers and human resources professionals.

“Dr. Bassett is not just a mentor to our students,” said McMillan. “He is a mentor to his fellow faculty colleagues.  Many of us have learned about the intricacies of mentoring students, the ways in which to challenge and comfort students, and the structures necessary to formalize these experiences from him.”

Dr. Matthew Malone

Having recently completed his ninth year on Lander’s faculty, Dr. Matthew Malone was recognized for the “myriad of ways” in which he has mentored students at Lander. Among those were his mentorship of undergraduate and graduate research, his advisement of students toward graduate school and rewarding careers, and serving as the faculty advisor to several student organizations. Malone also serves as the program director for Lander’s highly successful M.S. in Emergency Management program.

As a result, Malone’s students have presented papers at conferences across the Southeastern United States, and some have even published their work. Moreover, there are multiple examples of alumni who are working in rewarding careers of their own, including careers with the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, local and county government emergency management offices, and in law enforcement offices across the state.

And, even after his teaching duties end, Malone can often be found helping out one of the number of student clubs that he advises. “Dr. Malone knows that student clubs are key to enrichment and development,” McMillan said. “He has helped several groups get off the ground, develop quality programming and increase students’ leadership skills.”