Last year, advising of Harvard's graduate students came under fire with the apparent suicides of two graduate students, Halei Ge and Jason Altom. Faculty, students and administrators tackled the problem head-on, and last month the Faculty of Arts and Sciences approved changes to the grad student advising policy.

But in the reforming zeal, say GSC members, the good advising that went on was overlooked.

" The big issue was to improve the quality of advising," said Adam P. Fagen, chair of the GSC Awards Committee. "But those who were already doing a good job were forgotten about."

This led Fagen and John P. Callan, also a graduate student, to push for an idea they felt was long overdue--an awards ceremony to honor good advisers.

Last Thursday in Dudley House, the council awarded nine professors the first ever GSC Excellence in Mentoring Award. First nominated by graduate students, the winners were ultimately chosen by a GSC committee.

The awards went to David M. Cutler, professor of economics; Charles Hallisey, Loeb associate professor of the humanities, Joseph D. Harris, professor of economics, Eric J. Heller, professor of chemistry and physics, Lawrence F. Katz, professor of economics, Thomas A. McMahon, McKay professor of applied mechanics and professor of biology (awarded posthumously), James R. Rice, McKay professor of Engineering Sciences and Geophysics, William Mills Todd III, Reisinger professor of Slavic languages and literature.

The winners had their names engraved on a plaque in Dudley House, and each received an engraved desk clock.

According to Fagen who is also a sixth-year graduate student studying molecular biology and education, over 200 GSAS students in three-quarters of the programs in the Graduate School nominated over 80 individual faculty members.