Public health professor wins national mentoring award

Jagdish Khubchandani has a long history of mentoring students across the fields of medicine and public health.

Since joining the College of HEST in 2020, Khubchandani has helped launch the university’s first peer mental health program for students, sponsored students for prestigious national awards, and published research with students that gained wide attention during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October 2024, Khubchandani received the Lyndon Haviland Mentoring Award from the American Public Health Association. The award recognizes the role of mentoring in public health and leadership development. It is given to senior public health practitioners or academics who take an active role in mentoring students and young professionals through regular contact, professional development or research support. 

“I accept this award on behalf of NMSU students who continue to inspire me, give me more perspective for life every day, and bring deeper meaning to my work,” Khubchandani says. “I have no existence without our students.”