Albert earns campus graduate student mentoring award

Laura Albert, a professor of industrial and systems engineering, is among the inaugural recipients of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring.

Albert’s excellence in graduate student mentoring extends from individual advising and mentorship up to influencing graduate student mentoring in the broader academic community. She has built systems that support quality mentoring, such as the Graduate On-Line Assessment & Achievement Learning System in the College of Engineering that ensures graduate students receive timely, constructive feedback from their advisors. Further, she has integrated mentoring into the curriculum in the College of Engineering through two seminar courses that support first- and third-year PhD students to navigate graduate school and build communities of peer mentors.

Albert created a lab compact that conveys structure and expectations to her mentees while also individualizing support for each student. She provides precise and constructive feedback to students and progressively updates her advice as a mentor as students grow their research skills. At the same time, Albert prioritizes the whole student, recognizing both the personal well-being and professional needs of mentees and creating an inclusive environment for student success.

“Her mentorship has been thoughtful, intentional, and deeply impactful, not only during my doctoral training but also well beyond my final defense,” says Carmen Haseltine, a PhD alumna who’s now an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Morgan State University. “Professor Albert’s guidance fundamentally shaped my development as a researcher, educator and early-career faculty member.”

As a sought-after speaker on graduate student professional development, Albert also frequently shares her mentoring best practices with peers, and lends her mentorship and perspective to graduate students at other institutions when she visits for research seminars.

“She is an exceptional mentor of graduate students whose commitment to mentoring, leadership in graduate student mentoring, innovative course development, and institutional support has profoundly impacted graduate students within her research group, the ISyE department, the College of Engineering and the broader academic community,” says Shiyu Zhou, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor and David H. Gustafson Chair of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

The college also recently named Albert its inaugural senior associate dean for faculty affairs and development. To read more about the other five award recipients, visit the Graduate School website.