John Brady Memorial Lecture speaker focuses on graduate student belonging

During a Jan. 29, 2025, talk at UW-Madison, social psychologist Steve Desir encouraged faculty, staff and students to examine how academic environments—such as classrooms, laboratories, and candidacy exams—shape graduate students’ sense of belonging. In his lecture, “Mentorship reconstructed: Building inclusive pathways for graduate student success,” Desir also underscored the importance of mentorship in building genuine connections within student spaces. 

Desir is an assistant professor of research in the Pullias Center for Higher Education and the USC Race and Equity Center, as well as director of professional development and organizational learning for the Equity in Graduate Education Resource Center, a national consortium housed at USC. 

He was on campus to deliver the second-annual John Brady Memorial Lecture. Sponsored by the College of Engineering, the lecture remembers and honors the life of John Brady,  an engineering graduate student who died by suicide in 2016. 

Key takeaways from Desir’s talk include:

• Set boundaries around areas where you won’t be able to provide mentorship and facilitate connections to fill those gaps,
• It is critical to adapt your mentoring styles to accommodate different students,
• Mentorship is a two-way relationship—mutual validation, reciprocity, trust, and collaboration—that is not just based on academic goals,
• Provide students with what they need to thrive rather than focusing on what they did wrong when they fail.

College of Engineering Dean Ian Roberson welcomed attendees. His opening remarks underscored the significance of this visit and the John Brady Memorial Lecture series, while encouraging attendees to pause, reflect and engage in dialog that fosters kindness, understanding and compassion with students and colleagues. Opportunities such as the lecture bring College of Engineering faculty and staff together with the common goal of creating a climate that centers the whole person.

Desir’s visit also featured a specialized workshop aimed at equipping college leadership with the knowledge and skills to understand the role of culture and systemic change in advancing equity in graduate education. The session encouraged reflection on engineering graduate programs that have successfully implemented meaningful equity-driven transformations. Co-facilitated by Desir and Aireale Rodgers, an assistant professor of higher education in the UW-Madison School of Education, the workshop inspired participants to be more intentional in fostering supportive academic environments in the College of Engineering.

“I know I’ll be thinking more about the socialization aspect of organizational change and thinking in terms of how we onboard new faculty members of our COE community and the messaging they get about our values,” said one workshop attendee.

Desir also met with engineering graduate students in the Graduate Engineering Research Scholars (GERS) Program. The gathering offered students the opportunity to talk with Desir about culture, climate, wellbeing and communication in graduate spaces within the college. 

Overall, Desir’s visit enabled attendees to discuss current climate and mentoring approaches, while examining new strategies aimed at fostering a sense of belonging and supporting the academic and professional success of graduate students. The College of Engineering Office of Inclusive Excellence & Educational Innovation organizes the Brady lecture; contact Brian Núñez [bunez@wisc.edu] to suggest future speakers who focus on student health and wellbeing.