Graduate School announces the inaugural winners of the Faculty Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring
April 15, 2026
Photo: Ben Jones/UW–Madison Graduate School
“Professor Dan Vimont’s graduate student mentees describe his responsive, caring, and honest approach to mentorship, regardless of whether he serves as their faculty advisor. He uses his expert knowledge to help guide students through a process of creating their own research pathway and taking ownership of their work.
As chair of the strategic planning committee for Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Vimont helped establish thoughtful recommendations for improving student climate in the department, including actionable items around graduate student mentoring. He has served as the first chair to the department’s PhD Advancement Process committee, which improves the onboarding and mentoring experience for graduate students before they form their PhD committee or complete their master’s thesis.
Vimont’s students have gone on to faculty positions at top institutions, key roles in federal and state agencies, and the private sector. Mentees describe Vimont’s approach as welcoming, patient, and exceptional in balancing empathy with perspective — traits that help mentees stay motivated, prioritize their wellbeing, and develop autonomy as researchers and scholars. His colleagues note his commitment to being an inclusive and welcoming leader and see him as a resource for advice when they encounter difficult mentoring situations.
Vimont embraces the complexity in mentoring as an exciting pursuit, in which he focuses on building a resilient mentor-mentee relationship, adapting his mentoring approach to the evolving needs throughout a graduate student’s career, and building a mutually beneficial relationship through which he and the student both learn from one another.”
Read the full UW–Madison Graduate School article, featuring AOS professor Dan Vimont, April 14, 2026