In 2021, Dr. Jerlando F. L. Jackson, Director of the Wei LAB and Chief Research Scientist, was awarded by his alma mater, Auburn, at their annual Black Alumni Weekend Award. The Black Alumni Weekend Award recognizes recipients from each college and school for their achievements in their professional lives, personal integrity, and service to the university.

Dr. Jackson received the award from Auburn’s College of Education, where he completed his Masters of Education in Higher Education Administration.

In UW-Madison’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA), Dr. Brian A. Burt was promoted to associate professor and received tenure effective in August 2021.

Dr. Brian A. Burt has received a promotion in the Wei LAB, and now serves as an assistant director and research scientist.

Lead author, Dr. Brian A. Burt and five co-authors, among them being the Wei LAB research associate, Josh Wallace, authored an article titled “Moving toward stronger advising practices: How Black males’ experiences at HWPIs advance a more caring and wholeness-promoting framework for graduate advising.”

The work examines the advising experience of Black male graduate students in engineering. The researchers theorized that relationships with more care could assist students in attaining their degree.

UW-Madison’s School of Education highlights the published paper and emphasizes “that the work is important because it’s estimated that more than half of all students begin pursuit of a graduate degree do not graduate with one. Existing scholarship suggests this attrition is due in part to inadequate advising.”

The article was published in the Teachers College Record, a peer-reviewed academic journal of education out of Columbia University.

In July 2021, Wei LAB Assistant Director Dr. Brian A. Burt, received the Wickenden Award for his article titled “Broadening participation in the engineering professoriate: Influences on Allen’s journey in developing professorial intentions.”

Dr. Brian A. Burt’s abstract begins by stating: “Given the significant roles that faculty play, it is important to understand how and why engineering graduate students choose faculty careers over other professional opportunities.”

The School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison explains the Wickenden Award as “represent[ing] the highest standards of scholarly research in engineering education.”

The Emerging Leader Alumni Award was one of two new awards initiated by the University of Michigan in 2021. The award is given to University of Michigan alumni with fewer than 10 years of professional experience upon completion of their degree.

Dr. Brian A. Burt earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Academic Affairs and Student Development.

The award highlights “alumni who are early in their careers and demonstrate a commitment to the profession of education, as well as show potential for continued leadership, and a passion for equity and justice in the field of education,” as summarized by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Education.

Dr. Dajanae Palmer is a postdoctoral research associate for the Wei LAB. Her role at the lab supports the work of Dr. Brian Burt’s NSF grant on Black male graduate students in engineering programs. She earned her PhD in Higher Education at Indiana University Bloomington. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from San Diego State University and her Master of Education in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs from the University of Southern California. Her research interests are in examining and uplifting the experiences of graduate students, exploring feminist ​methodologies, and using critical race theory to analyze the systems of domination in higher education.

Talia Bergerson is our new office assistant for the Wei LAB. She is an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison pursuing a degree in philosophy, with certificates in criminal justice and Middle Eastern studies. After completing her undergrad, Talia hopes to further her education and attend law school, with an interest in international or contract law.