Stephen Vaisey, Ph.D.
Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring
Professor of Sociology and Political Science
Bio
Stephen Vaisey, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Political Science, joined the faculty at Duke in 2011 in a dual appointment with UC Berkeley, after serving as Assistant Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley since 2008. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology at UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 and 2004, respectively.
Vaisey’s mentoring is grounded in extensive academic leadership and service at both the departmental and university levels. He previously served as Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology and has played a central role in graduate admissions, curriculum design, and methods training. Vaisey is the founding director of Duke’s Worldview Lab in the Kenan Institute for Ethics, an interdisciplinary research group that supports graduate scholarship through regular work-in-progress seminars. His leadership extends nationally through editorial roles, professional service, and sustained involvement in training the next generation of social scientists.
What distinguishes Vaisey’s mentoring, as shared by many of his mentees, is his treatment of students as junior colleagues. He frequently coauthors with students in leading journals and encourages them to take intellectual ownership of projects, including leading authorship when appropriate. His mentoring extends beyond academic productivity to professional development, well‑being, and long‑term career navigation.
Vaisey says that quality mentoring is reciprocal, emphasizing that mentees bring energy, creativity, and new ideas that continually shape his own scholarship and sustain his engagement within the field.
On Mentoring
What do you think are the most important qualities of a good mentor for graduate students?
I think the most important thing an advisor can do is to create an intellectually stimulating environment that promotes curiosity and intrinsic motivation. We are so lucky to get to investigate the world for a living. Of course, any job has stresses and setbacks, but I think it's important for Ph.D. students to keep and cultivate a sense of wonder about what they are studying.
Who are some good mentors you have had, and are there mentoring practices or traits from them that you have tried to incorporate into your own approach to mentoring?
My own Ph.D. advisors excelled at creating an intellectual environment where the big picture questions mattered. That helped me so much with sustaining my motivation to work every day.
The benefits of a mentoring relationship for the mentee are obvious, but what do you, as the mentor, gain from it?
The main things mentors get from students are energy, excitement, and the influx of new ideas. They are always reading and finding new things that I've missed. I wouldn't be half the scholar I am today without that input. I learn so much from my students every day.
In Others’ Words
Tributes from mentees and colleagues
“Steve's mentorship has been the defining feature of my time at Duke. Even before I joined the program, when I first became interested in applying, Steve was already a generous mentor, helping me navigate the application process and think carefully about what academic path I needed to be on. Throughout my years here, he has continued to be generous: he always made time to bounce off ideas, no matter how half-formed they are, while also giving me full autonomy to pursue the things that excite me.”
“Steve stands out in his approachability, willingness to help, responsiveness, and attention to my career. It is from him more than anyone else that I learned the art of contributing to a scholarly conversation, and when we worked together, he generally had me take the lead on our co-authored papers, which was a fantastic way to learn the academic’s craft.”
“Now that I'm on the other side as a faculty member myself, I appreciate more than ever how rare and precious this kind of deep and enduring mentorship is. I cannot even fathom the amount of effort Steve spends on the intellectual development of his students, as well as all the thankless and behind-the-scenes labor he does... I have never encountered another faculty member who devotes as much time and energy to his mentees as Steve does.”
“Steve Vaisey’s mentorship was the most formative component of my graduate training at Duke, and I am convinced Steve is the primary reason I am a successful scholar. At a formal level, Steve influenced every dimension of my training…I am convinced that many aspects of scholarly life are difficult to articulate directly and must instead be learned through close observation and sustained interaction. This is Steve’s unique gift. He takes the time to cultivate these dispositions in his students, and I see them now in my own scholarship and mentoring as well as that of his other advisees. Steve is a singular kind of mentor.”