UB Excellence in Graduate Student Mentoring Award

Established by UB's Graduate School in 2011, this award recognizes faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding and sustained support and development of graduate students from course completion through research and subsequent career placement. 

2019-20 Honorees

William D. Solomon

Department of English

William Solomon, PhD, is a scholar of American modernism and 20th-century American literature. Recipient of a 2013 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, he is one of the most admired and sought-after teachers in his department. Dr. Solomon is an exemplary advisor and mentor who has served on a remarkable number of PhD committees — 36 finished dissertations, with 12 more in progress. He is lauded by his students for his generosity as a mentor and for his commitment to their success.

Jun Zhuang

Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

A leader in operations research, Jun Zhuang, PhD, integrates mathematical modeling, data analytics, game theory and decision analysis to improve preparedness and recovery during natural and man-made disasters. An excellent mentor, he is always available to his students, appreciates their different abilities and backgrounds, and celebrates their accomplishments. He has received numerous awards recognizing his exceptional mentorship, including the President Emeritus and Mrs. Meyerson Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching and Mentoring and the Office of Student Engagement’s Exemplary Faculty/Staff Mentor Award.