Law and Society Association officials congratulate Susan Bibler Coutin, center, for winning this year’s Stan Wheeler Mentorship Award.
Professor lauded for unwavering guidance and support of students
Susan Bibler Coutin, professor of criminology, law and society, has been named the recipient of the 2026 Stan Wheeler Mentorship Award by the Law and Society Association (LSA) — one of the most respected recognitions in the field for extraordinary dedication to mentoring the next generation of scholars.
The award, supported by five detailed nomination letters from four former doctoral students — now professors themselves — and one faculty colleague, paints a portrait of a mentor whose impact reaches far beyond the classroom.
Nominators consistently highlighted Coutin’s rare ability to challenge her students while championing them.
“Susan provided unwavering guidance and support, encouraging me to pursue ambitious research goals while fostering my intellectual independence,” wrote one former student, who collaborated with Coutin as a research assistant and co-authored two articles and two book chapters with her.
Another nominator captured the sentiment shared across all five letters: “If you ask anyone who has been mentored by Susan, particularly her doctoral students, what she is like as a mentor, you will hear themes of encouragement, innovation, dedication and creativity.”
Indeed, agrees Jon B. Gould, dean of UC Irvine’s School of Social Ecology.
“Susan’s dedication to her students speaks for itself,” he said. “She has a quiet but profound way of showing up for people — pushing them to do their best work while making sure they feel supported along the way. This award is a well-deserved acknowledgment of the kind of mentor she has always been, and we are glad to see her recognized for it.”
Showing up when it matters most
What distinguishes Coutin’s mentorship, according to those who nominated her, is her steadfast presence during the most difficult moments of a student’s academic journey.
One former student described how Coutin actively found ways to showcase her talents during periods of self-doubt — sitting in on lectures to speak to her teaching abilities, recommending her for funding opportunities, and connecting her with colleagues based on shared research interests.
The most moving account came from a student who experienced profound personal loss during graduate school. When her mother entered hospice care, Coutin provided compassionate support — and two years later, when writer's block threatened to derail the student's dissertation, Coutin offered a deeply human solution. She suggested the student imagine explaining her dissertation to a loved one. The student imagined her mother — the very inspiration behind the project — and began writing again.
“This technique was what finally got me writing again, and it was a critical turning point in my academic journey,” the nominator wrote.
Building community
Coutin’s mentorship has never been limited to one-on-one relationships.
In 2014, she founded the UC Irvine Law and Ethnography Lab, an interdisciplinary community designed to support ethnographers across disciplines. Through bi-weekly meetings, Coutin led the group in providing mutual support and troubleshooting challenges during fieldwork.
Within four years, the lab grew from six to 20 graduate students — drawing overwhelmingly female, BIPOC, and LGBTQ participants, a reflection, nominators said, of the inclusive and safe space Coutin had deliberately cultivated.
The lab’s impact was recognized at the 2021 LSA Annual Meeting, where participants and co-leaders presented a roundtable session on its influence.
In 2024, Coutin and collaborators published an anthology featuring chapters from 12 former lab participants — a permanent testament, as one nominator described it, to “Susan’s generous, thoughtful, and selfless mentorship.”
The Stan Wheeler Mentorship Award caps a career defined not just by scholarly achievement, but by a deep and lasting investment in the people around her.
“Mentoring is a two-way street, so I’ve learned as much from mentees as I’ve given of my own experiences,” she says. “I’m humbled to receive this award from LSA, an association that deeply values mentoring. And, I’m completely touched that my colleague and former students nominated me for this recognition. It means a lot.”
— Mimi Ko Cruz