Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education Faculty and Doctoral Scholars Highlight Mentorship and Well-Being Innovations at the 2025 Mentoring Institute Conference
November 06, 2025
BATON ROUGE, LA — Faculty and doctoral scholars from the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education presented four research-based sessions at the 2025 18th Annual Mentoring Institute Conference, hosted by the Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico. Their work focused
on integrating emotional wellness, mentoring practices and leadership development
within doctoral and educational leadership programs.
Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, PhD, and Cynthia DiCarlo, PhD, delivered “Idea to Manuscript: Considering Emotional Well-Being When Mentoring Doctoral
Writing.” The session addressed the emotional dimensions of academic writing and described
mentoring strategies that sustained doctoral candidates from initial concept to publication.
Henderson Lewis Jr., PhD, mentored doctoral students in preparing two conference presentations preceding publication.
Stacy Ann and Nicholas Bijou in Educational Leadership and Veysel Altunel in Curriculum
and Instruction presented “From At-Risk to Resilient: Mentoring Networks That Fuel
Well-Being and Leadership,” which explored how mentoring relationships empower formerly
at-risk individuals to develop resilience, purpose, and leadership capacity. Lewis
and Bijou delivered “Transformative Mentorship in Doctoral Education: Supporting Well-Being
and Growth,” which examined mentorship practices in doctoral education that promote
well-being, scholarly growth, and sustained academic success. 
Lewis also presented “Mentoring and Well-Being as Catalysts for Superintendent Success and Staying Power.” This session highlighted the relationship between superintendent retention and sustained professional and emotional support systems, offering evidence-based recommendations for school systems aiming to build leadership pipelines.
These efforts underscored LSU’s leadership in advancing research and practice that prioritizes both scholarly productivity and human wellness across doctoral and educational leadership pathways.
“It is exciting to see our top faculty and doctoral scholars leading national conversations about the connection between mentoring and well-being,” Laura Choate, EdD, Director of the Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education, said. “It is especially impressive to see faculty and their doctoral mentees presenting together at a national mentoring conference, ensuring that current and future scholars will continue to thrive both personally and professionally. Congratulations to this outstanding group!”
About the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education
A school of the LSU College of Human Sciences & Education, the Lutrill & Pearl Payne
School of Education (SOE) offers undergraduate programs for students who want to pursue
a career as a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teacher or acquire dual certification
in both traditional elementary and special education classrooms. In addition, SOE
offers 3 graduate certificates, 17 master’s degree program areas, 9 EdS certificate
programs, and 2 PhD degrees in 11 areas of focus. SOE’s focus is not only on preparing
highly qualified teachers but also in preparing educational leaders, curriculum studies
scholars, educational technology experts, applied researchers, higher education professionals,
school counselors, and clinical mental health counselors. SOE specializes scholarly
expertise regarding pressing educational and wellness issues across the entire lifespan.
Visit the LSU Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education website.
About the College of Human Sciences & Education
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division
of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education,
the School of Information Studies, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership
& Human Resource Development, and the School of Social Work. CHSE has two model demonstration
schools, the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool, enrolling birth to age
four and the University Laboratory School enrolling Kindergarten through grade 12.
The college also has four centers and institutes: the Early Childhood Education Institute,
the Healthy Aging Research Center, the Leadership Development Institute, and Social
Research & Evaluation Center. The college is committed to achieving the highest standards
in teaching, research, and service and aims to improve quality of life across the
lifespan.
Visit the College of Human Sciences & Education website.