Towards Effective, Inclusive Mentorship*

Mentorship has always served an essential role in the process of turning students into science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) professionals. Yet despite the central role that mentorship plays in STEMM culture, mentorship rarely receives the focused attention, evaluation, and recognition of other aspects of the professional development process like teaching and research. There is, however, well-document evidence, theories, and practical implementation strategies that you can use to develop intentional, inclusive, effective mentoring relationships. This talk will review some of the key findings and recommendations from the National Academies consensus study report on The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM [1] and the accompanying online guide [2]. It will provide insights into the elements and stages of mentorship and review possible tools to use in your mentoring relationships. It will discuss some principles of institutional culture change and how they relate to supporting a culture of effective, inclusive mentorship.

[1] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25568.
[2] The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM: Online Guide V1.0, available at https://www.nationalacademies.org/MentorshipinSTEMM