Inclusive Mentoring Program for STEM Faculty

The overall goal of this project is to increase the completion of STEM bachelor’s degrees by promising undergraduates with demonstrated financial need who are transferring from community colleges. We aim to achieve this goal by implementing and then investigating a scalable, transferrable model for creating a culturally-responsive Community of Practice (CRCP) that will improve faculty and peer mentoring, thus supporting students during their last year in community college and first two years after transferring to the University of Arizona (UAZ).

The three specific aims of this project are to:

1. enhance students' sense of STEM belonging;
2. improve academic achievement at the University of Arizona; and
3. increase student interest in STEM careers.

Through the development of a CRCP in which faculty, instructors, and advisors from both UAZ and PCC learn from the strengths of each academic culture, the project creates and sustains a bridge of support for three cohorts of Pell-eligible STEM PCC students as they prepare to transfer into and then complete STEM degrees at UA. Beginning in their last year in PCC, students will be welcomed into a community of faculty, staff, and peer mentors who have undergone culturally responsive mentor training the summer prior and who will mentor and guide them over the course of their transition into the university and degree completion using asset-based and student-centered approaches.

Evidence-based activities and supports will be embedded within this cohort-structured learning community that bridges the two STEM ecosystems of PCC and UAZ to ease the transition and success of transferring students. The project includes research to survey and track project participants, including faculty and staff, over multiple years with a comparison group of similar PCC students to better understand the most impactful practices and related outcomes from bridging the two ecosystems.

Over five years, this project will provide scholarships to 94 students, providing each student with up to six semesters of support. The scholarships will be awarded to three annual cohorts of students who begin at Pima Community College, where they will pursue Associate of Science degrees with the intention to transfer and complete Bachelor of Science degrees at the University of Arizona. Supported majors include biological sciences, physical sciences, mathematical sciences, computer and information sciences, geosciences, and engineering.

The project is recruiting four (4) STEM faculty each from PCC and from UAZ to mentor a maximum caseload of 8-9 promising STEM students. PCC faculty will mentor students during their last year at PCC. UAZ faculty will mentor PCC students during that same time period and during the first year after they transfer.

Faculty are recruited to mentor students in the following areas:

• Exploring STEM careers
• Finding and competing for research experiences relevant to their true interests
• Navigating the STEM culture
• Succeeding in STEM courses
• Overcoming challenges
• Building their self-confidence to persist
• Balancing work, family, and school responsibilities

Benefits for you as a mentor:

• Develop or strengthen your mentoring skills in a way that helps students feel welcomed, accepted, and encouraged
• Participate in professional development sessions led by experts on culturally responsive and asset-based mentoring.
• Meet monthly with fellow mentors in a Community of Practice to learn from each other’s experiences and receive ongoing feedback to reinforce key learnings from the professional development sessions.
• Earn a stipend of ~$3600 - $4000 (depending on hours committed).

Our PI, Dr. Regina Deil-Amen, from the UArizona College of Education will lead focus groups with the faculty mentors to assess your response to the shift in the mentoring paradigm, your sense of its effectiveness, and the benefits and challenges it poses. Dr. Deil-Amen will be conducting education research on the following research questions:

• What key components contribute to the development of a culturally responsive Community of Practice (CRCP) to transform the approach of STEM faculty across a community college and university context?

• How can a CRCP improve students’ experiences with the culture of STEM and bridge the gap between the STEM ecosystems at 2- and 4-year HSIs for students transferring into STEM majors, including fostering an enhanced STEM identity and sense of belonging?

The project will use the Multidisciplinary Research Mentor Training Seminar module from CIMER (Center for Improvement of Mentoring Experiences in Research) and resources from the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN). We will augment the training by providing additional information on the topic of prosocial cultural values, where underrepresented students assign value to tasks and careers that afford opportunities to help others or their communities (Jackson et al., 2016).

All mentors will also be asked to read Chapter 6 (“Difficult Mentoring Moments: Framing Messages to Improve Impact”) from Becky Wai-Ling Packard’s book Successful STEM Mentoring Initiatives for Underrepresented Students, A Research-Based Guide for Faculty and Administrators (2016) to better understand how to handle difficult mentor questions and incidents involving micro-aggressions.

PCC and UAZ faculty:

• Late summer 2022
  • Attend a pre-training focus group meeting and attend mentor training sessions totaling ~ 15 hours. (Structure and schedule for the meetings is flexible and will be based on input from mentors.)
• Fall 2022
  • Attend 4 monthly CRCP meetings, meet one-on-one (1:1) twice with your PCC mentees, and serve on a career panel
• Spring 2023
  • Attend 4 monthly CRCP meetings, meet 1:1 twice with your PCC mentees, serve as a guest speaker, and attend a focus group meeting at the end of the semester.
• Fall 2023
  • Attend one follow-up CRCP meeting

UAZ faculty only:

• Fall 2023
  • Meet 1:1 twice with your mentee group after transferring to UAZ and attend a follow-up CRCP meeting
• Spring 2024
  • Meet 1:1 twice with your mentee group and attend a focus group meeting at the end of the semester

PCC mentors will be compensated for trainings, meetings, and program activities during academic year 2022-2023 and a 2-hour follow-up meeting in fall 2023 at your supplemental compensation rate. 

UAZ mentors work with mentees for two years and will be compensated for trainings, meetings, and program activities during 2022-2023, a 2-hour follow-up meeting in fall 2023, your academic year 2023-2024 mentee meetings, and a focus group meeting during spring 2023 and spring 2024 at your supplemental compensation rate. 

• Research and teaching faculty as well as post docs at the University of Arizona or Pima Community College
• Must be teaching or conducting research in STEM fields
• Preferred STEM fields for faculty are: biological sciences, physical sciences, mathematical sciences, computer and information sciences, geosciences-related, and engineering.

Apply here 

Applications for mentors are now being accepted and will be considered on a rolling basis until all positions are filled. Candidates selected for an interview will be notified as applications are received. 

Fall 2022 - Dates for the mentor training sessions to be determined based on the schedules of mentors and instructors. Sessions will be scheduled as five 3-hour sessions during the early part of the fall semester.