Successful STEM Mentoring Initiatives for Underrepresented College Students is a step-by-step, research-based guide for higher education faculty and administrators who are charged with designing mentoring programs to recruit and retain students from underrepresented groups. Written by an acknowledged expert in the field of STEM mentoring, the book constitutes a virtual consultant that enables readers to diagnose the issues they face, identify priorities, and implement appropriate practices to achieve their goals.The book describes the real and perceived barriers that underrepresented students―to include women, students of color, transfer students, and first-generation college students―encounter when considering enrollment, or participating, in science courses; considers the issues they face at the various transitions in their education, from entering college to declaring a major and moving on to a profession; and sets out the range of mentoring options available to program designers.By posing key questions and using three running case illustrations of common dilemmas, the book walks readers through the process of matching the best design options with the particular needs and resources of their own department or campus. Intentionally brief and to the point, the book is nonetheless a comprehensive guide to the full range mentoring models and best practices, that also covers issues of institutional and departmental climate and teaching methods, and offers insider insights to help designers avoid pitfalls as they create effective, sustainable mentoring initiatives.This guide will assist administrators working on new initiatives to broaden access and improve persistence and graduation in their programs, as well as apply for research grants, by clarifying objectives and identifying the effective evidence-based practices to achieve them. It also provides common conversation-starters for departments to identify obstacles to enrollment and broaden participation.
Becky Wai-Ling Packard is Professor of Psychology and Education at Mount Holyoke College, and has studied mentoring, diversity, and STEM persistence for 20 years. A trusted resource in the field, Packard has provided expert consulting to a variety of campuses in addition to state-level and national-level audiences. In 2005, she earned the federal government’s top honor for early career scientists, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation and Google. A first-generation college graduate and person of color, Packard completed the Summer Research Opportunity Program and earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. In 1999, after she earned her Ph.D. from Michigan State University, she joined the faculty at Mount Holyoke College. On her campus, she has led leadership, mentoring, and faculty teaching initiatives in her capacity as the Director of the Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Center for Leadership.
