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Developing Deeper Student Mentoring Relationships: Black Engineering Faculty Translating their Mentee Experiences to Students (Research)

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

Minorities in Engineering Division Poster Session

Page Count

13

DOI

10.18260/1-2--40984

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/40984

Download Count

421

Paper Authors

biography

Sylvia Mendez University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

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Dr. Sylvia Mendez is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Leadership, Research, and Foundations at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She is engaged in several National Science Foundation-sponsored collaborative research projects focused on broadening participation in STEM academia. Dr. Mendez’s research centers on the creation of optimal higher education policies and practices that advance faculty careers and student success, as well as the schooling experiences of Mexican-descent youth in the mid-20th century.

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Jennifer Tygret

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Jasmine White

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Valerie Conley University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

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Comas Haynes Georgia Tech Research Institute

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Rosario Gerhardt Georgia Institute of Technology

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Kinnis Gosha

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Abstract

This research paper explores how Black engineering faculty translate their mentee experiences to develop deeper mentoring relationships with their students. While faculty mentoring is heralded as playing a vital role in advancing the careers of faculty, promoting equity in higher education, and ultimately diversifying the professoriate (Johnson, 2016; Zambrana et al., 2015), little is known about how faculty use their own experiences as mentees to inform their faculty-student mentoring relationships. Thus, this phenomenological study (Moustakas, 1994) explores how seven Black engineering faculty developed deeper student mentoring relationships due to serving as mentees in the Increasing Minority Presence within Academia through Continuous Training (IMPACT) mentoring program. The IMPACT program paired Black engineering faculty with primarily White emeriti faculty for career-focused mentorship, networking, and advocacy. Moustakas’ (1994) four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis was employed to examine three rounds of interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. Two major themes emerged inductively relative to how the Black engineering faculty translated their mentee experiences with their students: (1) Vulnerability opened the door to personalized support; and (2) Authentically leading on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Thus, the phenomenon's essence was: As a result of serving as mentees in the IMPACT mentoring program, Black engineering faculty formed deeper mentoring relationships with students through vulnerability, personalized support, and authentically leading on matters of equity, diversity, and inclusion. These findings reveal the ripple effect on the student-faculty relationship when faculty engage in quality faculty mentoring programs. This study is sponsored by a National Science Foundation INCLUDES Design and Developments Launch Pilot award (14-44500). The preferred presentation method is a traditional lecture.

Mendez, S., & Tygret, J., & White, J., & Conley, V., & Haynes, C., & Gerhardt, R., & Gosha, K. (2022, August), Developing Deeper Student Mentoring Relationships: Black Engineering Faculty Translating their Mentee Experiences to Students (Research) Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--40984

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