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Engineering Graduate Leadership Fellows – Mentored Projects to Build Community

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Graduate Studies Division (GSD) Technical Session 8: Professional Development for Graduate Students

Tagged Division

Graduate Studies Division (GSD)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

11

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43315

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/43315

Download Count

151

Paper Authors

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Sandy Christlieb

biography

Katy Luchini-Colbry Michigan State University

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Katy Luchini-Colbry is the Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Services at the College of Engineering at Michigan State University, where she completed degrees in political theory and computer science. A recipient of a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, she earned Ph.D. and M.S.E. in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan. She has published dozens of peer-reviewed works related to her interests in educational technology and enhancing undergraduate education through hands-on learning. Luchini-Colbry is also the Director of the Engineering Futures Program of Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society, which provides interactive seminars on communications, teamwork, and leadership for engineering students and professionals worldwide.

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Abstract

This paper describes efforts to build and refine a professional development program for engineering graduate students at Michigan State University (MSU). Cohorts of Engineering Graduate Leadership Fellows are selected annually to participate in a leadership development program that includes both individual and small group mentoring by faculty and administrators, as well as peer-mentoring by past program participants. Each Fellow develops an individual project that contributes to the success and well-being of our graduate student community. Recent examples range from coordinating a series of “Lunch & Learn” seminars and assisting with the annual Graduate Research Symposium to organizing social activities and developing newsletter content.

In its first five years, the MSU Engineering Graduate Leadership Fellows program has evolved substantially and adapted to challenges like the global pandemic and shifts in graduate students’ priorities and needs. Initially, the program had a “top down” structure, with project areas defined by the College of Engineering and Fellows selected to work on specific tasks. Over the years, we have evolved to a more student-directed approach, where current Fellows help to recruit and train new cohorts and students propose and develop their own projects with support from their mentors and peers. We offer lessons learned, feedback from past and current Fellows, and practical suggestions for other graduate programs interested in adapting this type of professional development experience for their own campuses.

Christlieb, S., & Luchini-Colbry, K. (2023, June), Engineering Graduate Leadership Fellows – Mentored Projects to Build Community Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43315

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