The University of New Hampshire’s Mentorship Academy: Training Undergraduate Research Mentors

Abstract:

Achieving diversity in the geosciences in large part depends on recruiting, retaining and advancing inclusively, particularly across gender, underrepresented cultural and ethnic groups. Undergraduate research experiences can be a powerful way to recruit and retain diverse students within the geosciences. However, to maximize positive outcomes from a research experience, it is critical for students to have high-quality mentoring. Here we present the University of New Hampshire's Mentorship Academy, an approach to train faculty, post-doc, and graduate student research mentors with the goal of enhancing the quality of the student’s research experience.

The primary goals of UNH's Mentorship Academy are to (1) develop a collective working definition of mentorship and (2) understand unconscious bias in order to create an inclusive workplace and academic culture. Effective communication is a key theme that pervades through all session topics, which include (1) What is mentoring: developing a shared definition; (2) Challenges and opportunities in mentoring; (3) Developing a Mentor Action Plan and (4)Mentor/Mentee Collaborative Action Planning. Through the use of interactive theater, discussion, and case studies, the Mentorship Academy provides a pathway to increase mentors’ skills in supporting students from underrepresented groups. Importantly, the training encourages participants to move beyond a definition of a mentor as simply an advisor to a more holistic definition of a mentor as someone who provides social and emotional support, helps students think about next steps in their career, and works with students to build the skills they need to pursue those careers. Mentorship Academy participants develop collaborative planning templates, in conjunction with their mentees, to set the foundation for a relationship that will be productive, and mutually beneficial. Further, the Mentorship Academy creates a cohort who share these trainings and builds a community of those committed to achieving mentoring success.