MentorNet News – June 2010 Volume 1

In This Issue Mentors Rewarded by Their Role Geoscience Protégés Flock to MentorNet Biomedical Engineering Leads the Way HBCU Presidents Link Mentoring To Advancement Seeking Stories From Women of Color "Close to 70 percent of all engineering PhDs granted in 2006 went to foreign-born students, as did more than half the doctoral degrees in the physical sciences." -- National Science Foundation Thank You to May's New and Renewing Partners AGU Association for Facilities Engineering Foundation College of Southern Maryland Linkoping Institute National Semiconductor SD Bechtel, Jr. Foundation SACNAS University of Texas at Arlington Want to Share? Do you want to contribute to our newsletter? If so, please send submissions to editor@mentornet.net -MentorNet Editor Join Our List     June 17, 2010 www.mentornet.net Nature: Mentors Rewarded by Their Role We are well aware that protégés benefit from mentoring, but what are some of the advantages for a mentor? Nature magazine recently published the article: "The Role of Mentorship in Protégé Performance" in its June 2010 issue highlighting the rewards of mentorship to the mentor in both academia and industry. Nature explains: "In return, mentors receive fulfillment not only by altruistically improving the welfare of their protégés, but also by improving their own welfare" (Nature, June 2010). Authors R. Dean Malmgren, Julio M. Ottino, and Luis A. Nunes Amaral cite the Mathematics Genealogy Project in their research. While mentors increase their communication, career, and leadership skills through their involvement in mentoring programs, protégés that receive mentoring statistically have higher performance ratings, salaries and even receive more career opportunities for promotion than their unmentored counterparts. Geoscience Protégés Flock to MentorNet Thanks to an NSF grant and the efforts of many of our partner companies, universities and organizations, our number of protégés in the geosciences has grown 78% in the past year, from 362 to 645. The American Geophysical Union (AGU) and our Advisory Board have been instrumental in this effort. As a result, we have an opportunity for mentors in the geosciences to be matched immediately. You can volunteer here, and please send this link to your colleagues. Biomedical Engineering Leads the Way The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects biomedical engineering to be one of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. between now and 2018, with salaries among the top five. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the profession will grow by 72% between 2008 and 2018, which is significantly more than other engineering disciplines. Its closest competitors, including network systems and data communications analysts, will grow in the 50% range. HBCU Presidents Link Mentoring To Advancement Those who reach the executive level must make deliberate attempts to include talented candidates of color in daily governance even or especially in academia. Mentoring that talent is a crucial element in creating advancement and access. That was the theme of the gathering of  presidents for the symposium: Setting the Agenda for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.   Drs. Bob Suzuki from California State Polytechnic University, Sidney Ribeau from Howard University, and Tomas Morales from the College of Staten Island, CUNY, shared their insights about becoming college presidents. According to Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Ribeau advised that, "We need to be more intentional about how we prepare people." Ribeau added that those who reach the executive level must make deliberate attempts to include talented candidates of color in daily governance. Continue reading here. -Lisa Jennings, Senior Consultant on Strategic Partnerships and Outreach Seeking Stories From Women of Color Calling African American, Asian American, Hispanic/Latina and Native American women in STEM! If you work (or have worked) in astronomy, astrophysics, computer science, physics or engineering, your contribution is sought for an NSF-funded research project. Beyond the Double Bind will identify strategies that enable women of color to advance in STEM education and professions. This project will examine written narratives, including autobiographies, biographies, and news articles, with an end goal of increasing minority women's overall participation in STEM professionals. Please contact Lily Ko by email or at 617.873.9859. MentorNet is a 501(C)(3) California non-profit educational organization. Our mission is to help aspiring engineering and science students and professionals at the university level - especially women and underrepresented minorities - achieve their career goals by matching them with mentors and guiding their one-on-one relationships over the Web. We are funded by fees from our campus, corporate, government laboratory and society partners and by grants from public and private foundations.