Louis Stokes Regional Center of Excellence for Wholistic Mentoring in STEM (WM STEM Center)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
The following articles were extracted from the National Science Foundation (NSF) database and provide valuable insights into mentoring initiatives, examples, and experiences of underrepresented students seeking a STEM degree. These resources are relevant for faculty mentors, as well as undergraduate community college students, undergraduate four-year university students, and those in graduate studies who are seeking guidance and support. The articles cover a range of topics, including effective mentoring strategies, the benefits of mentorship for URM students, and case studies that highlight successful mentor-mentee relationships. Additionally, the resources in the NSF database provide information on programs and initiatives aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion in the STEM fields.
Community College LSAMP Bridge to the Baccalaureate
This collection of scholarly articles explores various aspects of improving undergraduate STEM education, with a particular emphasis on enhancing transfer success and broadening participation among underrepresented students. The articles highlight the importance of developing and sustaining partnerships between two-year and four-year institutions, providing opportunities for summer research programs, fostering a climate of excellence through cultural diversity, and examining the factors that shape female students' transfer intent. Additionally, the articles offer insights on the retention of underrepresented minority students and ways to increase STEM transfer readiness among minority two-year college students. There are recommendations on how to create synergistic alliances to improve graduation and transfer outcomes for community college students.
Brown, P. (2022). Building Capacity: Enhancing Undergraduate STEM Education by Improving Transfer Success. 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10388395.
Burt, B. A., Stone, B. D., Motshubi, R., & Baber, L. D. (2020). STEM Validation Among Underrepresented Students: Leveraging Insights From a STEM Diversity Program to Broaden Participation. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000300
De Leone, C., Price, E., Sabella, M., & Van Duzor, A. (2019). Developing and sustaining faculty-driven, curriculum-centered partnerships between two-year colleges and four-year institutions. Journal of College Science Teaching, 048(06). https://doi.org/10.2505/4/jcst19_048_06_20
Gates, A.E., Gilbert, J., Botanga, C., London, B., Nguyen, K. (2022). Editorial: New developments in pathways toward diversity and inclusion in STEM: A United States perspective. Frontier Education, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.983922
Leggett-Robinson, P., Villa, B., & Davis, N. (2017). Native-born and foreign-born black students in STEM: Addressing stem identity and belonging barriers and their effects on stem retention and persistence at the two-year college. 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--27945
McIntyre, N., Amelink, C. T., & Bokor, J. (2020). Positive effects of a summer research program on Diverse Community College students. 2020 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON). https://doi.org/10.1109/educon45650.2020.9125315
Merriweather, S., Butler-Purry, K., Walton, S., & Kelley, J. (2018). Insights on retention of underrepresented minority electrical and Computer Engineering Transfer Students (experience). 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--30671
Rodríguez, Y., Angulo, N., Nieto-Wire, C., Varelas, A. (2020). Engineering Student Perceptions of Combined Faculty and Peer Academic Performance. The Chronicle of Mentoring and Coaching 2020. Special Issue 13. UNM Mentoring Institute’s Conference Proceedings 2020. ISSN 2372-9848. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10215493
San Miguel, C., & Gates, A. E. (2021). Synergistic interaction of LSAMP alliances to improve the graduation and transfer of Community College students in New Jersey United States. Frontiers. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.679865
Sansing-Helton, B., Coover, G., & Benton, C. E. (2021). Increasing stem transfer readiness among underrepresented minoritized two-year college students: Examining course-taking patterns, experiences, and interventions. Frontiers in Education, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.667091
Smith, D. J., Spott, J. L., Higgins, R., & McNaughtan, J. (2021). Beyond articulation agreements: Fostering success for community college transfer students in STEM. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 46(9), 676–680. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2021.1961923
Svoronos, P. D. (2010). Building on cultural diversity to create a climate of excellence at New York’s Queensborough Community College. Journal of Chemical Education, 87(12), 1294–1295. https://doi.org/10.1021/ed100692y
Wang, X., Chan, H.-yu, Soffa, S. J., & Nachman, B. R. (2017). A nuanced look at women in STEM fields at two-year colleges: Factors that shape female students' transfer intent. Frontiers in Psychology, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00146
Wang, X., Lee, S. Y., & Prevost, A. (2017). The role of aspirational experiences and behaviors in cultivating momentum for transfer access in STEM: Variations across gender and Race. Community College Review, 45(4), 311–330. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552117724511
The articles discuss the benefits of these programs, including increased retention and success rates, identity development, and attitude changes, among others. The mentoring programs and communities described in these articles aim to promote inclusive excellence and provide students with the skills, resources, and support they need to succeed in their chosen fields. These resources can be used by educational institutions, administrators, teachers, and students to create and participate in mentoring programs and communities that help bridge the gaps in STEM education.
Burgstahler, S. (2012). Creating an E-Mentoring Community" Closing the Gap, 30(6), 12. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Creating-an-E-Mentoring-Community-Burgstahler/f0852e087ab04046c6515cf59f3aede3e7f3ee6b
Burgstahler, S., & Thompson, T. (2011). Fully including students, teachers, and administrators with disabilities in telementoring. Telementoring in the K-12 Classroom: Online communication technologies for learning, 89–115. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61520-861-6.ch006
DiBartolo, P. M., Gregg-Jolly, L., Gross, D., Manduca, C. A., Iverson, E., Cooke, D. B., 3rd, Davis, G. K., Davidson, C., Hertz, P. E., Hibbard, L., Ireland, S. K., Mader, C., Pai, A., Raps, S., Siwicki, K., & Swartz, J. E. (2016). Principles and Practices Fostering Inclusive Excellence: Lessons from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Capstone Institutions. CBE life sciences education, 15(3), ar44. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-01-0028
Dunn, C. (2021). A Mentoring Bridge Model for Students with Disabilities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Journal of postsecondary education and disability, 34 (2). Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10295074
Gates, A. (2019). The protégé effect in the retention of underrepresented minority undergraduate teaching assistants in geoscience: Preliminary indications from Newark, New Jersey. Journal of Geoscience Education, 67(4), 417–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2019.1661760
Huziak-Clark, T.L., van Staadeen, M., Bullerjahn, A. (2014). The Impact of the Science, Engineering, and Technology Gateway of Ohio (SETGO) Program Mentoring on Student Attitude Changes and Retention. American International Journal of Social Science, 8(2). https://www.aijssnet.com/journals/Vol_3_No_2_March_2014/3.pdf
Kuchynka, S., Gates, A., & Rivera, L. (2020). Identity Development during STEM Integration for Underrepresented Minority Students (Elements in Applied Social Psychology). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108882071
Leake, D. W., Burgstahler, S., & Izzo, M. V. (2011). Promoting transition success for culturally and linguistically diverse students with disabilities: The value of mentoring. Creative Education, 02(02), 121–129. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2011.22017
Lisberg, A. E., & Woods, B. C. (2018). Mentorship, mindset and learning strategies: An integrative approach to increasing underrepresented minority student retention in a STEM undergraduate program. Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, 19. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7218-963X
Merriweather, S. P., Lamm, H. A., Walton, S. D., Butler-Purry, K. L., Kelley, J., Thomasson, K. E., Rausch, J. D., Pezold, F., & Harris, K. T. (2017). TAMUS LSAMP Project: 25 Years of Success - Finding and Implementing Best Practices for URM STEM Students. 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition. https://peer.asee.org/28904
Qazi, M. A., Shannon, D. M., Jenda, O., McCullough, B., Griffin, G., & Lunn, A. M. (2016). A mentoring bridge model to prepare students with disabilities in the STEM fields at Tuskegee University. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 22(3), 183–197. https://doi.org/10.1615/jwomenminorscieneng.2016015452
Russomanno, D., Best, R. M., Ivey, S., Franceschetti, D., Haddock, J., & Hairston, R. (2010). MemphiSTEP: A STEM Talent Expansion Program at the University of Memphis. Journal of STEM Education, 11, 69-8. https://www.jstem.org/jstem/index.php/JSTEM/article/view/1519 https://www.jstem.org/jstem/index.php/JSTEM/article/view/1519/1295
Tull, R., Reed, A., Felder, P., Hester, S., Williams, D., Medina, Y., Lo, A., Aparaka, E., & Ordonez, P. (2017). Hashtag #thinkbigdiversity: Social media hacking activities as hybridized mentoring mechanisms for underrepresented minorities in STEM. 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--28430
Graduate LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate
This collection of citations focuses on various programs and initiatives aimed at increasing the participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM fields at the graduate level. These programs include mentoring programs at the University of Texas at Arlington, professional development activities for future faculty, and NSF Bridge to the Doctorate programming. The articles and papers discuss the impact of these initiatives on diversity and inclusion in these fields and identify barriers that prevent underrepresented students from participating in graduate-level STEM programs. The research highlights the importance of these programs in creating pathways to success for underrepresented students and increasing diversity in these fields.
Aktosun, T., & Parker, Y., & Su, J. (2022), THREE MENTORING PROGRAMS IN MATHEMATICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON AND THEIR LOCAL AND BROADER IMPACTS. Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. https://strategy.asee.org/41905
Aktosun, T., Parker, Y., Su, J. (2021). Broadening the Participation of Underrepresented Minorities in the Mathematical Sciences. ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access, Virtual Conference. https://strategy.asee.org/36758
Cochran, G.L., Hodapp, T., Alexander Brown, E.E. (2017). Identifying barriers to ethnic/racial minority students’ participation in graduate physics. 2017 PERC proceedings. https://doi.org/10.1119/perc.2017.pr.018
Hodapp, T., Brown, E. (2018). Making physics more inclusive. Nature, 557. DOI: 10.1038/d41586-018-05260-4. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05260-4
Lynch, C., & Sears, K. (2011). Impact of professional development activities in preparing scholars to become future faculty. 2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--18081
Preuss, M. D., Merriweather, S. P., Walton, S. D., & Butler-Purry, K. L. (2020). Minority student preparation for STEM Ph.D. study: Impact of NSF bridge to the doctorate programming. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science, 4(3), 168–187. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijtes.v4i3.122
Rudolph, A. L. (2019). Cal-Bridge: Creating pathways to the Ph.D. for underrepresented students in physics and Astronomy. Physics Today, 72(10), 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1063/pt.3.4319
Rudolph, A. L., Holley-Bockelmann, K., & Posselt, J. (2019). Ph.D. bridge programs as engines for access, diversity, and inclusion. Nature Astronomy, 3(12), 1080–1085. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-019-0962-1
Tull, R., & Cortes-Rodriguez, M. (2015). Starting points for involving underrepresented graduate students in international engagement: A case study on the collaborations between the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and Educational Institutions in Latin America. 2015 ASEE International Forum Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--17153
Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP)
This collection of articles and studies explores the role of mentorship in promoting the professional development and success of underrepresented groups in STEM fields, including Native American, African American, and women graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. The studies examine the impact of mentorship programs on faculty and graduate students in STEM, as well as the challenges and biases faced by underrepresented groups in doctoral STEM mentoring relationships. The findings suggest that mentorship can play a critical role in reducing negative affect, increasing rapport, and nurturing students' needs, particularly when it is culturally responsive and supports the personal, relational, and collective experiences of underrepresented groups. The articles also call for systematic change in the postdoctoral training environment to address disparities in STEM education and increase the participation of underrepresented minority groups in STEM fields.
Brown, B., Pedersen, M., Harrington, J., Belcourt, A., Windchief, S., Thomas, A., Plenty Sweetgrass-She Kills, R., Conroy-Ben, O., Brodt, E., Chief, K., Hoagland, S., Johnson-Jennings, M., Lewis, J., Green Mink, K., Milligan-Myhre, K. C., Calhoun, M., Ozburn, A., Simonds, V., Des Rosier Grant, A., Wu, K. (2022). Exploring personal, relational, and collective experiences and mentorship connections that enhance or inhibit professional development and career advancement of Native American faculty in STEM fields: A qualitative study. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000376
Brown, B., Windchief, S., Komlos, B., Arouca, R. (2020). Assessing the impact of an Indigenous Mentoring Program on faculty to support American Indian/Alaska Native graduate students in STEM. Latest TOC RSS. Retrieved from https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/magna/jfd/2020/00000034/00000003/art00004?crawler=true&mimetype=application/pdf.
Dickens, D. (2021). Changing the face of STEM: Review of literature on the role of mentors in the success of undergraduate black women in STEM education. Journal of research initiatives. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10355703.
Douglas, N. C., Howell, C., Merriweather, L. R., Sanczyk, A. (2021, January 25). Mentoring is not created equal: Doctoral stem faculty perceptions of mentoring and implications for underrepresented stem learners. CoNECD - Collaborative Network for Computing and Engineering Diversity - Conference. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10218662.
Frehill, L. M., Lain, A., Jacquez, R., Luces, K., Ketcham, L., Jeser-Cannavale, C. (2007). Mentoring Experiences: A Comparison of Women and Men Graduate Students in Engineering and Natural Sciences. Conference Paper, Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network (WEPAN). Retrieved from https://journals.psu.edu/wepan/article/view/58493/58181.
Howell, C. D., Merriweather, L. R., Sanczyk, A., Douglas, N. (2020). Challenges in STEM Ph.D. programs: Biased mentoring. 2020 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE). https://doi.org/10.1109/fie44824.2020.9274209
Huntoon, J. E., Tanenbaum, C., Hodges, J. (2015). Increasing diversity in the Geosciences. Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, 96. https://doi.org/10.1029/2015eo025897
Leitner, J. B., Ayduk, Ö., Boykin, C. M., Mendoza-Denton, R. (2018). Reducing negative affect and increasing rapport improve interracial mentorship outcomes. PLOS ONE. Retrieved from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0194123
Linkous, C. (2021). Poster title 24: Quest 2018 – wearing mentoring and mentee shoes at the same time. Wearing Mentoring and Mentee Shoes at the Same Time | AGEP National Research Conference. Retrieved from https://live.bu.edu/agep/sessions/linkous/.
Lopez, C. (2012). Disparities in STEM Education: Importance of Faculty-Student Mentoring Relationships. The Department Chair, 23(2), 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1002/dch.20048
Mendez, S. L. (2021). Exploring the mentoring needs of engineering postdoctoral scholars of color: Is systematic change required in the postdoctoral training environment? 2021 ASEE Annual Conference. https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10303473
National Academy of Sciences; National Academy of Engineering; Policy and Global Affairs; Institute of Medicine; Committee on Science, n. (2010). Expanding underrepresented minority participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads |The National Academies Press. Retrieved from https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/12984/expanding-underrepresented-minority-participation-americas-science-and-technology-talent-at.
Sanczyk, A., Douglas, N. D., Howell, C. R., & Merriweather, L. (2020, January 1). Experiences and perceptions on culturally responsive stem doctoral mentoring. Conference proceedings. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10191557-experiences-perceptions-culturally-responsive-stem-doctoral-mentoring
Sanczyk, A., Merriweather, L. R., Douglas, N., Howell, C. D. (2020). The missing pieces of nurturing students' needs in doctoral stem mentoring relationships. Proceedings of the London International Conference on Education (LICE). Re. https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10221628.
Sanyal, N., Ward, K., Becerra, L. M. (2016). Culturally competent mentoring: The chair's role toward a culturally responsive culture in support of American Indian and Native Alaskan students. The Department Chair, 26(3), 24–26. https://doi.org/10.1002/dch.30067
Tull, R., Reed, A., Felder, P., Hester, S., Williams, D., Medina, Y., Lo, A., Aparaka, E., Ordonez, P. (2017). Hashtag #thinkbigdiversity: Social media hacking activities as hybridized mentoring mechanisms for underrepresented minorities in STEM. 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--28430
Windchief, S., Arouca, R., Brown, B. (2018). Developing an indigenous mentoring program for faculty mentoring American Indian and Alaska Native graduate students in STEM: A qualitative study. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 26(5), 503–523. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2018.1561001
Windchief, S., Brown, B. (2017). Conceptualizing a mentoring program for American Indian/Alaska Native students in the STEM fields: A review of the literature. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 25(3), 329–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2017.1364815
Yadav, A., Seals, C. D., Sullivan, C. M., Lachney, M., Clark, Q., Dixon, K. G., Smith, M. J. (2020). The forgotten scholar: Underrepresented minority postdoc experiences in STEM fields. Educational Studies, 56(2), 160–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2019.1702552
Zhu, J., Cox, M. F., Evangelou, D., Lynch, C. (2015). Mentoring of underrepresented minority scholars in the reinvigorating engineering and changing history (REACH) program and AGEP program: Development of Interactive Learning Modules. ASEE PEER Document Repository. Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved from https://peer.asee.org/21688.
The Louis Stokes Regional Center of Excellence for Wholistic Mentoring in STEM is funded by the National Science Foundation under grants HRD2020697, HRD2020491, HRD2020548, and HRD2020524.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.