Inclusive Mentorship Workshop

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Description

Mentoring programs offer a secure space for participants to share their experiences. By focusing on conversation and dialogue outside of the classroom, these programs challenge traditional power dynamics between faculty and students that often marginalize BIPOC students. This approach promotes academic success and personal development for students. Strong mentor-mentee relationships can also bring about structural changes at the university level, leading to improved enrollment and retention of BIPOC students. By exploring the intersections of race, class, and gender, mentorship programs help BIPOC students navigate their unique challenges and build a sense of community among students and faculty outside of conventional spaces. 

This program, facilitated by Dr. Dyann Logwood (Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies) and Dr. Sadaf Ali (Professor of Digital Media and Journalism), intended to address this need by utilizing a two-part strategy:

  1. Partnering with existing entities and expanding mentoring techniques to accommodate cultural differences.
  2. Building a network of well-equipped interdisciplinary multicultural faculty members to meet student needs through a team mentorship model.

The team model supported EMU's mission of fostering a culture that celebrates diversity and enhances student-faculty interactions by: (1) improving faculty confidence in mentoring students from cultures different than their own, (2) building a multicultural inter-network of support among faculty mentors, (3) expanding student access to professional organizations across disciplines and professions, (4) increasing the number of academic and career-ready students on campus.