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Abstract

This intrinsic case study (Stake, 1995) explores the critical components of successful cross-race mentoring relationships from the mentees and mentors involved in the Increasing Minority Presence within Academia through Continuous Training (IMPACT) mentoring program. Stakeholders across academia need to better understand what facilitates successful cross-race mentoring, due to the underrepresentation of senior and emeriti faculty of color in engineering. Interviews with 16 Black engineering faculty mentees and 14 primarily White emeriti mentors were analyzed inductively and resulted in three interconnected themes: (a) self-awareness and empathy create trusting, honest conversations; (b) mentee career advancement must be core to the relationship; and (c) a history of racial allyship from the mentor is required. These findings reveal the importance of the IMPACT mentoring program creating successful mentoring matches in which both sides demonstrate self-awareness and empathy, focus on mentee career advancement, and mentors possessing a track record of dismantling racist practices in the academy.

Keywords

faculty mentorship, Black faculty, emeriti faculty, engineering academia, intrinsic case study

Author Bio(s)

Dr. Sylvia L. Mendez is a Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership Studies at the University of Kentucky. Her research centers on creating inclusive higher education policies and practices that advance faculty careers and student success. She is engaged in several NSF-sponsored collaborative research projects focused on broadening participation and success in STEM academia.

Dr. Jennifer A. Tygret (Corresponding Author) is an Assistant Professor of Education at Illinois College where she teaches in the elementary licensure and reading endorsement programs. Her research focuses on training highly qualified teachers, the need for mentoring in higher education, and the experiences of international postdoctoral students in the United States. Please direct correspondence to Jennifer.tygret@ic.edu

Ms. Anneke Bruwer is a doctoral student at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs where she is pursuing her doctorate in Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy. She is a graduate assistant researching mentoring and the experiences of postdoctoral students.

Dr. Comas Haynes is a Principal Research Engineer and Research Faculty member at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Acknowledgements

This study is sponsored by a National Science Foundation Broadening Participation in Engineering award. The IMPACT mentoring program was sponsored by an NSF Broadening Participation in Engineering award in 2015 and an NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) Design and Developments Launch Pilot award in 2017.

Publication Date

1-26-2025

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7186

ORCID ID

Jennifer Tygret https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5354-507X; Sylvia Mendez https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7723-4401

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