The Graduate School at UNC Charlotte recently co-hosted and took part in a multi-institution professional development conference “Building Graduate Community and a Culture of Inclusion” on the campus of Virginia Tech. This is the second year of the regional drive-in conference which focuses on best-practices in graduate student services. This year’s theme was how institutions can create communities of inclusion for their graduate students. Topics ranged from creating transformational professional and development experiences to having an effective voice in graduate student governance. Original presentations can be found online at: https://graduateschool.vt.edu/about/conferences/2019-conference/Conference_materials.html
“This annual conference provides us with the opportunity to network with others in our region who support graduate student success,” says Dr. Katherine Hall-Hertel, Associate Dean for Graduate Academic and Student Services at UNC Charlotte. “The collaboration that results from this conference is truly valuable. Not only are we sharing best-practices, but we have the opportunity to talk about how we implement an initiative in our particular setting. Shared problem-solving is not something that happens at a large conference. This engagement helps all of us improve the services and support we offer to our graduate students.”
Dr. Karen DePauw, Vice President and Dean for Graduate Education at Virginia Tech delivered the keynote to the 60 plus in attendance. She focused on the importance of inclusion before diversity, noting that inclusion should always be the goal. A long-time advocate for student support, Dean DePauw encouraged the participants to create “brave” spaces for graduate education, noting that taking risks is an important part of improving graduate student success programs.
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| Pictured left to right, Dr. Johnna Frierson, Dr. Lisa Rasmussen, and Dr. Katherine Hall-Hertel. |
One of the most relevant sessions was conducted by UNC Charlotte’s Dr. Hall-Hertel and Dr. Lisa Rasmussen, Associate Professor and Faculty Fellow in the Graduate School, and Duke University’s, Dr. Johnna Frierson, Director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Pratt College of Engineering, who presented on Effective Mentor/Mentee Training for Faculty and Students. They discussed the importance of training faculty and students to engage in mentoring. A training approach promoted through the Center for the Improvement of the Mentored Experience in Research was implemented at both UNC Charlotte and Duke. The presenters shared how they used the evidence-based training to improve mentor/mentee relationships on their campuses, as shared examples of case studies used in the training.
“At UNC Charlotte we’ve recently implemented a new training initiative to support a strong research climate on campus. By helping faculty to be better mentors to graduate students, we believe we can improve the research experience for both faculty and students. Our faculty have asked for better training as mentors, and this initiative is a response to that request,“ explains Hall-Hertel. “Dr. Frierson discussed the way in which Duke's Pratt College of Engineering is training doctoral students to be better mentees. These training go together. Both institutions plan to offer both types of training soon.”
Over 20 institutions attended including representatives from Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State University, Auburn University, University of Kentucky, University of Tennessee, Wake Forest and Appalachian State University (co-host). UNC Charlotte brought 12 participants to the Blacksburg campus and hopes to host next year’s conference.