The Forgotten Scholar: Underrepresented Minority Postdoc Experiences in STEM Fields

Yadav, Aman; Seals, Christopher; Sullivan, Cristina Marie Soto; Lachney, Michael; Clark, Quintana; Dixon, Kathy; Smith, Mark

doi:10.1080/00131946.2019.1702552

Cited by 41 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The intense competition to secure faculty positions has made it necessary for postdocs to have more publications in hand while applying for tenure-track positions; thus gradually, postdoc stints have become prerequisites for faculty positions in STEM fields (Brown, 2011; Jaeger et al , 2019; Micoli and Wendell, 2018; National Science Board, 2016; Nerad and Cerny, 1999). Based on the latest National Science Foundation data from 2016, there are 64,712 postdocs in STEM fields in the USA and less than 10% are racially minoritized individuals (Yadav et al , 2020). Specifically, 34,902 (53.9%) are individuals with international status, 25,594 (39.6%) are women, and 2,793 (4.3%) are Black, Latinx, or Indigenous (National Science Foundation, 2016).…”

Section: Literature Review and Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using social exchange theory to examine minoritized STEM postdocs’ experiences with faculty mentoring relationships

Noel

Miles

Rida

2021

SGPE

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Purpose Mentoring postdocs is a shared responsibility and dynamic process that requires a mutual commitment between the faculty mentor and postdoc. The purpose of this study is to understand how minoritized science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) postdocs view and engage in mentoring exchanges with their faculty mentors. In the context of this study, minoritized postdocs include women, people of color, and individuals with international status; faculty mentors include postdocs’ Principal Investigators (PIs). Design/methodology/approach Three researchers and 31 data sources (i.e., interview transcripts) were used to construct the case. Researchers first deductively and independently coded the data sources using Molm’s (2006) social exchange framework to identify examples of direct, generalized, and productive mentoring exchanges. Researchers then used thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) to identify emergent themes among coded examples of direct, generalized, and productive mentoring exchanges. Findings Data analyses revealed three emergent themes: (1.1) postdocs valued regular meetings and communication with mentors to clarify responsibilities and role expectations, (1.2) postdocs found more value in their interactions with junior faculty PIs who were flexible and open to innovative ideas, and (1.3) postdocs appreciated conversations about short- and long-term career goals and advice with mentors. Originality/value Findings offer implications for faculty and postdocs’ approaches to mentoring relationships, and for approaches to cultivating supportive scholarly communities in STEM higher education. Recommendations include flexibility in research assignments, increased awareness of non-academic careers, and opportunities for informal interactions and intra/interdepartmental community building.

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Section: Literature Review and Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using social exchange theory to examine minoritized STEM postdocs’ experiences with faculty mentoring relationships

Noel

Miles

Rida

2021

SGPE

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“…In order to address these issues, we engaged postdocs and their faculty mentors in three primary activities: postdoc and faculty mentoring, cross-institutional webinars, and in-person workshops. These activities were informed by the needs of the postdocs that we identified by in-depth qualitative interviews conducted prior to the start of the workshops (see Yadav et al, 2020 about the postdoc needs) as well as suggestions from the postdocs as we did face-to-face and online workshops. Most importantly we discussed the role of mentors, sponsors, and coaches in career development.…”

Section: Postdoc and Faculty Mentor Professional Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The changing demographics in the United States provide compelling motivation to address the underrepresentation of faculty of color and ethnic minorities, especially in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. However, racial and ethnic inequalities and lack of faculty diversity in STEM fields at institutions of higher education persist as impediments (Yadav et al, 2020). A recent report by the Pew research center found that while 45% of the undergraduate students in the United States are racial or ethnic minorities, only 24% of the postsecondary faculty are nonwhite (Davis and Fry, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the same time, prior research has found that postdocs of color face "micro-aggressions, challenges to their competence, different work expectations, expectations to be representatives of minorities in general, and different treatment" (Yadav et al, 2020, p. 176). As a result, postdocs of color often do not have a sense of belonging and feel isolated at their institutions, which is further exacerbated by lack of professional development (Yadav et al, 2020). Yadav et al (2020) argued that we need to move away from the "one size fits all" model of professional development (PD) and develop support systems specifically for scholars of color.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, postdocs of color often do not have a sense of belonging and feel isolated at their institutions, which is further exacerbated by lack of professional development (Yadav et al, 2020). Yadav et al (2020) argued that we need to move away from the "one size fits all" model of professional development (PD) and develop support systems specifically for scholars of color. In this paper, we report on the model developed as part of the Big Ten Academic Alliance PAI program.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Professorial Advancement Initiative: A Cross-Institutional Collaboration to Increase Faculty Diversity in STEM

et al. 2021

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In this paper, we describe the model for faculty diversity developed as part of the Professorial Advancement Initiative (PAI) funded under the NSF AGEP program. The PAI, consisting of 12 of the 14 Big Ten Academic Alliance universities,1 had the goal of doubling the rate at which the universities hired tenure-track minoritized faculty, defined by National Science Foundation as African Americans, Hispanic/Latinx, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders. This paper reviews the key programmatic elements of the PAI and discusses lessons learned and the practices developed that helped the Alliance achieve its faculty diversity goal.

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(Mis)alignments between postdoctoral and supervisors' perceptions of mentorship competencies in engineering and computer science

Bahnson,

Ross,

Berdanier

2024

J of Engineering Edu

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BackgroundPostdoctoral training holds an increasingly important place in preparation for leading academic and research positions. While little empirical research has described postdoctoral training beyond the sciences, across all fields, “misaligned expectations” are often touted as a key source of postdoctoral strife.Purpose/HypothesisThis article describes mentorship competency beliefs within engineering and computer science fields, which increasingly engage in postdoctoral training.Design/MethodAn embedded mixed‐methods design was used to quantitatively identify mentorship profiles from survey data using latent profile analysis (LPA) from a sample of n = 118 postdoctoral scholars and n = 165 postdoctoral supervisors. Qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with n = 29 postdoctoral scholars and n = 20 postdoctoral supervisors was used to identify meaning in the differences between quantitative profiles. The combination of LPA with thematic analysis enabled the triangulation of distinct postdoctoral mentorship profile definitions.ResultsLPA identified six postdoctoral fellow profiles and four supervisor profiles, which became clearly definable through thematic analysis. Postdoc profiles included Technical Manager, Autonomy Focused Advisor, Stretched Mentor, Well‐Rounded Mentor, Exemplar Mentor, and Leader‐Mentor, while supervisor profiles included Autonomous Mentor, Reflective Mentor, Research Lab Mentor, and Confident Leader‐Mentor. Some of these are aligned, but several are not, giving insight into the phenomenon of “misaligned expectations” in postdoctoral literature.ConclusionsThe mentorship profiles illustrate the misalignment in expectations, which leads to negative mentorship experiences for many postdoctoral scholars.

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The Forgotten Scholar: Underrepresented Minority Postdoc Experiences in STEM Fields

Cited by 41 publications

References 40 publications

Using social exchange theory to examine minoritized STEM postdocs’ experiences with faculty mentoring relationships

Using social exchange theory to examine minoritized STEM postdocs’ experiences with faculty mentoring relationships

Professorial Advancement Initiative: A Cross-Institutional Collaboration to Increase Faculty Diversity in STEM

(Mis)alignments between postdoctoral and supervisors' perceptions of mentorship competencies in engineering and computer science

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