We're Impressed!
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The American College of Sports Medicine recently started a "call for mentors" campaign and in less than a month they had 24 new mentors signed up. We are delighted to see their program grow! If you want to learn more about ACSM, go to their website at www.acsm.org
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2010 Women's Empowerment Campaign
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Do you support our work and mission? If so, share your experience and opinion about MentorNet before May 31st and help us make GreatNonProfit's Top-Rated Women's Empowerment Nonprofits list! Click here to provide your rating. Thank you!
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Intel Celebrates 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair
The Intel Science and Engineering Fair is the largest pre-college science fair competition. On May 14, 2010, the world's most promising young scientists and mathematicians gathered here in San Jose, California for this unique event. Amy Cindy Chyao won first prize, followed by Kevin Michael Ellis and Yale Wang Fan who won second and third respectively. Congratulations! See more about the winners here.
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Featured Quote
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"[Katie Washington, Notre Dame's first black valedictorian] needed to overcome the feeling of isolation that set in, a sentiment often experienced by students of color pursuing STEM degrees at predominately White institutions."
-- Michelle J. Nealy, Diverse Education
Read full story here.
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-MentorNet Editor
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| Subconscious Bias Perpetuates Gender Gap |
 Last week we were invited to attend the 2010 NCWIT summit in Portland, Oregon, with its impressive array of presentations. One in particular, "The role of implicit bias in perpetuation of the gender gap in science and technology" by Dr. Brian Nosek, Department of Psychology at University of Virginia, made me wonder how much we are at the mercy of subconscious factors when we make decisions, even when we have the best of intentions.
One of the studies cited found that when asked which firefighter had the best credentials for promotion, the percentage was always higher for the male candidate, no matter which credentials were attached. And when the participants were asked why they had chosen this candidate, they did not say that it was because of his gender. They were convinced that it was the credentials that influenced their decision. According to the researcher, this phenomenon is called "shifting": when the criterion moves in order to accommodate a subconscious prejudice. The difficulty in fighting this phenomenon is that the person making the decision is not conscious at all that it was gender that determined the final outcome and not the credentials.
-Alejandra Velásquez, Director of Media and Communications |
America COMPETES - Not Yet!
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Two weeks ago, MentorNet proudly joined hundreds of other organizations to urge passage of the America COMPETES Act. This bill would have funded the scientific, research, and technical innovation base of this nation, and given access to STEM education for broader populations at unprecedented levels. Unfortunately, the wheels came off this visionary attempt to invest in America's future. Partisan concerns gutted the bill and weighed it down with provisions that were meant to undermine it, so its sponsors yanked it rather than see it pass to do more harm than good.
If you care at all about basic scientific research, technical innovation, engineering and higher education, if you believe that one of the best and most critical acts of a government is to invest in education for all, if you're worried that the U.S. is losing its place as the world's premiere engine of knowledge and human advancement, then please write your congressperson. A simple, well-reasoned and sincere letter will do. It is possible that she or he was among the 122 Democrats and virtually unanimous Republican bloc that let this important moment slip.
I used to think it was a cliché, but after spending time visiting members of Congress for several causes, including MentorNet's, I learned that even a single voice can be influential. I also believe that linking discovery to democracy, putting new knowledge and its attendant power to create new technology in the hands of those who also promote freedom, is one of the highest ideals we can pursue. The alternatives can be disastrous. They say engineers and scientists tend to be apolitical. I believe there's nothing more political than new knowledge and ensuring everyone is invited to drink at its fountain. Please join me in making yourself heard.
You can read the ASEE's great and more thorough account here.
-David Porush, CEO
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SD Bechtel Jr. Foundation Grant Will Help MentorNet Reach More Students
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The S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation has awarded MentorNet a two-part $100,000 grant to pursue ways to reach more students with our award-winning mentoring program. The first half of the grant will go to studying and planning the launch of a broad-based Web and outreach campaign. The second half, to be awarded upon the completion of a convincing plan, will support MentorNet in its execution.
Last year, I received this email from a student: "Dear MentorNet, I had been looking forward to enrolling in Mentornet ever since I decided to major in electrical engineering. But I was stunned to find out that my campus no longer offers it because it couldn't pay the annual fee due to cutbacks. As an Hispanic woman, isn't there some way I can qualify to join anyway? I really need a mentor!"
In keeping with this week's theme that one voice can make a difference, this email inspired us to find a way to provide a service without starving our operations into oblivion. Thankfully, S.D. Bechtel Jr Foundation listened. If you have any suggestions, we would welcome them. When we find the solution, you'll be the first to know.
-David Porush, CEO
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Book Highlights E-mentoring and Diversity
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"Almost everyone who has been mentored at some time during their life will mentor someone else," writes Thomas Landefeld in his latest book, Mentoring and Diversity: Tips for Students and Professionals for Developing and Maintaining a Diverse Scientific Community (Springer, 2009). This book illuminates the value of mentoring among "those students who have not experienced the advantages of those who were privileged to have had guidance."
Landefeld, professor of biology at California State University-Dominguez Hills, compares face-to-face mentoring to e-mentoring. While he lauds the personalization of body language and expression, he appreciates what modern technology can do for communication, essentially bringing people "next door" to each other. He gives as an example his own experience of mentoring students through email, stating, "'Long-distance' mentoring has provided an important component to the process of mentoring, in that a time continuum can be effectively established."
Landefeld proceeds to acknowledge MentorNet as a "national organization [that]... has had great success with e-mentoring in addressing the under-representation in science and engineering."
-Leila Armush, Communications Consultant
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Mentors Sought for New PBS Program!
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WGBH, the Boston affiliate of PBS, is currently seeking mentors for its Time to Invent Club, a new program that places young STEM professionals and college students in after-school sites once a week. The program is designed to inspire middle school students in underserved community to explore inventions in STEM. Volunteer mentors are needed for the fall 2010- spring 2011 program in Massachusetts (Boston/Worcester) and Indiana (Indianapolis/Lafayette). To learn more, contact Liza Silverman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at (617) 300-3642.
-Lisa Jennings, Senior Consultant on Strategic Partnerships and Outreach
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