Lack of representation in STEM remains a significant issue at every level of academia. While many initiatives to improve diversity exist, they primarily focus on recruiting more women and individuals from historically marginalized groups, and fail to address the systemic issues that can prevent these individuals from thriving. Given that every academic community has a unique historical narrative, it is critical to identify the specific issues that negatively affect a given community’s climate and culture before devising strategies to increase diversity. One framework that has proven useful for improving academic climate is the theory of change—which includes ongoing assessment of the challenges facing a graduate community, using those data to brainstorm solutions, and relying on cooperative efforts to drive positive change. While this approach has been used successfully to initiate positive, lasting cultural change within an R01 chemistry department, there are still many challenges left to address. Throughout this talk, we will present these successes and challenges, and discuss how a theory of change approach is now being used to understand and improve mentorship within a multi-institutional NSF Center for Chemical Innovation. Importantly, we will examine how data on the challenges faced by graduate-level mentors can be used to improve mentor training and, more generally, promote holistic support for a more diverse, future generation of scientific leaders.

Mentorship, belonging, and inclusion: Using a theory of change approach to improve academic culture

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.