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Evaluation of a Postdoctoral Early Career Fellowship Program Developing Future Faculty Members

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Faculty Development Division (FDD) Technical Session 4

Tagged Division

Faculty Development Division (FDD)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

13

DOI

10.18260/1-2--43460

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/43460

Download Count

133

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Paper Authors

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Sydni Alexa Cobb University of Texas, Austin Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-9816-9100

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Sydni Cobb is a Mechanical Engineering doctoral student and graduate research assistant for the Center for Engineering Education at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the illustrious North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in 2015, entered the engineering workforce, and has since enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin to complete her M.S. and PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

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biography

Audrey Boklage University of Texas, Austin

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Audrey Boklage is research assistant in the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Her current work is focused on exploring pedagogical moves and interactions within university makerspaces to create a theoretical lens to info

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biography

Maura Borrego University of Texas, Austin Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0001-7131-4611

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Maura Borrego is Director of the Center for Engineering Education and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and STEM Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Borrego is Senior Associaate Editor for Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and E

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Lydia Contreras

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Abstract

This evidence-based practice paper describes and evaluates the first year of a postdoctoral professional development early career fellowship program. The aim of this program was to identify promising early career scholars from atypical backgrounds, such as research areas or identities underrepresented in their discipline, and further develop them into more competitive faculty candidates. We evaluated four main goals of the program: providing professional development activities; facilitating the transition to tenure track positions; creating a network of peers and mentors; and attracting faculty candidates that value diversity, equity, and inclusion to the University. To achieve these goals, the program assigned mentors to each fellow and supplied professional development activities centered on the needs of future faculty members. Thirty fellows from the first cohort were invited to complete a semi-structured interview sharing their experiences in the program. Nine main themes emerged through data analysis: program goals, how program goals were accomplished, program community building, what mentorship means to fellows, relationships with mentors, cohort camaraderie, emphasis on recognition, location matters, and critical consciousness. With the fellows’ positive reception of this program, the program evaluation will not only refine offerings for later cohorts, but it will also assist similar programs’ construction and evaluation in the future.

Cobb, S. A., & Boklage, A., & Borrego, M., & Contreras, L. (2023, June), Evaluation of a Postdoctoral Early Career Fellowship Program Developing Future Faculty Members Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--43460

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