Salons HI
Professional Strategies Working Group: Developing and Supporting the Next Generation of Statistical Leadership (304814)
*Emily H Griffith, North Carolina State UniversityAlyson G Wilson, North Carolina State University
Herle McGowan, North Carolina State University
Keywords: mentoring, URM, professional development
While graduate students receive high quality research mentoring, professional norms are not generally taught. The Professional Strategies Working Group (PSWG) in the Department of Statistics at NCSU was established to provide students, particularly women and under-represented minorities, with mentoring for career success.
Women and URM may face different obstacles than students in the majority. The PSWG studies decision making and professional behavior, particularly for professional conferences. We also read books on professional development and leadership.
NCSU and the Department of Statistics are supportive of the PSWG on two fronts. First, some students involved have been sent to conferences via a small grant and departmental funding. The travel awards require pre-conference mentoring and post-conference reflection. Topics covered include how to network, navigate a mixer, and set conference goals. Second, as a department, we are proactively setting up processes to prevent, monitor, and respond to social and personal problems that students may encounter at conferences, such as discrimination and harassment. Other universities may benefit from having a similar program.