Aoki Seminar Fall 2019 - Dr. Adrienne Lawson - Increasing Inclusion by Mentoring_10/29/2019

Increasing Inclusion by Mentoring Dr. Adrienne Lawson This dialogue addresses the impact of mentoring on a student’s educational career and how these experiences impacts student success. Studies show that the quality of mentorship can affect the development of research and academic skills for a diverse population of students. Institutional data on student grades and graduation rates (n = 348) along with post-research experience surveys (n = 138) found that students who were mentored had significantly higher cumulative grade point averages and similar graduation rates as a matched set of peers. Examination of the relationships between student-reported gains and mentoring strategies demonstrated that socioemotional and culturally relevant mentoring impacted student development during mentored experiences. Recommendations are provided for using mentoring to support traditionally underrepresented students in higher learning institutions. Various mentorship practices associated with these experiences positively affect student success outcomes, foster the development of academic skills, and impact the quality of the UR experience. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Adrienne Lawson serves as the Director for Institutional Culture/Climate and Community Engagement at the Office for Equity, Diversity & Inclusion with University of California Davis Health. Her primary responsibilities include: climate needs assessment and reporting; professional leadership development; continuous diversity improvement; marketing of the office of equity, diversity and inclusion; and community engagement. Adrienne has a doctorate in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies. Her research interest is broad in scope which includes: equity, climate and culture change in organizations, women faculty leadership and retention, cultural and language diversity; gender differences, role-modeling and mentorship, faculty, and staff diversity and inclusion.