New mentoring program to promote inquiry, creativity now underway
The new Partners in Inquiry and Creativity (PIC) program strives to foster connections between students who are interested in research and creative activity and faculty/staff members who are interested in acting as a mentor to emerging scholars and artists.
“This program is new as of Fall 2023 and we're excited to see it grow,” said OSCAR Director Jill Reese.
To join the program, the Office of Student Creative Activity and Research (OSCAR) invites faculty/staff and students from all majors to use the form online to indicate their interest in participating in the program. Faculty are encouraged to share this information with their students. Questions should be directed via email
OSCAR will then work together with the faculty/staff mentors and the students to determine appropriate partners for research and creative activity.
Through the mentoring relationships, students will gain experiences in the processes that professionals in their discipline use to develop new knowledge and unique art. They will also gain valuable opportunities for professional socialization and collaboration.
The experiences are especially valuable for students in underrepresented groups in their academic field and for those who have not had equal access to such opportunities in the past. Such experiences contribute positively to retention and to students’ success in graduate work and their career after graduation, noted Dr. Reese.
Faculty/staff mentors will also benefit from mentoring interactions with students. Faculty often report that mentoring helps them create a culture that contributes positively to their own research and creativity. In addition, faculty mentors report that their interactions with emerging researchers and artists contribute to their trajectory toward tenure and promotion.
