Two-Day Gathering at Assumption University to Explore Mentoring and Vocations in STEM and the Health Sciences

How can educational organizations cultivate authentic mentoring relationships with STEM students? How can mentoring help colleges and universities better serve diverse student populations? What does mentoring mean to students?

These are a few of the questions that will be addressed on Friday and Saturday (September 23-24) at a NetVUE (Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education) regional gathering of professors and advisors as a means of assisting students in their exploration of vocations in STEM and the health sciences. Hosted by Assumption University and College of the Holy Cross, the two-day gathering will take place on the Assumption campus and will investigate ways faculty and staff can build meaningful mentoring relationships with students — especially with first-generation and other underrepresented undergraduates – to best support their academic and professional success.

In addition to several panels and breakout sessions, the gathering will feature two keynote speakers, both noted for their outstanding work in creating paths to successful careers for minorities, women interested in careers in STEM, and healthcare professions. The first of the keynoters, Dr. Joan Y. Reede, is Dean for Diversity and Community Partnership at Harvard University Medical School and has entitled her presentation, “Pursing Pathways Towards Achieving Inclusive Excellence.” On day two of the gathering, Dr. Becky Wai-Ling Packard, Professor of Psychology and Education, Mount Holyoke College, will probe “The Power of Mentoring Moments.”

“Institutional restructuring and the creation of new programs motivated by market-driven expectations, together with the increasing demand for health and scientific career opportunities in a post-pandemic world, bring new challenges as well as opportunities for mentoring and encouraging students as they discern their callings in the sciences,” said Prof. Esteban Loustaunau, Director of the Center for Purpose and Vocation at Assumption University. “This special gathering will bring to light many of the valuable lessons on vocation and mentoring which attendees can then exercise at their own college and university campuses.”

For more information, contact Esteban Loustaunau: eloustaunau@assumption.edu, 508-767-7589.

NetVUE is administered by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), an association of more than 700 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils of independent colleges, and other higher education affiliates, which works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education’s contributions to society. Founded in 1956, CIC is headquartered at One Dupont Circle, Washington, DC.