Beronda L. Montgomery, PhD, is a writer, researcher, and scholar who pursues a common theme of understanding how individuals perceive, respond to, and are impacted by the environments in which they exist. Her primary laboratory-based research is focused on the responses of photosynthetic organisms (i.e., plants and cyanobacteria) to external light cues. Additionally, Beronda pursues this theme in the context of effective mentoring and leadership of individuals, and the role of innovative leaders in supporting success. Beronda is author of the book Lessons From Plants (2021, Harvard University Press).
Faculty who have advising responsibilities play a critical role in a student’s progression through their undergraduate education. This is especially important for students from underrepresented minorities (URMs) such as first generation students or students from low socio-economic backgrounds LSEBs). While academic advising in higher education has been professionalized and its importance in student success has been recognized, faculty advising has not experienced the advancement in scholarship, theory and practice that is needed. Aspire’s A Guide to Academic Advising for STEM Faculty provides an overview of advising, core competencies to address the academic needs of students, and tools to help faculty be effective advisors for a diverse population of students. The tools and resources include an advising checklist for new faculty, faculty advising framework, exercises to help identify social identity, and more.
The Faculty Member’s Guide to Career Success Through Mentoring provides strategies for achieving success in academia by gaining adequate and appropriate mentoring. Expecting that you can get all the help you need from a single source is unrealistic. This guide will show you how to deploy a networking model to find an array of mentors who can supply help and advice in the areas where you need it. This guide explores how to establish and refine your goals, find and choose appropriate mentors, and cultivate and evaluate your mentoring relationships.
Are you interested in improving your mentorship skills and discussing mentorship approaches with other colleagues? UCLA offers Entering Mentoring Training as part of the nationally recognized CIMER Mentoring training. You can sign up at these links which offers separate trainings sessions for faculty, postdocs, and graduate students.
Montgomery, BL (2018). From Deficits to Possibilities: Mentoring Lessons from Plants. Public Philosophy Journal, 1:10.25335/M5/PPJ.1.1-3
Mentors’ Motivation to Address Race/Ethnicity in Research Mentoring Relationships https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6724732/
Best Practices for Inclusive Mentoring Resource List: a list of resources and articles that address inclusive mentoring.
Montgomery, BL (2019). To Support or To Deny: Mentoring or Gatekeeping? ASBMB Today, 18(7): 43–45.
A Guide to Academic Advising for Faculty: NSF guide for advising including an advising checklist (p14), and topics such as self-reflection on the part of the advisor (p16), and intercultural advising (p21).
Mentoring Underrepresented Minority Students: a short list of quick mentoring tips
Mentoring Underrepresented Students in STEMM: A Survey and Discussion: A series of tips for mentors and explanations for how the mentorship of underrepresented and marginalized students differ from their counterparts.
