Mentoring for the Demographically Mismatched

Giddings Award Symposium

In Honor of

Alanah FitchACS 12 September 2006

When I first met AF….

• Clay films on electrodes

• Length scales• “this will never

work….

Krzysik, R. J., Alanah Fitch. Multisweep cyclic voltammetric studies on the effect of charge on diffusion and sorption processes of ML3

n+ chelates at clay-modified electrodes +, J.

Electroanalytical Chemistry, 1994, 379, 129-134.

Alanah Fitch

• BA Anthropology• MS Soil Fertility• PhD Agronomy• Postdocs: Soil

chemistry; electrochemistry

• Professor Chemistry Loyola - Chicago

• Spanish• Reading & typing• Books: Pb• Smart• Musicals & instruments• Grows garden• Army of pets• Erika, Adam, and Al• Determined to save world

The Lead Project

• Scientifically relevant

• Integrated across length scales

• Changes the world

• All things Alanah:

Complex, complete, competent

Congratulations

“Talk about Larry R. Faulkner’s Mentoring Style….”

Maybe in the context of our joint experiences upon joining the Revolution, unwittingly, in 1985…

Come the Revolution….

In the mid-1980s, the community considering:

• Increase number of women in science?– How?– How to Mentor

1964 Gordon Conference on Electrochemistry (the first)

http:/ /www.vanysek.com/electrochem/RAO%20GRC2.doc Thanks to Petr Vanysek, Steve Feldberg, Fred Anson

1974 Gordon Conference

1984 Gordon Conference

1985 Gordon Conference

First Meetings

• Alanah GRC 1984/1985

• LRF UT ~1982

• Talk of science

1984 GRC – One of the early effective mentoring events

• LRF Chair

• JL’s first major meeting and most important

• Changed everything– Exciting science – Contacts– How science is done

~1985: The Revolution is Here…

• AF and I recruited unknowingly into Revolution

• Naïve recruits – about how science works; not the science

• Mentors stepped forward – naive too

• Everyone naïve about the magnitude of the “Project”

Early Interactions of Mentees &Mentors • At meetings, stochastic interaction between

distribution of mentees and mentors– Mentee : Mentee– Mentor : Mentee– Mentor : Mentor?

• Distribution of skill sets

• Clear demographic

differences between

mentors and menteesMentor Mentee

Batch Mentoring

• About 10 women, mostly young

• “Senior Women”

Janet Osteryoung

Therese Cotton

Over time, effective mentoring combinations developed

• Never formally arranged

• Matched interests

• Based on trust

• Both choose

• Choose carefully – long process

?

Successful Mentors Early Realize

• Exist competence, but not in the box

• If push into box, will kill it

Standard Box

?

Successful Mentors Eventually Realize

It is impossible to underestimate how naïve the demographically remote can be.

They are not of the system.

Successful Mentors Can See Things from the Mentee’s Perspective

Successful Mentors Offer• Listening• Sound, thoughtful

advice that relies on mentee’s intelligence – “Concise and

Compelling”

• A place to ask dumb questions

• No blanket directives• Patience

• Constant and available– There

• Reinforces strengths– LRF’s confidence

• Reliable follow through

• Creative problem solving

• Scientific competence

1994 Gordon Conference

The Early Revolution

• Through 1990, women and men not different– No Pink: didn’t wear it; didn’t say it

– Not even pink money

• ~1994, “We are not men.”

The Survivors – An Unlikely Band of Revolutionaries

• High losses from the Batch

• The survivors:– Short– Predictable response – even under stress– “Ladylike”

• Alanah and Johna; Fristch and Fitch…

Other Mentors

• The Good Guys– Bob Osteryoung, “Not like other people…”– Steve Feldberg, “Sounds good,…”– Henry Blount, recognized the challenges early– Joe Maloy, “Oy.”– Peter Fedkiw, “That’s intriguing.”

• The Stealth Mentors– Reviewers who take the time

Is the Revolution Over Yet? No.

Apparently, the Revolution takes a long time.

Revolution ~ O (1 academic lifetime)

Then, what is the Report from the Front?

A Plot for Alanah

• Informal survey of GRC photos• The mechanism?• How many go into academics?• How many female-mentored females go into academics?• A separate but equal female science?• Why is my group all male? The next revolution?

Approx. Number of Females at GRC by Year

y = 0.0094x2 - 36.689x + 35769

R2 = 0.8692

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

# F

em

ale

s

A Plot for Alanah

Approx. Number of Females at GRC by Year

y = 0.0094x2 - 36.689x + 35769

R2 = 0.8692

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Year

# F

em

ale

s

2003 Gordon Conference

Acknowledgments

• Congratulations to Alanah

• Thanks to Alanah

• Grateful acknowledgments to all those who have tried to help.

• Most grateful acknowledgment and appreciation to Larry Faulkner, who figured out how to mentor the demographically mismatched.