Chapter 12- A New Vision for Promoting Equity and Inclusion in Academic Mentoring Programs

What are the pitfalls of conventional student, faculty, and staff mentoring programs? Despite good intentions, how might they negatively impact Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), as well as other marginalized faculty who are women, LGBTQIA+, Persons with Disabilities (PWD), or first-generation college students (e.g., grew up in household where no parent/legal guardian earned a four-year college degree in the United States or abroad)? How could employing an intersectional framework—attention to the simultaneity of systems of oppression and resistance—as inquiry and praxis transform student, faculty, and staff mentoring programs? This chapter examines the challenges and possibilities for advancing equity and inclusion that considers simultaneous and complex social identities and statuses of faculty, students and staff (and complex identities such as BIPOC, women, first-generation college status, and/or PWD), as relevant to structuring successful mentoring programs. In this chapter, we (a) explain the vital necessity of mentoring to advance inclusive excellence, (b) discuss mentors’ role in designing strategies for creating more inclusive educational and scholarly environments, and (c) review impediments to successful mentoring practices that have deleterious effects on students, faculty, and staff who are BIPOC, women, PWD, LGBTQIA+, and first-generation college status. This review shines a light on a number of common missteps in mentoring relationships, including senior staff and faculty members’ fixed mindsets and one-dimensional approaches toward students, staff, and junior faculty from marginalized groups; deficit perspectives about junior faculty members’ intellectual contributions; color-, gender-, disability-, class-, and other power-evasive perspectives on the part of senior faculty and their resultant lack of intervention when students, staff, and junior faculty are targets of microaggressions and bullying; insensitive and triggering comments by senior faculty (even as content in conventional mentoring trainings); and lack of critical reflexivity amongst faculty who have been assigned to serve as mentors to BIPOC, PWD, LGBTQIA+, first-generation college status, students, staff, and other faculty. Based on this review, we recommend several promising practices for mentoring BIPOC, PWD, LGBTQIA+, first-generation college status, and other minoritized students, staff, and faculty at all ranks, including but not limited to the importance of critical reflexivity and centering the assets of mentees so that senior faculty can become better mentors to students (both undergraduate and graduate), staff, and other faculty

Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia

This book, Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia, makes a unique and needed contribution to the mentoring field as it focuses solely on mentoring in academia. This handbook is a collaborative institutional effort between Utah State University’s (USU) Empowering Teaching Open Access Book Series and the Mentoring Institute at the University of New Mexico (UNM). This book is available through (a) an e-book through Pressbooks, (b) a downloadable PDF version on USU’s Open Access Book Series website), and (c) a print version available for purchase on the USU Empower Teaching Open Access page, and on Amazon

PREVENTIVE HEALTH STRATEGIES AND INFANT SURVIVAL IN ZIMBABWE

Socioeconomic and demographic variables are examined in a multilevel framework to determine conditions influencing infant survival in Zimbabwe (1983-88) using Demographic and Health Survey data. Community level child health inputs consistently influence infant survival. The most unique finding is that childbearing-aged women's average educational levels in their community exert a greater effect on infant survival than the individual mother's educational level. This result supports assertions that child survival is strongly impacted by mass education (Caldwell, 1989). This research also contributes evidence to theories postulating that widespread social development is necessary to sustain recent declines in developing country mortality rates (Palloni, 1989). RÉSUMÉ Les variables socio-économiques et démographiques sont étudiées dans un cadre à niveaux multiples pour déterminer les conditions qui influencent la survie des enfants à bas âge au Zimbabwé (1983-88) en utilisant les données d'une enquête démographique et de santé. Les apports communautaires à la santé de l'enfant exercent une influence régulière sur la survie des enfants âgés de moins de cinq ans. Le résultat le plus remarquable est que le niveau moyen d'instruction des femmes en âge de procréation au sein de leur communauté a un plus grand effet sur la survie des enfants de moins de cinq ans que le niveau d'instruction de la mère prise isolément. Ce résultat conforte les thèses selon lesquelles l'éducation populaire a un impact décisif sur la survie de l'enfant (Calwell, 1989). Cette recherche fournit également des preuves supplémentaires aux théories fondées sur le postulat qu'un développement social généralisé est nécessaire pour que les baisses relevées recemment au niveau des taux de mortalité dans les pays en développement soient durables (Palloni, 1989)

The Relationship between Prenatal Care and Subsequent Modern Contraceptive use in Bolivia, Egypt and Thailand

Determinants of modern contraceptive use are usually examined in isolation of the effect of exposure to other aspects of health care systems. Maternal interaction with organised health service provision during post-conception and postpartum stages of reproduction can provide an opportunity to transfer contraceptive service information and counselling. We found that living in a community in which women have widespread health service contact is related to both prenatal care use and subsequent modern contraceptive use. After controlling for effects of living in high health service contact areas and various demographic and background factors, our results suggest that prior use of prenatal care has a strong influence on subsequent use of modern contraception in Bolivia, Egypt and Thailand. (Afr J Reprod Health 2001; 5[2]: 68-82) RÉSUMÉ Rapports entre les soins prénatals et l'utisisation par la suite de la contraceptive moderne en Bolivie, en Egypte et en Thaïlande. Les déterminants de l'utilisation moderne de la contraceptive sont examinés en genéral de manière isolée par rapport à l'effet de l'exposition aux aspects des systèmes de services médicaux. L'interaction avec l'assurance des services médicaux organisés pendant les stades post-conception et post-partum de la reproduction peut fournir une occasion pour le transfert de l'information et la consultation sur le service de contraception. Nous trouvons que le fait de vivre dans une communauté dans laquelle les femmes ont de contact avec des services médicaux bien répandus est lié à la fois à l'utilisation des soins prenatals et par la suite à l'utilisation de la contraceptive. Ayant contrôlé pour déterminer les conséquences d'habiter dans les régions de contact des services médicaux et des facteurs démographiques et des milieux divers, nos résultats font penser que l'utilisation préalable des soins prénatals a une grande influence sur l'utilisation éventuelle de la contraception moderne en Bolivie, en Egypte et en Thailande. (Rev Afr Santé Reprod 2001; 5[2]: 68-82) KEY WORDS: Prenatal care, modern contraceptive use, Bolivia, Egypt, Thailan

Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Status among Ever-Married and Cohabiting Zimbabwean Women: An Examination of Partners’ Traits

This study examines the connection between intimate partner violence (IPV) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus status among married and cohabitating women in Zimbabwe using an African feminist framework. Stata 13.0 was used to analyze data from the 2010-2011 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey, which used a national probability sample of households in the country of Zimbabwe. This study used logistic regression to analyze the 2,830 ever-married or cohabitating women who also answered the violence and spousal traits questionnaire as well as provided blood samples. The logistic regression revealed that women who had experienced any type of intimate partner violence (odds ratio=1.29, CI [1.00, 1.67]) or broken bones (odds ratio=2.39, CI [1.19, 4.77]) were more likely to be HIV positive; relative to those with bruises bruises (odds ratio=- .64 CI [.41, .99]) were less likely. Women with partners who are trackers (odds ratio=1.28, CI [1.04, 1.59]) were more likely to be HIV positive. Patriarchal, hypermasculist culture, shown through violence against women, contributes to the likelihood of HIV in wives and partners. A cultural shift at the highest levels may help to prevent IPV and reduce the spread of HIV. Keywords: HIV, domestic violence, structural violence, socioeconomic status, African feminist framewor