Expectations: Acknowledging The Power We Hold

In academic institutions, faculty hold power over their students. However, this power often goes unacknowledged. Dr. Kate Clancy found that students can experience negative mentoring experiences when there is a lack of expectations set on faculty and coercive power goes unchecked.

Biological anthropologist Dr. Kate Clancy shares her experience of observing gaps within the mentoring ecosystem, then taking action to create more inclusive spaces for both students and faculty in higher education. In this episode, Dr. Clancy discusses the coercive power in STEMM ecosystems, how confirmation bias negatively affects mentoring, and what faculty and students can do to create more effective mentoring relationships. 

Dr. Kate Clancy is an associate professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois. Her research focuses on intersectional feminist biology with specific focus on gender and racial harassment in science and the effects of environmental stressors on endometrial and ovarian dynamics. Dr. Clancy has given congressional testimony on sexual misconduct in the sciences, has consulted on two Congressional bills on sexual harassment in science, and has co-authored a National Academies report on sexual harassment of women in STEM. 

To learn more about the Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM report, and for a guide to implementing best practices at your institution, visit NAS.edu/mentoring. 

Brought to you by The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. 

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