Peer-Mentoring Groups

ADVANCE at Brown offers Peer-Mentoring Groups for women faculty in the STEM fields.  Faculty at all stages of their careers are welcome and encouraged to participate.   Mentoring groups  provide opportunities for faculty to develop peer networks, and to engage in group discussions and problem-solving. The groups are peer-led and informal. The desired outcome for each session is that an individual problem is resolved, or that an approach to an issue is designed, or that an action plan is developed. The content of each session is driven by the interests of the members of the groups.  This past year, topics included lab management, when and how  to say “no”,  negotiating skills, balancing work and personal life, and tenure and promotion at Brown.

This year’s peer-mentoring groups  are for women faculty only.  Current national research shows that the lack of a "critical mass" of women in many STEM departments has been linked to feelings of isolation for women faculty in these fields.  While building critical masses of women in historically male-dominated fields, the University and ADVANCE are helping women faculty develop webs of contacts and relationships that provide information, validation, and encouragement. If male faculty members are interested in starting a peer-mentoring group (single or mixed gender), we hope you’ll contact us for assistance.

For each Peer-Mentoring Group, the ADVANCE Program  provides:

  • Getting Started Guidelines
  • Suggestions for discussion topics
  • Coordination for invited guests, (e.g. a recent member of Brown's Tenure, Promotion and Appointments Committee; or a senior faculty member who had/has primary responsibility for child or elder care)
  • Information about University and other resources
  • Relevant readings
  • Consultations on group dynamics and facilitation
  • Locations for meetings
  • Light refreshments
Group Concentrations

This Fall 2009, we are offering three peer mentoring groups.

  1. Women Faculty of Color across all disciplines (humanities, social sciences, biological and physical sciences)
  2. Women faculty in the biological, life, and physical sciences
  3. Mid-career (Associate and Full Professor rank) women faculty in the biological, life, and physical sciences