COMPASS Points to Effective Mentoring Practices

From April 25 to 27, physics and chemistry faculty came together for a workshop aimed at improving career mentoring for students in the physical sciences. APS, the American Chemical Society (ACS), and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA)’s Cottrell Scholars Collaborative joined forces for the event, hosted at the American Center for Physics (ACP) in College Park, Maryland.

The Career and Occupational Mentoring for the Professional Advancement of Science Students (COMPASS) Faculty Workshop paired up 30 early to mid-career faculty members from institutions around the country. In 10 sessions over three days attendees received guidance on career mentoring, promoting professional development, and changing departmental culture at their respective institutions.

Crystal Bailey, APS Head of Career Programs, spoke at the first session about the importance of being an effective career mentor. She emphasized the need for mentors to consider industry options when guiding students towards future careers. Physics education researcher and Rutgers University professor Geraldine Cochran presented on culturally-aware mentoring to address equity and inclusion within the physical sciences.

Other speakers and the participating Cottrell Scholars at the COMPASS workshop challenged attendees to research the current professional development opportunities available to their students and create a plan to improve these programs at their respective universities.

APS and ACS provided logistics support to the conference by finding expert speakers, while APS hosted the workshop at ACP and funding came from RCSA. The workshop was an effort organized by the Cottrell Scholar Collaborative, a program instituted by RCSA for early career faculty members in chemistry, physics, and astronomy to promote innovation in teaching at a university level.