Building Bridges: The Role of an Undergraduate Mentor

ABSTRACT

I share some advice and lessons that I have learned from working with many wonderful students and colleagues, in my role as Undergraduate Chair of Statistics at Purdue University since 2008. I also reflect on developing, implementing, and sustaining a new living, learning community environment for statistics students.

KEYWORDS:

• Diversity
• Learning community
• Mentoring
• Professional development
• Undergraduates

Acknowledgment

Although many colleagues have helped to shape author's career path, the author is particularly indebted to Daniel D. Bonar and Joan Krone (author's undergraduate advisors), Wojciech Szpankowski (author's Ph.D. advisor), and George McCabe (who provides sage advice). The author also heartily thanks Zenephia Evans, who is an exemplary student mentor, as well as his dear friend and colleague. The author thanks Donna LaLonde, the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Outreach at the American Statistical Association, for several collaborations that have broadened his understanding of his discipline. Finally, the author thanks the editors of the American Statistician for their guidance and insightful comments.

Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Numbers 0939370, 1246818, and 1560332.