BUILDING THE PIPELINE
Continuing Engagement and Collaboration of 1994, 1890, 1862, Federal and Private Sector Institutions:
Building the Pipeline from Undergraduate to Graduate Training
The Committee on Women in Agricultural Economics and the Committee on the Opportunities and Status of Blacks in Agricultural Economics are pleased to launch this mentoring program with support from the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Trust. This program supplements existing COSBAE-CWAE mentoring activities through the creation of a mentoring program for undergraduate students from historically under-represented groups who are interested in graduate education and research. This program develops and strengthens relationships between 1994, 1890 and 1862 institutions, and federal government agencies as well as key private sector employers, with the aim of creating new mentoring networks for undergraduate students from historically under-represented groups. These connections will assist them with continuing on to graduate education and research. We will work with undergraduates early on in their schooling (rising juniors and seniors), in order to provide research experience as well as guidance on preparing applications for graduate school. This addresses the early stages of the pipeline, to complement existing COSBAE-CWAE mentoring activities that address the early career stage.
Potential mentees, drawn predominantly from 1994 and 1890 institutions, will be nominated by their current faculty advisors/mentors at their home institutions. They will then be paired with a second faculty member, drawn predominantly from 1862 institutions, to create a multi-faceted, multi-institutional mentoring team. Mentees will attend a preconference workshop at the 2021 AAEA Annual Meeting covering the research process, graduate school admissions, and potential careers in agricultural and applied economics. Both mentors and mentees will engage in bi-monthly training in culturally responsive mentoring over the following year, conducted by a professional facilitator. To conclude, mentees will receive travel support to participate in a panel discussion of their experiences in the program in a COSBAE-CWAE track session at the 2022 Annual Meeting. Mentees will also receive a $1200-$1500 stipend tthat may be used for travel, research, and/or graduate school applications. This provides maximum flexibility to mentees, as well as recognizing the opportunity cost of engaging in research and mentoring activities, particularly for
ACTIVITIES
APPLICATION AND SELECTION
Faculty in agricultural and applied economics departments are invited to submit nominations of undergraduate advisees from historically under-represented groups who have expressed a strong interest in graduate school, either Masters or Ph.D. programs. Applications must include:
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Letter of recommendation from the nominator
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Prospective mentee's unofficial transcript
Applications must be submitted to aaea.cwae@gmail.com by 11:59 p.m. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 and will be reviewed by the program committee, which includes the leadership teams (Chair, Chair-Elect, Past Chair) of COSBAE and CWAE as well as four at-large members, two from COSBAE and two from CWAE.