Minnesota pilots an e-mentoring program
Three institutions of the Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC) — Concordia College, Moorhead; Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter; and the University of St. Thomas, Twin Cities — are among the seven pilot sites for a new project, Minnesota MentorNet. Funded with a grant from the 3M Foundation, MentorNet pairs students in science, engineering, math and technology with professionals for one-on-one e-mail mentoring relationships.
MentorNet, founded ten years ago, serves students and professionals around the world. Although the organization has had some presence in Minnesota for a number of years, the new project will significantly increase participation. It focuses on women and students of color — groups traditionally underrepresented in scientific and technical fields. Mentors and their protégés communicate by e-mail about career and academic goals, balancing work and life, course work, and many other topics to enhance learning and encourage career interest in these fields.
Mentor Rebecca Sawchuk (on left), who works at DOW chemical company with her protégé Dana Gary, a chemical engineering major at Carnegie Mellon
"We’re very pleased to be extending MentorNet as a resource for industry and higher education more broadly across the state of Minnesota," said Alex Cirillo of the 3M Foundation (he also serves on the MPCC board). "3M Company has had six years experience with MentorNet’s one-on-one e-mentoring program. We consider it a ‘best in field’ initiative and have had hundreds of 3M scientists and engineers participate as mentors."
Minnesota MentorNet aims to significantly increase the number of protégés from Minnesota colleges and universities and the number of mentors from industry and higher education institutions. Other institutions in the pilot program are Ridgewater College, Rochester Technical and Community College, the University of Minnesota and Winona State University. After the pilot period, MentorNet will seek to partner with every accredited Minnesota institution of higher education offering degrees in science or engineering fields.
Direct questions about Minnesota MentorNet to info@mentornet.net or (408) 296-4405. More about MentorNet.