School of Meteorology Mentors

The Mentoring Ecosystems within the School is a new undergraduate pilot program for the 2021-22 academic year and part of a larger College-wide Mentoring Ecosystem to be designed and implemented over the next three-five years with multifaceted and thoughtful approaches to ecosystem mentoring, peer-peer and mentee-mentor relationships for students, faculty, staff, and researchers.

There are many goals associated with new Mentoring Ecosystems in the School. Although specific goals can be set up within individual relationships, we hope these mentor-mentee and mentoring ecosystem relationships can provide benefits to the ecosystem, mentee, and the mentors. These benefits may include:

The support and encouragement of students as they transition through each academic year and into a job or further education, exploring personal and professional development via trainings, research, internships, service, JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion), and other topics as needed or requested.
An opportunity for students to learn about the workings of the School of Meteorology (and the College and OU) in terms of expectations, practices, and resources AND offer feedback.
A way for the mentors and mentees to network, professionally and socially, with other mentors, mentees, and ecosystems within and outside of the School.
The ability to co-produce ideas and offer feedback.
The exchange of recruitment and retention ideas based on personal experience.
Building a connected and inclusive SoM community.

The new mentoring ecosystem is responsive to multiple components of the SoM Strategic plan and will address, in part, the following objectives:

O1.1. Become a proactively antiracist and inclusive SoM community.
O1.2. Enhance cultural fluency of all SoM community members.
O1.3. Improve diversity of faculty, students, and staff through new recruitment, retention and inclusion activities.
O2.2. Develop effective mentorship models for undergraduate and graduate students in addition to scientists, staff, and faculty.
O2.4. Improve the ability of the School to help students succeed in their careers.
O2.5. Ensure a diverse, equitable, and inclusive educational experience for all students, staff, scientists, and faculty.
O4.2. Recognize and encourage student and faculty participation in societal and entrepreneurship activities.

All School of Meteorology mentors will facilitate and lead a mentoring ecosystem (i.e. group) comprised of 7-12 undergraduate meteorology students/mentees dependent upon the number of mentors. The individual and group relationships built in the ecosystem should be collegial, informative, and flexible. None of the information exchanged between mentor and mentee will be used in the student evaluation process (e.g. in classes) and mentors are not considered supervisors of mentees.