Become a Mentor
Mentors guide W&M students through their Conservation Research Program experience
The IIC aims to cultivate an inclusive community of W&M faculty and staff who build bridges across disciplines to advance integrative conservation solutions. Toward this goal, we seek W&M faculty and staff to serve as mentors for W&M students completing Conservation Research Program (CRP) projects.
Faculty mentorship on CRP projects ensures that students have the guidance needed to become successful researchers, and that partners are supported with the knowledge and resources partners need to advance their outcomes.
Many faculty and staff have found that participation as mentors provides opportunities to expand or fulfill their own research and professional goals.
How it works
The IIC CRP sends an annual request for proposals each spring for projects that meet an applied need to advance integrative conservation solutions. Proposals are submitted directly by external partners for projects that would begin the following year. After projects are selected, W&M mentors are matched to projects that best align with their expertise and research interests.
Proposals can be submitted directly by W&M faculty or staff as long as the project involves collaboration with an external conservation partner. In this case, if the project is selected, the submitting faculty or staff member becomes a mentor for the project.
Mentors meet with conservation partners to refine the scope of the project and ensure that the research project is feasible for a student or group of students to lead and complete in one year. Mentors are involved in the student selection process.
Throughout the program year, mentors meet weekly with the student/s to guide the process of conducting robust, applied research that meets the specific needs of the partner organization.
Reach out to Erica Garroute, Research Program Manager, if you would like to discuss opportunities to become a faculty mentor for students on applied conservation research.
