Why mentor researchers?

Mentoring relationships benefit undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty, develop over time, and enable a commitment to scholarly development; and engagement in collaborative inquiry.

Mentoring relationships also encourage:

• Positive environments, which encourage questions and foster curiosity;
• Consideration of new or alternative approaches (whether in collecting or mining data, or building a philosophical argument)
• Constructive, reciprocal feedback on one’s educational advances and the research project’s progress;

Mentoring relationships can also be excellent ways to provide:

• Guidance for the undergraduate in making important research or related career decisions;
• Oversight of the undergraduate's research methods and practices;
• Up-to-date knowledge of available resources and funding;
• Support in sharing and publicly presenting research;

All of which supports the enjoyment of active participation in research activities.