The McNair Program is honored to count over 120 current and former ETSU, Milligan College, Tusculum College and University of Virginia faculty members as McNair Mentors! The centerpiece of the McNair program experience is the relationship that is developed between the intern and their faculty mentor during the academic year internship.
How Are Mentors Chosen
Once a McNair Scholar has successfully completed the Pre-Research Internship (summer component), they are eligible to apply for a second internship (the Research Intensive Internship). The Research Intensive Internship enables the scholar to apply what they have learned during their first internship. Scholars are carefully selected for second internships and only those scholars who have demonstrated dedication, aptitude and dependability will be allowed to participate in the Research Intensive Internship and work with a faculty mentor. This stringent selection process helps ensure that McNair scholars who are placed in research settings will be academically, emotionally, and professionally well prepared.
Scholars who are chosen to participate in the Research Intensive Internship, which takes place between October and April, will be instructed to review the current research projects that are taking place in their department of interest (often the department of their major) and to choose two to three faculty members with whom they would like to collaborate. Scholars are then coached on how to approach these faculty member(s) to request mentorship. Thus, the McNair scholar initiates the first contact. Mentors who express interest in or agreement to mentor the student are then contacted by the McNair Program so that program mentorship can be explained in greater detail.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements for Mentorship?
- The faculty mentor must have obtained their PhD, Psy.D or Ed.D. or be within one semester of doing so.
- The mentor must have experience developing and coordinating research studies, including experience with IRB proposal submission (if mentor's field/research involves human subjects).
- The mentor must have an appreciation for the unique needs and benefits of working with an undergraduate student researcher.
What Are the Benefits of Mentorship?
- The McNair Program will provide up to $1000 (per intern supervised) for use to purchase items that will enhance your teaching and/or research or to be used for business travel.
- The receipt of additional student assistance with your current projects
- Credit toward the "service" component
- Access to additional resources and support personnel
What Are the Mentor's Responsibilities?
- Meet regularly with your intern(s) and provide guided assistance with the research project (October-April)
- Review the intern(s) research paper and presentation materials
- Provide career and academic advisement as appropriate
- Assist in the development of characteristics that will enhance the intern's success in advanced study
We understand that faculty member's time is limited therefore mentors are strongly supported by the program. Required paperwork is kept to a minimum and the McNair staff supplements your involvement with the intern.
Current or Potential Mentors
For assistance please contact Dr. Michele Wollert, McNair Associate Director at wollert@etsu.edu or (423) 439-4879.