Three mid-career faculty have been selected to receive FORWARD Mid-Career Mentoring awards. The recipients are Betsy Birmingham, associate professor of English; Cindy Urness, associate professor of architecture; and Kimberly Vonnahme, associate professor of animal sciences. Each has developed a team of colleagues working toward a focused goal.
Birmingham’s mentoring group will meet several times during the academic year to share information and peer mentoring leading to promotion to full professor. Some meetings will include a guest(s) with insight into the promotion process. Group members also will receive relevant printed resources. Members of Birmingham’s mentoring group are Andrew Mara, associate professor of English; Miriam Mara, associate professor of English; Amy O'Connor, associate professor of communications; Amy Rupiper Taggart, associate professor of English; and Gary Totten, associate professor of English.
Vonnahme’s award will support her attendance at a United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture workshop designed to familiarize participants with competitive grant opportunities at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and enhance grant-writing skills. Following the workshop, Vonnahme will collaborate with her mentoring team of senior faculty to prepare grant proposals and disseminate knowledge gained at the workshop through one or more brown bag lunch/discussion groups. Vonnahme’s mentoring group includes Anna T. Grazul-Bilska, professor of animal sciences; Marcia McMullen, professor of plant pathology; and Dale Redmer, professor of animal science.
Urness will use her mid-career mentoring award to fund her mentoring team’s trip to western North Dakota where they will gather information about the effects of "boom and bust" economic activities in the oil-producing counties – including effects on family dynamics, housing and community vitality. The team will then explore relationships among these issues and seek research and other funding to support problem-solving efforts in that area. Other members of this mentoring group are Margaret Fitzgerald, associate professor of human development and family science; Brandy Randall, associate professor of human development and family science; and Kara Wolfe, associate professor of apparel, design and hospitality management.
The Mid-Career Mentoring Program is intended to promote the advancement of tenured faculty. The program provides funds to encourage tenured faculty to seek external funding, collaborate, create networks and gain access to administrators. Applications to the Mid-Career Mentoring Program are accepted on an ongoing basis. More information on the application guidelines and form can be found on the FORWARD website at www.ndsu.edu/forward/home/, click on “Funding Opportunities.” Inquiries may be made to Charlene Wolf‐Hall at charlene.hall@ndsu.edu or 1‐6387 or Canan Bilen‐Green at canan.bilen.green@ndsu.edu or 1‐7040.