Keynote Speaker

8:45-9:45 am | In person: NPAC Auditorium

Watch the Recording of the Opening Remarks and Keynote Address

Dr. Tiera S. Coston

Assistant Director
Mentoring and Pre-Law Advising
Xavier University of Louisiana

Conversations in Mentorship: Enhancing Our Mentorship Skills for Our Mentees and Ourselves

The critical need for good mentorship has been demonstrated in every aspect of society, and education is no exception. The positive effects of good mentorship have been proven at every level and in every context of education from student through practicing professional. Despite this incontrovertible fact, two major barriers to widespread application of effective mentorship principles persist: 1) the fact that members of underrepresented groups typically receive less effective mentoring than their majority counterparts; and 2) the lack of easy access to training and resources to enhance mentorship skills. This workshop is designed to address these barriers with  three general goals: 1) effectively demonstrate to participants that poor or lack of mentorship is a detriment to everyone, but particularly those from underrepresented groups; 2) convince participants that investing their time and energy in enhancing their mentorship skills has the potential to yield immeasurable positive returns; and 3) introduce practical tools and resources that participants can use to enhance their mentorship skills and mentoring relationships. We will discuss mentoring tools such mentor-mentee compacts and the mentoring philosophy. We will also review how resources like the National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) and the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) can help support mentors in enhancing their mentorship skills.

Keynote Speaker Bio:

Tiera S. Coston is the Assistant Dean for Academic Outreach & Engagement in the College of Arts & Sciences at Xavier University of Louisiana. She is also the director CARE, a program that supports the success of first-time, first-generation students at Xavier. She earned a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Tulane University and a JD from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Dr. Coston is a proud alumna of Xavier and joined the employee community in 2013 as the STEM Educational Improvement Specialist in the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development. She has also served as the Assistant Director for Mentoring and Pre-Law Advising, where she supported students on their journey to law school. Dr. Coston has more than 14 years of experience supporting faculty and in the areas of pedagogy, curricular development and enhancement, and mentoring. She conceptualized, developed and implemented three different mentorship education programs at Xavier - Preparing Mentors and Advisors at Xavier (P-MAX), Entering Research at Xavier University of Louisiana (ER-XULA) and Mentee-to-Mentor (M²M). She is a National Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) Certified Facilitator and has facilitated events and Xavier, throughout the United States and abroad. She has mentored undergraduate research and pre-law students as well as freshly-minted Xavier alumni seeking to gain entry into graduate or professional school. She has had the privilege of teaching general biology and the various iterations of Xavier’s new student orientation course, College Experience. In all of her work, her ultimate goal is to facilitate and promote the success of Xavier’s students for the fulfillment of Xavier’s social justice mission.