A mentoring program for women in the joint graduate biomedical engineering program of University of Memphis and University of Tennessee

Mentoring is significant personal and professional assistance given by a more experienced person to a less experienced person during a time of transition. Transitions from high school to university, from university to graduate school are difficult. Organizing and running mentoring programs in schools or in professional societies provide good recruitment and retention of female students in engineering. Biomedical engineering (BME) is the engineering discipline that has the highest percentage of female degree recipients and tenure/tenure-track teaching faculty. Thus there is a great potential for female role models, mentors and mentees in BME. Recently, I have a developed a mentoring program for women at the joint graduate biomedical engineering program of University of Memphis (UM) and University of Tennessee (UT). Currently we are following the book "Giving Much/Gaining More: Mentoring for Success" by Dr. Wadsworth for our meetings and activities to provide a support and discussion group, and environment to women in their transition time of the BME graduate studies. Our future goal is to expand mentoring to female students in our engineering school.