Fall Newsletter

MPOWIR (Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women to Increase Retention) is pleased to announce several opportunities to get involved.  For more information on any of our programs and initiatives, please visit mpowir.org. Please feel free to share this e-mail through your department or community listserve.

Mentor Group registration is now open! Mentor Groups consist of 6-7 graduate student or early career women and 2 senior facilitators. Groups meet monthly via conference call and offer coaching, advice and strategies for professional success.

Participation is open to physical oceanographers resident in the USA who identify as female or non-binary and are in the last year of a PhD program (within 1 year of completing the dissertation), or in a postdoctoral position, or in a permanent position for no more than two years. Participation is open to pursuit of all career tracks, which is broadly defined as ‘utilizing skills gained in your PhD’. 

MPOWIR is also now offering mentor groups with a particular focus.  At this point, there is expressed interest in a group to facilitate discussion of LGBTQ issues, and groups that meet at unconventional times (i.e. in the evenings or on weekends) to better facilitate varied work schedules. We are open to exploring other opportunities, and welcome suggestions. These options, and your suggestions, can be emailed to sclem@uri.edu or entered when registering for a group.

Sign up will be open until October 18, 2019: http://mpowir.org/get-involved/mentor-groups/

In late September, MPOWIR hosted the 7th biannual Pattullo Conference. In total, 28 early career participants, and 14 senior leaders came together for 3 days of sessions including:  a negotiations workshop, proposal writing, and small group interactions. As organizers, we thank all the leaders and participants for an inspiring and productive event! 

Upcoming: 

MPOWIR Webinars: The next webinar is planned for December. Webinars feature subjects particularly pertinent to early career scientists, especially beyond the postdoc. While topics are driven by input from early career scientists, webinars are open to all genders and all career stages. To submit suggested topics please visit: http://mpowir.org/get-involved/webinar-series/ 

MPOWIR at Ocean Sciences: MPOWIR plans to host a town hall event, and present our work on retention and diversity at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in February. We will also facilitate a social event to meet informally with other MPOWIR colleagues. Stay tuned for more details on times and locations.