Funds are provided to support activities at the annual SACNAS Conference focusing on professional development of postdocs. The 2010 Annual SACNAS Conference will take place in Anaheim, California from September 30 to October 2. The Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Sciences (SACNAS) provides a forum for networking between STEM postdocs and faculty and administrators from a wide range of institutions. The conference will include sessions on developing individual professional plans, writing peer-review articles, and searching for academic jobs. In addition, there will be an exhibit booth and the piloting of a symposium on faculty diversity interventions that will include advance graduate students, postdocs, and junior faculty. A reception supported by SACNAS, where postdocs will present research posters, will be another opportunity for networking. The activities at the conference will be supported by online resources before and after it takes place. The goal of this project will be to nurture future diverse STEM faculty that is comfortable working with a diverse group of students.
The Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science holds an annual conference highlighting the accomplishments of thousands of students intent upon pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM). Only a small portion of the program has historically been focused on the postdoctoral career stage required for most all STEM disciplines. Funding from this grant allowed for the offering of a significant number of new workshops targeting the postdoctoral career stage of a scientist’s development. These workshops were attended almost equally by graduate students and postdoctoral scholars, as well as by a significant number of forward-looking undergraduates. Participants were offered advice and tools on varied career issues, publishing and funding skills, conflict resolution, as well as many networking opportunities. Outcomes of surveys indicated that the vast majority of attendees received new information that they felt would be valuable for their career advancement. In addition, this grant helped introduce chief diversity officers of California institutions to highlight the wealth of talent represented at the SACNAS conference each year. For about half of the officers this was the first time they attended a SACNAS conference. Survey results supported the intention to use future venues for recruiting underrepresented scholars into postdoctoral and junior faculty positions at their institutions.
