Rising TIDES (Toward an Inclusive, Diverse, and Enriched Society) 2019 Conference Mentoring Program

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED

CERF’s Rising TIDES initiative promotes opportunities for all underrepresented minorities while cultivating a culture that actively engages and leverages diversity of all types. The Rising TIDES Conference Program will jointly support underrepresented minority (URM) students and mentors to participate in CERF 2019 – 25th Biennial Conference in Mobile, Alabama, 3–7 November 2019. Through joint support of both students and mentors, this program aims to enhance career development of URM students, ensure that students participating in the program will have sustained mentorship following the conference, help develop a community of practice for CERF members who are engaged in building diversity and inclusion within their own organizations and across institutions, and involve those who are already mentors of URM students in helping to transform CERF into a broadly inclusive society.

Student Eligibility and Application Requirements

The deadline for receiving applications is 26 June, 2019, at 11:59 PM (PT). Award offers will be issued via email by 19 August 2019.

The goal of this mentoring program is to broaden participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Indigenous peoples, LGBTQ community, women, people with disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, people with disabilities) in coastal and estuarine science and in CERF. Applications must be submitted by students and will be evaluated in terms of how participation would help accomplish this goal and benefit the applicant.
Applicants must be undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in an accredited baccalaureate or advanced degree program in a coastal, estuarine, or related science.
Applicants do not need to be a member of CERF and/or an Affiliate Society to apply.
Each award will be granted jointly to a student/mentor pair. Student applicants may identify a mentor who will also participate in the program. Mentors should be professionals with established, ongoing relationships with student applicants; mentors could be faculty advisors or other faculty members from students’ home institutions or could be other science professionals. Mentors are expected to attend the CERF Biennial Conference; see below for additional requirements of mentors. Students who have not identified a mentor may request a mentor through CERF.
Every application must have one supporting letter of recommendation submitted by the student’s mentor or by someone (not a relative) who can speak to the applicant’s academic and career potential. The recommendation letter must be submitted directly to the online form. Recommendation letters are also due by 11:59 PM (PT) on 26 June 2019.
Abstract submission is not an eligibility requirement, but preference will be given to students who have/are intending to submit presentation abstracts. Although the original deadline for abstract submission has passed, there will be a second call for late-breaking poster (only) abstracts with a submission deadline of 19 August 2019 (tentative).

Mentor Information

Mentors are expected to participate in the morning and afternoon Rising TIDES Sunday workshops described below, to support students throughout the conference as meeting-mentors, and to mentor students through the following year or more.
Student applicants may either identify a mentor to participate with them in the program or request a mentor from CERF.
If you are interested in serving as a Rising TIDES mentor for students without an identified mentor, please send a brief email describing your professional focus and your interest in the Rising TIDES program to Susan Park ([email protected]). Rising TIDES mentors will be matched with student applicants based on factors such as disciplinary interests and student career goals.
If you are interested in serving as a mentor in the general Meeting Mentorship Program, you may sign up in the CERF conference registration form, or you may contact Linda Blum ([email protected]) or Sibel Bargu ([email protected]).

Program Components

Fourteen student/mentor pairs will be selected to participate in the Rising TIDES 2019 Conference Program. The program begins Sunday morning, 3 November, and extends through Thursday afternoon, 7 November. The following components apply to both students and mentors selected for this program:

Paid conference registration fee
Rising TIDES workshop Part I on Sunday morning featuring testimonials by URM professionals on paths to success and small group discussions with speakers, URM mentors, and other CERF members
Buffet luncheon with workshop participants
Rising TIDES workshop Part II Sunday afternoon on Identifying, Understanding, and Addressing Implicit Bias (expected for mentors; included among afternoon workshop options for students)
Monday-morning breakfast with the full Meeting Mentoring Program
Ticket to the CERF Inclusion Luncheon on Tuesday

Additional student benefits:

Reimbursement of travel expenses to attend the conference, and paid hotel (double occupancy) and meal allowance during the conference
Opportunity to participate in other workshops Sunday afternoon on topics useful for students
Other student-oriented activities throughout the conference
Free two-year student membership for new members, or one-year extension for current members, to CERF