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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Dear Biology Community,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">We are writing to share the results of the 2025 mentoring survey with you. Thank you to the approximately 250 people who responded to this survey - we appreciate your input. The survey results from both 2024
and 2025 can be viewed <a href="https://tableau.mit.edu/#/site/IR/views/BiologyMentoringSurveyTrendPUBLIC/Overallsatisfaction?:iid=1">
here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">We are particularly grateful to those of you who took the time to share comments about the strategies that you use to engage with your mentors. I have attached a copy of the comments that were submitted, lightly
edited to remove information that could reveal the identities of individuals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Several people asked about the purpose of this survey and how the information will be used. First, as department administrators, we work with individual students, postdocs, and faculty when they face challenges,
but this doesn’t provide a complete picture of mentoring experiences across our department. It is important to understand the current state and emerging trends as we refine our policies and programming. The input we receive guides how we prioritize efforts
and new activities. Second, following the recommendations of the Biology Ad Hoc Committee on Mentoring, we have implemented several measures to improve mentoring relationships, and we value a data-driven evaluation of whether they are having an impact. Finally,
although the information we receive is currently de-identified with respect to lab, once we have sufficient responses to protect anonymity, we will gain insights into experiences across different research groups, and we plan to use that information to share
best practices and help our faculty continue their growth as mentors.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">You will soon receive an invitation to join us for Boba tea as thanks for your participation.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Please respond to the survey again next year!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Best regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Amy & Iain<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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