Women in the Academy (WITA)
Women in the Academy (WITA) offers mentoring groups aiming to empower and support the next generation of women in the academy.
Last year, we had 42 women doctoral students and eight women faculty participants from across the institution, and we held a virtual group for our students in online programs. We also introduced a new group of peer co-leaders, who were current doctoral students at Baylor who previously participated in WITA. One co-leader worked with each faculty member to host and lead their group.
This program is funded by Baylor University Department and College donations, which were used in the 2024-25 academic year for:
- A Kickoff meeting where Dr. Sara Dolan spoke on evidence-based mentoring practices to help equip our mentoring faculty;
- Stipends allowing us to acknowledge the value of our faculty's labor and time spent mentoring,
- A closing celebration with faculty mentors and students.
We look forward to growing our resources and support in 2025-26.
Our 2024-25 mentors and co-leaders were:
Julia Y. Chan, PhD (Chemistry and Biochemistry) with co-leader Ragene Thornton
Kelsey Ragan, PhD (School Psychology) with co-leader Ellen Grimes
Sarah Mire, PhD (School Psychology) with co-leader Sandra Rosero Rueda
Bessie Kebaara, PhD (Biology) with co-leader Claire Mummert
Devan Stahl, PhD (Religion) with co-leader Blair Coe Schweiger
Laila Sanguras, PhD (Learning and Organizational Change) with co-leader Zia Pochkhanawala
Robyn Driskell, PhD (Sociology) with co-leader Hannah James
Annie Ginty, PhD (Psychology and Neuroscience) with co-leader Kim Collamore
WITA Faculty Mentor Information: