As of September 2019, the Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN) commenced the third iteration of the ECPN-HBCU Mentorship Program. This program connects undergraduate students (or recent graduates) who have participated in
Winterthur's TIP-C or
Yale’s HBCU Summer Teacher`s Institute in Technical Art History (HBCU-STITAH) programs with emerging conservation professionals who have volunteered to serve as mentors. The goal of the program is to pair students with mentors who can provide guidance as they consider potential career paths in conservation, museum studies, or related fields. Mentors are available to speak with their mentees about long-term professional goals, help them achieve short-term goals, and connect them with resources. The mentorship period corresponds with the academic calendar.
Program Goals:
- Provide students of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) access to mentors in the field of art conservation, through the American Institute for Conservation (AIC)’s Emerging Conservation Professionals Network (ECPN).
- Provide these students information and resources with regard to the field of conservation generally.
Expectations:
- Participants may indicate their preferred communication method to both program organizers and their partner.
- Mentors should attempt to establish clear goals with the students within the first month that matches are made, but should also anticipate a need to adapt these expectations throughout the mentoring period.
- Mentors should attend periodic conference calls with ECPN (1-2 times per term).
- All participants are expected to respond to a survey at the close of the mentoring period to provide feedback which will be used to refine the program.
Questions? Please contact the Chair of ECPN at
ecpn@culturalheritage.org.