UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1026

Research Mentor Information
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Primary Research Mentor Name: Taylor Higgins
Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns: She/her
When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific?: Dr.
Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): th22u@fsu.edu
Position Title: Faculty
FSU College (if applicable): FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation: Florida State University
Headshot (optional): https://cre.fsu.edu/system/files/webform/urop_project_proposal_portal/19726/Headshot.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)
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Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above): {Empty}
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Overall Project Details
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Title of the Project: Parental Leave Policies in STEM
Project Keywords: Policies, Parental Leave, STEM
Are you currently looking for research assistants?: No
Number of Research Assistants Needed : 2
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s):
Open to all majors

Project Location:: On FSU Main Campus
If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation?: Yes
Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s):: Fully Remote
Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work?: 5-10 (negotiable)
Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work?: Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Overall Research Project Description:
As a female in academia who recently had a baby, I am curious about what current maternity leave policies are for universities around the United States and understanding how the FAMU-FSU policy compares. Eventually I would like to make strategic efforts to ensure that FAMU-FSU is a welcoming place for young female scientists to work. To prepare for this effort, I need to know what our policies are, what other university policies are, how our current policies are received by young female academics, and how our current policies could affect our ability to recruit and retain strong female faculty candidates in STEM. As a researcher on this project, you will help me to collect data along these lines, create/distribute surveys for women in STEM to voice their opinions, analyze results, and write a report and/or presentation for us to share our findings with members of the community/administration/etc. This is a project that I am personally very passionate about and that I hope will be a very rewarding project with tangible benefits for women and families in academia.

Research Tasks:
Data collection, data analysis, writing.

Skills that research assistant(s) may need::
Skills required: Good communication skills - I need someone who is particularly good at sharing our findings with the larger community in order to make a difference in future policy decisions.

Good sleuthing skills - I need someone who is good at finding information online (figuring out the current parental leave policies at other universities), and who can find literature showing the effects of various leave policies on faculty recruitment and diversity.


Mentoring Philosophy:
As a mentor, I work best with students who are inquisitive, pro-active, and problem solvers. I do not like to micro-manage. I see my job as being a resource to my research students, helping to solve problems when stuck, providing overall vision, and occasionally giving nudges in the right direction. I see my students as the expert in their given project, and I expect students to go learn skills, find possible solutions, try many things that may or may not work, and ultimately to come to research meetings ready to teach me all the cool things they’ve learned, tried, and developed. I aim to creating a safe environment in which mentees feel that it is acceptable to fail and learn from their mistakes. I do expect mentees to take ownership of their work and have accountability for their effort in the project. Overall, I want to do fun engineering work that makes a difference in human lives, and I want my students to feel empowered to do difficult things and solve challenging problems.

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable):: https://rthmlab.wixsite.com/taylorgambon
Please add any additional information here (if applicable)::
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Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable?: No
Roundtable times and Zoom links:
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UROP Program Elements
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Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication: Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation: Yes
Materials Grant: Yes
UROP Poster Presentation: Yes

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Year: 2025
update url: https://cre.fsu.edu/urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?element_parents=elements/research_mentor_information/headshot_optional_&ajax_form=1&_wrapper_format=drupal_ajax&token=onQOtNzU8tISfyeCuDw97CRinD0jCs01DTQ8IU40QxM