Thomas Landefeld: Professor of Biology to Publish Book on Mentoring

Thomas Landefeld’s first book, “Mentoring and Diversity: Tips for Students and Professionals for Developing and Maintaining a Diverse Scientific Community,” is scheduled for publication by Springer in October. The professor of biology and pre-health advisor at California State University, Dominguez Hills based the text on his many years of mentoring and advising students, including presenting seminars at minority institutions, particularly Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) throughout the country.

“When I come back from those talks, I usually send out emails to students with tips on what to do when writing a personal statement or other things to know when applying to graduate and professional schools,” says Landefeld, who has served on admissions committees at the University of Michigan Medical and Graduate Schools. “The personal statement is probably the most important part of an application because it talks about who you are and what you want to accomplish. I tell students they need to identify their top three qualities that will single them out.”

As the former director of the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Degree program and the Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research (U*STAR) program at CSU Dominguez Hills, programs in which mentoring is the key component, Landefeld says that getting to know one another is the responsibility of potential mentors and mentees.

“To me,” he says, “mentoring is all about personal relationships. To do that it takes time, energy and effort.”

Landefeld, who has worked extensively with minority students, says that mentors who come from backgrounds that differ from their students need to take extra steps to earn trust and maintain understanding.

“You don’t have to mentor only [students] in your specific field, your ethnicity, or gender,” he notes. “You just have to show that you know enough about them to make a difference. I advise prospective mentors, whether they are mentoring different ethnicities or even [different genders].You have to broaden yourself to say, ‘I understand.’ The key thing is to get to know them so you can support them.”

Celebrating the success of his former students is, for Landefeld, part of the gratification of the mentoring relationship. He says that another reward is seeing them take up the charge with the next wave of students.

“Students can respect what I know [as a professor], but often they can identify more with a young person who can say, ‘I was just in your place,’” Landefeld states. “In my seminar classes, I’ll bring graduates back to talk to my students. A graduate can say, ‘Five years ago, I was sitting where you are and here’s where I am now.’”

- Joanie Harmon