Abstract
This manuscript explores the significance of faculty mentorship in underrepresented student success within a culturally engaged on-campus research program. Drawing on data derived from the Pathways Through Research case study, a mixed-methods empirical study of the Bunche Fellows Program at the University of California, Los Angeles, this paper centers student voices to better understand the manifestations of cultural engagement among faculty mentoring experiences, and how these cultural experiences shape student development among the program’s alumni. Guided by Critical Race epistemology and the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) Model, this research highlights the effectiveness of mentoring relationships within a structured on-campus research program focused on promoting underrepresented students’ academic, personal, and professional growth. Findings reveal how mentorship fosters belonging, confidence, and academic motivation. The study contributes to higher education research by emphasizing the importance of culturally relevant mentorship for underrepresented students in research settings.
Biography
Audrey Devost, Ph.D. is a social scientist whose expertise in qualitative research methodologies is driven by critical social theories such as Black feminist thought and intersectionality to understand student development. She is currently psychology faculty at Bennington College in the state of Vermont.
Passion Lord is a Ph.D. Candidate in Higher Education and Organizational Change at UCLA. An L.A. native and first-generation college graduate, she researches how social media shapes college choice. Passion advocates for the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students and mentors undergraduate researchers through UCLA’s Bunche Fellows Program.
Kiana Billot-Vasquez is a doctoral candidate in the School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. Her research examines how foreign-born faculty navigate and make sense of their racialization across national contexts, and how these experiences shape their approaches to teaching, mentoring, and research within U.S. higher education.
Zeyna Faucette is a Ph.D. student in Education whose research examines college access programs and their influence on Black and Brown students’ educational outcomes. Her work focuses on equity in higher education, student recruitment, and community-based strategies that expand opportunities for underrepresented populations.
Ketema Paul, PhD is a Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology at UCLA. His current research involves applying a forward genetics approach to uncover the core genes responsible for sleep-wake regulation. Dr. Paul currently serves as the Director of the Bunche Fellows Program in the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American studies at UCLA.
Walter R. Allen, Ph.D. is the Allan Murray Cartter Professor in Higher Education in the School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. He is also a Distinguished Professor of Education, Sociology, and African American studies. Dr. Allen is the founding director of the Bunche Fellows Program in the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American studies at UCLA.
Recommended Citation
Devost, A., Lord, P., Billot-Vasquez, K., Faucette, Z., Paul, K., & Allen, W. (2025). Mentoring Through a Cultural Lens: Faculty Mentorship Experience in the Bunche Fellows Undergraduate Research Program. Journal of Access, Retention, and Inclusion in Higher Education, 8(1). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/jarihe/vol8/iss1/4