UTSW panelists discuss value of sponsorship at Women’s Faculty Forum
UT Southwestern faculty and institutional leaders discussed the concept of sponsorship and the mutual responsibilities it involves at the fall faculty forum for women in science and medicine.
The Oct. 24 event, hosted by the Women in Science and Medicine Advisory Committee (WISMAC), the Office of Women’s Careers (OWC), and the Office of Faculty Diversity and Development (FDD), featured a group of pre-eminent University panelists sharing their experiences on the topic “Building Career Success: The Importance of Sponsorship.”
Sponsorship is advocacy by a senior leader on behalf of high-potential junior faculty or staff members, said reception host Dr. Helen Yin, Associate Dean, Office of Women’s Careers, a Division of the Office of Faculty Diversity and Development, and leader of the OWC. Unlike the advice-giving methods used in mentoring, the process involves a sponsor using his or her own influence, relationships, and goodwill to actively endorse a junior person and involve them in “stretch” projects that will ultimately advance their career.
“Stretch assignments are those that may be several levels above your comfort zone and force you to take chances,” Dr. Yin told the audience of more than 100 people in the A.W. Harris Faculty and Alumni Center.
In academia and business, Dr. Yin said, it has been shown that high-potential women are often over-mentored but under-sponsored. Early career males are typically aligned with CEOs and other senior executives, while females usually receive their support and input from managers or midlevel faculty. In a recent study published in Academic Medicine, female faculty reported experiencing “academic success” at a 53.5 percent rate compared with a 67 percent rate reported by their male counterparts, while also trailing in self-reported sponsorships, 59 percent versus 72.5 percent.
Panelists were Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern; Dr. Deborah Diercks, founding Chair of Emergency Medicine; Dr. Sharon Reimold, Professor of Internal Medicine and the Department’s Vice Chair for Clinical Operations and Faculty Development; and Nobel Laureate Dr. Michael Brown, Director of the Erik Jonsson Center for Research in Molecular Genetics and Human Disease. Each spoke briefly on their personal experiences, and agreed that sponsorships involve both parties and often begin with studied observation. Dr. Podolsky talked about his long-standing relationship with pre-eminent Harvard Medical School gastroenterologist, Dr. Kurt Isselbacher, saying, “He served as both a mentor and sponsor, providing valuable advice on which opportunities to pursue – and which to decline – in addition to opening doors in the early years of my career.”
Dr. Podolsky summarized some UT Southwestern initiatives reflecting institutional commitment to appointments, programs, and policies that support women’s careers. The President’s Council on Diversity and Inclusion brings together leadership across all areas of UT Southwestern. An annual review of faculty salaries is undertaken to guard against gender or racial inequities, and high priority is placed on UT Southwestern being a campus community that by policy and culture does not tolerate sexual harassment, discrimination, inappropriate behavior, or retaliation.
Dr. Reimold, honored in 2012 with the prestigious Patricia and William L. Watson Jr., M.D. Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine, said her noted clinical career includes three elements. “I work really hard, I keep my word, and I had a sponsor,” she said. “Now that I’m far enough along in my career to sponsor others, I always ask myself, ‘What else have I seen that person do?’”
“Sponsors look for people who do things well,” Dr. Diercks said. “A sponsor is not going to guarantee you success; they are going to give you the opportunity to succeed. The sponsoree has got to have the attitude of ‘Give me a shot.’”
Dr. Brown, who won the 1985 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Chairman of Molecular Genetics Dr. Joseph Goldstein for their discovery of the basic mechanism of cholesterol metabolism, said they have mentored and sponsored many of their students and postdoctoral trainees over the past 46 years at UT Southwestern.
“It has to be reciprocal,” Dr. Brown said. “You can’t sponsor someone who doesn’t live up to the confidence the sponsor has in them.”
The program resonated with early career faculty members.
“You have to be willing to take on sweat equity, or the additional hard work,” said Dr. Kehinde Odedosu, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Sarah Khan, Faculty Associate in Internal Medicine, said, “You need to hear someone say, ‘You can do it, you can achieve your goals.’ Having that voice helps give you direction.”
Dr. Brown, a Regental Professor, holds The W.A. (Monty) Moncrief Distinguished Chair in Cholesterol and Arteriosclerosis Research, and the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine.
Dr. Diercks holds the Audre and Bernard Rapoport Distinguished Chair in Clinical Care and Research.
Dr. Goldstein, a Regental Professor, holds the Julie and Louis A. Beecherl, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Research, and the Paul J. Thomas Chair in Medicine.
Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O’Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration, and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.
Dr. Reimold holds the Gail Griffiths Hill Chair in Cardiology.
Dr. Yin holds the Margaret Yin Chair for the Advancement of Women Faculty, and the Peter and Jean D. Dehlinger Professorship in Biomedical Science.
