Dr. Sylvia Mendez is a Professor in the Department of Leadership, Research, and Foundations at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She is engaged in several National Science Foundation-sponsored collaborative research projects focused on broadening participation in STEM academia. Dr. Mendez’s research centers on the creation of optimal higher education policies and practices that advance faculty careers and student success, as well as the schooling experiences of Mexican-descent youth in the mid-20th century. She teaches foundations and research courses in the Inclusive Early Childhood Education BI Program, Inclusive Elementary Education BA Program, Leadership MA Programs, and the Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy PhD Program.

Ph.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
University of Kansas - 2007

M.S., Student Affairs in Higher Education
Colorado State University - 2003

B.A., Economics
Washington State University - 2001

LEAD 1000 Historical, Philosophical, and Sociological Foundations of Education

LEAD 5600 Social Foundations of Educational Trends

LEAD 5610 Social Foundations of Higher Educational Trends

LEAD 5700 Introduction to Research and Statistics

LEAD 7600 Doctoral Research Lab

LEAD 8600 American and Comparative Foundations of Education

Recent Refereed Publications

• Mendez, S. L., Cooksey, S. E., Starkey, K. E., & Conley, V. M. (2022). Professorial fit: Perceptions of engineering postdoctoral scholars. Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education, Ahead-of-Print. https://doi.org/10.1108/SGPE-07-2021-0052

• Tygret, J. A., Green, P., Lane, H., & Mendez, S. L. (2022). Promoting faculty-student relationships: Building connections with first-year college students. Journal of College Orientation, Transition, and Retention, 29(1), 1-5.

• Mendez, S. L., Cooksey, S. E., Starkey, K. E., & Conley, V. M. (2021). The socialisation of engineering postdoctoral scholars. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 46(3), 382-396.

• Agbonlahor, O., Mendez, S. L., & Bingham, A. (2021). Examining post-graduation career plans of international doctoral students in the United States. Journal of Education and Practice, 12(20), 19-30. 

• Haisley, P., Grandorff, C., Agbonlahor, O., Mendez, S. L., & Hansen, M. (2021). Why study abroad?: Differences in motivation between US and international students. Journal of Global Education Research, 5(2), 185-201. 

• Mendez, S. L., Starkey, K., Cooksey, S., & Conley, V. M. (2021). Environmental influences on the STEM identity and career intentions of Latinx STEM postdoctoral scholars. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, OnlineFirst, 1-19.

Recent Refereed Presentations

• Hubbard, I., Sinclair, R., & Mendez, S. L. (2022, July). School-family-community partnerships: Benefits to the social-emotional learning of US secondary students. Presentation at the 29^th International Conference on Learning, Valencia, Spain and Virtual.

• Maida, K., Cegielski, O., & Mendez, S. L. (2022, July). Culturally relevant education challenges and threats in the US secondary classroom. Presentation at the 29^thInternational Conference on Learning, Valencia, Spain and Virtual. 

• Mendez, S. L., Watson, K., & Conley, V. M. (2022, June). Sacrifice: Messages STEM postdoctoral scholar women receive about career and family. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN.

• Mendez, S. L., Tygret, J., White, J., Conley, V. M., Haynes, C., Gerhardt, R., & Gosha, K. (2022, June). Developing deeper student mentoring relationships: Black engineering faculty translating their mentee experiences to students. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN.

• Smith, J. L., Mendez, S. L., Poe, J., McNear, K., Song, H., Skop, E., & Daniels, E. (2022, May). Co-creating faculty annual review documents collaborations across and among communities to reshape evaluation structures. Poster presented at the Annual Equity in STEM Community Convening. Washington, DC. 

• Mendez, S. L., Starkey, K. E., Watson, K., & Conley, V. M. (2022, April). On the front line: Science identity and career intentions of Black and Latinx postdoctoral scholars. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Virtual and in San Diego, CA. 

• Mendez, S. L., Peterson, E., & Kulakowski, E. (2022, February). Engineering faculty perspectives: The conceptualization of and promotion of STEM identity among undergraduate women. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education CoNECD Conference, New Orleans, LA. 

• Mendez, S. L., Conley, V. M., Phillips, C., McCoy, T., Haynes, C., Watson, K., Cooksey, S., & Starkey, K. (2022, February). Valuable professional learning and development activities for Black STEM postdoctoral scholars. Paper presented at the American Society for Engineering Education CoNECD Conference, New Orleans, LA.

• Mendez, S. L., “Increasing Minority Presence within Academia through Continuous Training at Scale (IMPACTS),” Sponsored by the National Science Foundation BPE (22-17745), Federal, $249,619 (Collaborative Total: $799,882). (Funded: August 1, 2022 – July 31, 2027) 

• Smith, J., Daniels, E., Mendez, S. L., Skop, E., & Song, H. “Adaptation Project CREST - Changing Research Experiences, Structures, and (in)Tolerance through the Adaptation of Promising Equity Practices,” Sponsored by the National Science Foundation ADVANCE (8108403), Federal, $996,096. (Funded: July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2024)

• Mendez, S. L., & Conley, V. M., “Collaborative Research: The Engineering Alliance: A Model to Advance Historically Underrepresented Minority Postdoctoral Scholars and Early Career Faculty in Engineering,” Sponsored by the National Science Foundation AGEP (18-21008), Federal, $514,819 (Collaborative Total: $2,249,372). (Funded: January 1, 2019 – December 31, 2024)