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Impostor Phenomenon (IP) is commonly experienced by individuals in academia and is characterized as intellectual feelings of phoniness and fraudulence that can undermine confidence in oneself. Impostor feelings may also include high levels of self-doubt and self-criticism, difficulty accepting compliments or praise, perfectionism, and concerns about perceptions of incompetence. We conducted a campus-wide Impostor Phenomenon survey at the University of Windsor in Fall 2019. Over 1300 students responded to the survey questions about IP, resilience (the ability to maintain reasonable levels of psychological and physical functioning in the face of potentially disruptive events and stressors; Bonanno, 2004), general self-efficacy (a person’s beliefs about their abilities to execute certain behaviours and accomplish certain outcomes; Bandura, 2010), and satisfaction with life. Many students also provided answers to open-ended questions about impostorism and belonging that were subjected to a content analysis (analyzing and summarizing the data using iterative coding). We will share our findings from this survey, focusing on responses from science undergraduate and graduate students. We will also discuss how we used these findings to develop and deliver an online workshop to make students aware of IP and share strategies for managing feelings of impostorism. We invite you to bring your own device if you would like to participate in online Mentimeter polls during our presentation. This research was approved by the University of Windsor research ethics board.

The underrepresentation of women in science is an ongoing issue in institutions of higher learning and industry alike. While the number of women in Canadian academia is increasing, there is still a large gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) disciplines. The Faculty of Science has undertaken an initiative, spearheaded by three undergraduate students, to quantify and compare gender ratios in the various science programs and faculty rankings in an effort to bring attention to the underrepresentation of women in those fields and devise strategies to reduce gender gaps. Students were tasked with analyzing undergraduate and graduate enrolment data over the last ten years across all Science programs. The data revealed that although the overall gender gap in science graduate programs have decreases, it has remained unchanged at the undergraduate level, with female students least represented in computer science, physics and economic programs. Gender gaps also persist among faculty with the greatest discrepancy at the ranking of full professor. With this data, the Women in Science (WinS) initiative, which seeks to engage students, faculty and staff, raise awareness, and address challenges facing women in science, was created. Initial successes include a new public seminar series launched by guest speaker Dr. Imogen Coe, Dean of Ryerson University, outreach to regional high school students in collaboration with our community partner Build A Dream, and a service learning credit through WinS. Collectively, these efforts encourage young women to pursue education and careers in STEM, while engaging and supporting current science students, faculty and staff. It has also allowed these student researchers to practice civic responsibility and engage in faculty-staff partnerships that empowers them in leadership roles within the scientific community. This study also contributes to future recruitment strategies in the Faculty of Science to boost representation of women and foster diversity.

Attrition rates at postsecondary institutions are highest in the first year of studies [1][2]. It is therefore imperative to determine the core causes of attrition to effectively remedy this problem. In this project, three undergraduate students from different science disciplines conducted a survey of 204 undergraduate Science students to identify and address challenges faced by these students in their first year of studies at the University of Windsor. Data collected were compared across three major categories: discipline, gender and status (domestic vs international). Key points gleaned from the survey data relate directly to students’ studying habits, engagement with professors, and the use of external academic resources. On average, students rated their first-year experience in Science 3.25 out of 5, which correlates with a “good” ranking. A comparison of study habits revealed that students in Biology-related programs tended to spend the most time per week reviewing their class notes, while students in Math, Computer Science, and Physics were more likely to use external resources (e.g. online tools) for academic support. Tutoring services were popularly used among all students and deemed beneficial. Although most students expressed acknowledgement of their professors’ support, international students ranked highest in satisfaction and comfort with professors, while females scored lower than males. Finally, students expressed the need for science-focused exam preparation and career workshops to better support the first-year transition. Using this information, the multidisciplinary team of researchers then developed an exam preparation workshop to acutely target difficulties students typically faced in first year examinations. This initiative was recently launched through the Faculty of Science’s Undergraduate Science Collaborative and Integrative (USci) experience network. As a result, this project has generated more opportunities for student engagement and the creation of other initiatives aimed at supporting and enriching the first-year academic experience within the Faculty of Science. [1] J. P. Grayson and K. Grayson, Research on Retention and Attrition. The Canada Millenium Scholarship Foundation, 2003. [2] T. Qui and R. Finnie, Moving Through, Moving On: Persistence in Postsecondary Education in Atlantic Canada, Evidence from the PSIS. Statistics Canada: Minister of Industry, 2009.

While the impacts of predators on prey demography are well studied, relatively few studies have explored how predators affect the population genetics of prey. I investigated the effects of predation pressure on genetic diversity and genetic similarity in song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) and the demographic mechanisms (births, deaths and dispersal) that may drive this relationship. I compared genetic diversity and genetic similarity (measured at 13 neutral microsatellite loci) between landscapes (island and mainland), and between populations within each landscape. In every comparison, sparrows inhabiting the landscape or population with higher nest predation were more related to one another, and in one comparison, had lower genetic diversity. High nest predation also was associated with reduced birth and population growth rates, and increased variance in reproductive success. Thus, the effects predators have on prey demography may negatively impact the genetic diversity of prey populations, beyond their effects on prey population size.