Becky Wai-Ling Packard Named Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow-in-Residence

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Becky Wai-Ling Packard, an expert on students from diverse backgrounds in higher education and STEM fields, is serving as the Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow-in-Residence through June.

In her new role, Packard supports ongoing diversity strategic planning and helps develop strategies to improve the campus climate of inclusion. Her efforts will be informed by the insights of the campus climate survey.

Currently on leave from Mount Holyoke College where she is professor of psychology and education, Packard began the fellowship in January. She reports to Enobong (Anna) Branch, associate chancellor for equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer.

For the past 20 years, Packard’s research has focused on the mentoring and persistence of students from diverse backgrounds in higher education and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. She has focused on the experiences of first-generation college students, students of color, community-college transfer students, older students, low-income students and women.

Packard says she is thrilled to be at UMass Amherst where there is forward momentum on engaging with campus climate. “As a first-generation college graduate from my home state’s flagship public university, I had the opportunity to engage in many life-changing experiences, which sparked my commitment to studying mentoring and inclusion as a faculty member. I am eager to bring my research expertise, prior leadership experience, and passion for my work to UMass during this fellowship,” Packard says.

Branch says, “Becky has been an incredible addition to the institution. She brings two decades of experience working with students and faculty from diverse backgrounds. I have already benefitted tremendously from her partnership and am looking forward to developing initiatives to further UMass Amherst’s equity and inclusion goals.” 

Packard's work has been supported by three National Science Foundation grants. In 2005, she was recognized by the White House with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the nation’s highest honor for early career scientists and engineers. Currently, she is co-principal investigator on a Google-funded project promoting inclusive peer mentoring among women in computer science.

In 2016, Packard was a visiting scholar in Ireland under a Whiting Foundation fellowship that facilitated her comparison of STEM policy levers in the U.S. and Europe. Her book “Successful STEM Mentoring Initiatives for Underrepresented Students: A Research-Based Guide for Faculty and Administrators,” has been used as a resource by multiple institutions, and was featured at a recent meeting for Presidential Award for Mentoring in Science and Engineering (PAESMEM) award alumni.

Nationally, Packard is a member of the editorial board for the Review of Educational Research and is a faculty coach for the Association of American Colleges and Universities High Impact Practices Institute.

She is a trustee of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts and has been recognized by multiple community organizations for her service. She has received training in active bystander, intergroup dialogue, and conflict resolution strategies, and she has led sessions for more than 40 institutions on effective mentoring or navigating difficult conversations.

Packard earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a doctorate in educational psychology from Michigan State University. She joined the faculty of Mount Holyoke College in 1999. At Mount Holyoke, she has served in multiple leadership roles, including founding director of Teaching and Learning from 2011-16, director of the Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Center for Leadership from 2012-17 and associate dean of faculty from 2013-15.