Faculty Mentoring Best Practices

For Departments

Clearly articulate career priorities and expectations for faculty that mentorship programs will address (see DFDD)

• Support teaching performance
• Develop independent scholarship/research productivity
• Develop important professional networks
• Provide guidance regarding the determinants (both formal and informal) essential for academic advancement in that unit
• Proactively recognize and mitigate factors that dis-proportionately deter the advancement of women and underrepresented minority faculty
• Identify whether additional psychosocial aspects of mentoring will be addressed by departmentally facilitated programs

For New Faculty

• Identify Needs and Interests: Mentees should start by identifying their own needs and interests in order to create a draft of career goals and objectives. These needs and interests should be provided to the mentor, along with a draft of goals and any supporting materials (i.e., CV, research statement, teaching portfolio, individual development plan, etc.), prior to an initial meeting.
• Active Engagement: To ensure effective mentorship, it is essential for the mentee to be actively engaged in the mentoring relationship. This includes listening attentively, a willingness to work outside of one’s “comfort zone,” identifying specific developmental goals for which guidance is sought, initiation of meetings, adequate preparation for meetings, soliciting feedback and willingness to listen to feedback both positive and negative, and taking responsibility for developing scholarly independence.
• Identify Any Gaps in Competencies/Skill Sets: A responsible mentee will also reflect on their own activities and goals and identify gaps in competencies and/or skill sets that may be essential to the mentee’s ability to successfully attain his or her goals.
• Developing Networks: The mentee should be actively engaged in developing a broad network of developmental relationships.

For Mentors

• Time Commitment: Mentors must attend the mandatory fall academy session in order to serve as a faculty mentor. Mentors should be able to commit to and honor the time required for meeting and advising their mentee(s).
• Skills and Needs: Mentors should assess their skills for mentorship and determine their own developmental needs.
• Collaboration: Mentors should work with the mentee(s) on the development of realistic career goals and timelines for achieving those goals.
• Scope of Guidance: Mentors should be able to provide guidance on setting objectives, vision, and strategies for the specific scope of advising.
• Mentoring Plan: It is the responsibility of the mentee to provide the mentor with his or her goals (written or discussed), a CV, teaching statement, research statement, and whatever other materials will be useful in forming a mentorship plan; it is the responsibility of the mentor to collaborate with the mentee to develop attainable goals, types of guidance, and resources for developing necessary academic competencies and relationships.
• Communication: In order for mentorship to be most effective, both the mentee and the mentor must establish a level of trust with each other. Both should practice careful and active listening and be able to communicate respectfully and confidentially. Potential communication barriers based on race, ethnicity, culture, or background are important to consider. Mechanisms to provide constructive feedback should be thoughtfully considered.
• Network Development: A key role of a mentor is to help facilitate the development of academic networks.