Developing Faculty Mentoring Initiatives: Challenges and Opportunities

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Developing Faculty Mentoring InitiativesChalleng
es and Opportunities

• Havidán Rodríguez, Ph.D.
• Vice-Provost for Academic Affairs
• International Programs

2007 Annual Meeting Northeastern Association of
Graduate Schools March 23, 2007
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What is a Mentor?
Greek Mythology. Odysseus trusted counselor,
under whose disguise Athena became the guardian
and teacher of Telemachus...A wise and trusted
counselor or teacher The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language. (1978).
Boston Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Functions of a Mentor

• According to Bernice Sandler (1993)
• A mentor coaches, teaches, advises, supports,
  guides, and helps the mentee or protégé achieve
  his or her goals...and furthers their... personal
  and professional identities...and teaches both
  how to get things done and what not to do
• A mentor is an advocate

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What are the Goals of Mentoring?

• Identity Formation and Development
• Community and Social Support
• Substantive Training
• Professional Support and Socialization

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What are the Complexities of Mentoring?

• Understanding what junior faculty perceive
  that they need The reality of needs assessment
• Balancing mentor mentee perceptions and
  expertise
• Understanding power relationships

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What are the Complexities of Mentoring?

• Developing a plan for success
• Having the mentors knowledge work for the
  mentee
• Having the mentees knowledge and experience
  work as well

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What does a good mentoring Relationship Require?

• Commitment from Mentor and Mentee
• Communication on a regular basis
• Developing trust
• Mutual respect
• Responsibility
• Accountability
• Plans and Guidelines Some structure is important
• A proactive approach

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What is the role of the mentor?

• A good source of information about the University
  and the Department know the University and its
  policies
• Role model with wonderful listening skills,
  empathetic, supportive, and trustworthy
• A guide to the junior faculty in the appreciation
  of the unwritten laws in the academic world

W. O. Maloba, 2006 http//www.udel.edu/provost/wh
ymentoring.html
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The mentor should be sensitive to

• Lack of access to professional networks, outside
  sources of funding for research, avenues for
  publication of scholarly works, etc.
• Isolation or social segregation in the
  department or program
• Cultural differences, presence of unconscious
  bias, stereotypical thinking

W. O. Maloba, 2006 http//www.udel.edu/provost/wh
ymentoring.html
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Mentoring Initiatives

• Mentoring is key for all faculty but particularly
  for women and faculty of color
• Although the emphasis is generally on junior
  faculty, more senior faculty, especially
  Associate Professors, can benefit from the
  advantages of a good mentoring relationship

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Mentoring Initiatives

• Mentoring benefits the general university
  community by
• Increasing the level of productivity of junior
  faculty
• Reducing the attrition of faculty
• And fostering an academic environment that values
  collegiality

W. O. Maloba, 2006 http//www.udel.edu/provost/wh
ymentoring.html
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Whats needed for mentoringto work?

• Institutional support
• Commitment of the Deans
• Leadership of the Department Chair
• Faculty Buy-in Critical mass
• Reward/Incentive Structure (PT, Stipends,
  mentoring awards, public recognition, etc.)

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Faculty Mentoring Initiativeat the University of
Delaware

• Developed Implemented by
• Commission on the Status of Women
• Commission to Promote Racial and Cultural
  Diversity
• Office of the Provost
• With the strong support of the Deans

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Mentoring Junior Faculty at UD

• The goals of the UD mentoring initiative are to
• Provide support and guidance to faculty primarily
  aimed at promotion and tenure
• Support professional development and growth of
  faculty
• Build a community of scholarship and an academic
  environment that values collegiality Enhancing
  the University Climate
• Enhance recruitment and retention of faculty

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Mentoring Junior Faculty at UD
Participating Departments

• Agriculture and Natural Resources
• Plant and Soil Sciences
• Arts and Sciences
• Art Department, Black American Studies, Physics
  Astronomy, and Chemistry and Biochemistry
• Business and Economics
• Accounting Management Information Systems and
  Business Administration
• Engineering
• Civil Environmental Engineering
• Health Sciences
• Medical Technology
• CHEP
• Individual and Family Studies and Fashion
  Apparel Studies

Department joined the Faculty Mentoring
Initiative in 2007-08
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The Initial Meeting

• Workshop with departments selected to participate
  in mentoring initiative. Participants included
• Provost
• Deans from academic units
• Participating department chairs
• Mentors
• Faculty Mentoring Committee

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Resources for Mentoring

• Guide for Department Chairs Outlines the
  responsibilities of Department Chairs
• Guide for Mentors of Assistant Professors
  Explains the mentoring process and its purpose
• Guide for Assistant Professors being mentored
• Guide for Mentors of Associate Professors

Visit http//www.udel.edu/provost/mentoring.html
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Resources for Mentoring

• Guide for Associate Professors being mentored
• Mentoring Check List for Mentors and Mentees
  Provides a detailed timetable of items and
  issues to address during the mentoring of new
  assistant professors 
• Frequently Asked Questions

Visit http//www.udel.edu/provost/mentoring.html
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Assessment of Mentoring Initiative

• Survey to Department Chairs
• Survey and group meeting with mentees
• Survey and group meeting with mentors

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Assessment of Mentoring InitiativeThe Chairs
Perspective

• One major advantage I see is the mentor
  providing advice on course development and
  opportunities for extramural funding. They can
  also provide useful advice on how to progress
  toward promotion and tenure.

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Assessment of Mentoring InitiativeThe Chairs
Perspective

• While we already had a mentoring program, the
  benefits of the initiative have been to
  formalize it and provide on-line access to
  useful information and guidelines. The
  documents have made the junior faculty aware of
  issues that they should discuss with their
  mentors that they otherwise might have not
  thought to discuss.

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Assessment of Mentoring InitiativeThe Chairs
Perspective

• Senior faculty were concerned about
  accountability (and liability) issues. What if a
  mentor gives bad advice or advice that is at
  odds with feedback from the Chair or the PT
  Committee? We could all imagine some very messy
  situations.

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Assessment of Mentoring InitiativeThe Mentors
Perspective

• The most difficult part is finding the right
  mentor for each mentee.
• Getting over the awkwardness in discussing some
  really important issuesI am a colleague and
  friendbut these are important albeit difficult
  issues
• I would like to take part in a session on how
  to be a mentorI need some tools, tricks, ideas,
  etcthere must be mentor coaches out there?

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Assessment of Mentoring InitiativeThe Mentees
Perspective

• Positive outcomes 
• Mentees had general knowledge about the
  program
• Many reported having viewed the mentoring
  documents and discussed them with their mentors
• Almost all reported having met with their
  mentors some more frequently than others

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Assessment of Mentoring InitiativeThe Mentees
Perspective

• Some concerns
• Some mentees had not reviewed the mentoring
  documents
• A non-trivial group reported sporadic or very
  informal communication (e.g., hallway
  conversations) with their mentors

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Assessment of Mentoring InitiativeThe Mentees
Perspective

• Some concerns
• Some mentees reported that they were not clear on
  the roles of the mentor and the mentee
• Others indicated that there is not sufficient
  time (due to busy schedules) to meet on a regular
  basis)while others indicated, however, that they
  saw their mentors very frequently and did not
  require a formal mentoring process

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The Assessment Process Continues

• The overall goal of the UD Faculty mentoring
  initiative is to provide an environment and
  support system in which a junior faculty can
  grow professionally and become a productive and
  valued member of the University community.1
• We hire faculty to succeed mentoring is an
  important step in that direction

1W. O. Maloba, 2006 http//www.udel.edu/provost/w
hymentoring.html
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Questions?

• For further information, please visit
• http//www.udel.edu/provost/mentoring.html