Become a Faculty Mentor
Being a mentor is a rewarding experience that allows you to pass along your knowledge and experience to help others.
At the beginning of any mentoring relationship, it's crucial you and your mentee are completely open and honest about each other's expectations and how evaluation of the process will be established. Not doing so may lead to misunderstandings later on. The more you understand your mentee’s goals, the better positioned you are to support their involvement in departmental activities and professional organizations.
Tip: The time and dedication you invest in your mentee's success is an excellent example of outstanding professional service that is needed for promotion and tenure.
Sign up to be a Faculty Mentor
Benefits for Mentors
Mentoring can be a rewarding experience for everyone involved. As a mentor, you'll gain:
- Professional and personal satisfaction
- Experience needed when going up for promotion and tenure
- A new relationship with a trusted colleague
- New knowledge or research opportunities
- The ability to shape and grow your department
- A sense of purpose through the training of the next generation of academic leadership
Information for Mentors
The mentoring process is a two-way street where each individual has their own role. As a mentor, your focus should be on the professional development of the mentee — it is not about telling the mentee what to do. Therefore, your role may be to:
- Assist in prioritizing tasks
- Provide insight on the academic politics of the department
- Help navigate the promotion and tenure process
- Provide feedback and advice on grant development and scholarly writing
- Offer support on finding a healthy work/life balance
- Ask open-ended questions to encourage more dialogue and allow your mentee to explore the many options to their questions
- Provide feedback and guidance on potential pitfalls based on your own experiences
- Assist the mentee to establish networking relationships with leaders in their field and internal and external organizations
- Champion your mentee's professional growth
- Steer the mentee toward opportunities that enhance their goals
Having a written agreement between you and your mentee can avoid future conflicts. One of the first things the two of you should discuss is the time commitment involved and each of your expectations.
- It is also important to include confidentiality as part of the mentoring agreement. This will allow you to provide counsel and discuss sensitive issues, especially those involving fellow faculty members or leaders. You should reassure your mentee there will be no direct feedback to their department chair or other leadership.
- Review an example of a mentoring agreement.
During the mentoring relationship, both of you need to bring up any concerns about the process or the learning activities as soon as they develop. You should also periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the relationship, and make adjustments as needed before problems become too severe to overcome.
However, if both of you agree your mentoring relationship is not advancing, you should still end on a positive note and express your appreciation for the time spent.
Interested in becoming a mentor? Fill out the form below.
Mentor Intake Form