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Faculty Mentoring Project
Introduction:
Research indicates that
scholars and researchers
develop successful careers
more rapidly in academic
environments where
expectations for successful
performance are explicit and
intellectual strengths and
career development are
supported by institutions
and peers. In contrast,
academe is often
characterized as an
environment in which rules
defining successful
performance are unwritten or
vague and new faculty
members learn their roles
primarily through
experience. One strategy
through which new faculty
members can learn
information essential to
successful careers in new
academic environments is to
establish a mentoring
relationship with a more
experienced faculty member.
A mentoring relationship
is characterized by an
experienced faculty member
(mentor) taking an active
role in the development of
the academic career of a new
faculty member (mentee) by
offering guidance, support
and advice. A mentor's
guidance is rendered with an
"inside knowledge'' of the
norms/rules, values and
procedures of the
institution and from a depth
of professional experience.
Access to this often tacit
knowledge enables a mentee
to enjoy a "quick start" in
a new academic environment
and to receive support in
the development of his or
her academic career.
Although mentor-mentee
relationships do develop on
an informal basis, mentoring
support for new faculty is
not the norm.
Based on an overview of
the characteristics of
successful mentoring
programs and research in the
field, suggestions for
implementing mentoring
programs have been developed
to assist new faculty
members professionally and
personally acclimatized to
the new environment.
This mentoring program
starts with providing simple
help with mail code, showing
duplicating facility,
filling our travel forms to
providing advice and
guidance to professional
development or suggesting
pedagogical strategies. The
program’s success will
depend on the mentees and
their mentors taking an
active role in the process.
Selection of Buddy/Mentor
A request was sent out to
the department chairs to
solicit faculty to act as
buddy/mentor for the new
faculty. The chairs
assigned buddies/mentors to
new faculty members.
Letters were sent out to the
buddies/mentors and mentees
informing them of the
short-term as well long-term
goals of the project.
The
Responsibility of the
Buddy/Mentor
The Provost’s office will
send letters to all mentees
announcing them the names of
the mentors. The names of
the mentors are provided by
the department chairs. The
mentor should contact the
mentees in advance (if
possible) of his/her arrival
at the University and then
meet with the mentees on a
regular basis during the
course of the semester. The
mentor should provide
informal advice to the new
faculty member on aspects of
teaching, research and
committee work or be able to
direct the new faculty
member to appropriate other
individuals. Often the
greatest assistance a mentor
can provide is simply the
identification of which
staff one should approach
for which task. Funding
opportunities both within
and outside the campus are
also worth noting. The
mentor should treat all
dealings and discussions in
confidence. There is no
evaluation or assessment of
the new faculty member on
the part of mentor, only
supportive guidance and
constructive criticism.
The Responsibility of the
Mentee
The mentee should keep
his/her mentor informed of
any problems
or concerns as they arise.
When input is desired,
mentee should leave
sufficient time whether to
discuss a grant proposal or
conference paper to allow
his/her mentor the
opportunity to
review and critique drafts.
The
Buddy/Mentor
The most important tasks
of a good mentor are to help
the mentee achieve
excellence and to acclimate
to LHUP. Although the role
of mentor is an informal
one, it poses a challenge
and requires dedication and
time. A good relationship
with a supportive, active
mentor has been shown to
contribute significantly to
a new faculty member’s
career development and
satisfaction.
Qualities of a Good
Buddy/Mentor
-
Accessibility – the
mentor is encouraged to
make time to be
available to the new
faculty member. The
mentor might keep in
contact by dropping by,
calling, sending e-mail,
or extending a lunch
invitation. It is very
helpful for the mentor
to make time to read /
critique proposals and
papers and to provide
periodic reviews of
progress.
-
Networking – the mentor
should be able to help
the new faculty member
establish a network
within and outside the
campus with
professionals in the
field.
-
Independence – the new
faculty member’s
intellectual
independence from the
mentor must be carefully
preserved and the mentor
must avoid developing a
competitive relationship
with the new faculty
member.
Goals for the Buddy/Mentor
Short-term goals:
-
Familiarization with the
campus and its
environment to
ensure new faculty
members can effectively
fulfill their
responsibilities.
-
Educating new faculty
members about the LHU’s
system
of shared governance
between the
Administration and
the faculty.
-
Networking—introduction
to colleagues,
identification of other
possible mentors.
-
Developing
awareness—help new
faculty understand
policies and procedures
that are relevant to the
new faculty member’s
work.
-
Helping to sort out
priorities—budgeting
time, balancing
research, teaching, and
service.
Long-term goals:
-
Constructive criticism
and encouragement,
compliments on
professional growth and
achievements.
-
Developing visibility
and prominence within
the profession
-
Achieving career
advancement through
tenure, promotion,
scholarly publication,
and conference
participation.
Benefits for the
Buddy/mentor
-
Satisfaction in
assisting in the
development of a
colleague which in turn
demonstrates one’s own
professional development
-
Ideas for and feedback
about the buddy/mentor’s
own teaching /
scholarship
- A
network of colleagues
who have passed through
the program
-
Retention of excellent
faculty colleagues
-
Enhancement of
department quality
-
Enrichment of program
The Successful Mentee
The primary
characteristics of
successful mentees include
the ability and willingness
to:
-
Seek advice/suggestion
from buddy/mentor
-
Clearly articulate
career needs
-
Assume responsibility
for their own
professional growth and
development
-
Set goals and make
decisions to achieve
those goals
-
Spend time reflecting on
the achievement of goals
- Be
receptive to
constructive feedback
The Successful Buddy/Mentor
The primary resource of
successful mentors is
knowledge of the norms,
values and procedures of
their institutions. This
knowledge is essential to
mentees in meeting their
objectives, but there are
also personal
characteristics which
contribute to effective
mentoring. These include the
ability to:
-
Value the mentee as a
person
-
Develop mutual trust and
respect
-
Maintain confidentiality
-
Listen both to what is
being said and how it is
being said
-
Provide constructive
feedback
-
Help the mentee solve
his or her own problem,
rather than giving
direction
-
Focus on the mentee's
development, and resist
the urge to produce a
clone
Evaluation
As a part of the
formative assessment,
periodically phone calls
will be made to a select
group of mentors and mentees
to inquire about the
program. To gauge the
effectiveness of the
program, a summative
assessment tool will be
provided to all participants
towards the end of the
semester.
Reference
· Bensimon, E.M., Ward,
K., & Sanders, K. (2000).
Chapter ten: Creating
mentoring relationships and
fostering collegiality.
Department chair's role in
developing new faculty into
teachers and scholars. (pp.
113-137). Bolton, MA: Anker
Publishing.
· Boice, R. (1990).
Mentoring new faculty: A
program for implementation.
Journal of Staff, Program,
and Organization
Development, 8(3), 143-160.
· Cox, M.D. (1997).
Long-term patterns in a
mentoring program for junior
faculty: Recommendations for
practice. In D. DeZure
(Ed.), To Improve the
Academy, vol. 16, (pp.
225-268). Stillwater, OK:
New Forums Press and the
Professional and
Organizational Development
Network in Higher
Education. (Requires U of M
authentication)
· Goodwin, L.D., Stevens,
E.A., & Bellamy, G.T.
(1998). Mentoring among
faculty in schools, colleges
and departments of
education. Journal of
Teacher Education, 49(5),
334-343. Washington, DC:
American Association of
Colleges for Teacher
Education.
· Luna, G., & Cullen,
D.L. (1995).
Empowering the faculty:
Mentoring redirected and
renewed (ASHE-ERIC
Higher Education Report No.
3). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
(ERIC Document Reproduction
Service No. ED 399 888).
(Requires U of M
authentication)
· Manring, E.T. (1997).
Providing assistance to
beginning teachers:
Evaluation of a program
designed to enhance the
mentoring process.
Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, The University
of Carolina at Greensboro,
Greensboro, NC.
· Murray, M. (1991).
Beyond the myths and magic
of mentoring: How to
facilitate an effective
mentoring program. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
· Wunsch, M.A. (1994).
A checklist for developing,
implementing, and assessing
mentoring programs. In
M.A. Wunsch (Ed.), Mentoring
revisited: Making an impact
on individuals and
institutions (New Directions
for Teaching and Learning,
no. 57) (pp. 127-130). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
(Requires U of M
authentication)
· Xu, M., & Newman, D.
(1987, October).
Mentoring new faculty in
higher education setting.
Annual Meeting of the
American Evaluation
Association, Boston, MA.
(ERIC Document Reproduction
Service No. ED 293 428).
(Requires U of M
authentication)
Contact:
Zakir Hossain
zhossain@lhup.edu
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