Mentoring is an often intangible function that many faculty perform for their colleagues and graduate students. Peer-to-peer mentoring has been shown to support faculty members’ success and satisfaction across their careers. It can enhance teaching effectiveness, research productivity, retention, recruitment, productivity, and satisfaction. Likewise, thoughtful and deliberate mentoring of graduate students can be important to their successful inculcation into the profession. Both of these forms of mentoring may also contribute to a healthy, positive organizational climate. Yet few of us are trained in how to be good mentors to one another. With the aim of developing their knowledge and abilities to serve as good mentors to peers and graduate students, this FLC explored such questions as:
- How can we be better at “showing up” for our colleagues and grad students?
- What are various the roles that faculty mentors can play?
- What are the various domains of development for which can faculty mentors provide guidance?
- What are the characteristics of effective mentoring and qualities of effective mentors?
- How can we lay the foundation and set the tone for good mentor-mentee relationships?
- How can we create stronger connections with colleagues in our own departments and/or across campus through mentoring?
Participants gained a deeper understanding of their approach to and process for being a good mentor, how to balance mentoring with self-care, and a stronger sense of community in general, either within their own department, or across disciplines.
Members:
Suzanne Braunschweig, Facilitator (GES)
Abhijit Dutt (CSEE)
Steve Miller (BIOL)
Steve Pitts (PSYC)
Michelle Starz-Gaiano (BIOL)
Cynthia Wagner (BIOL)
Samples of Work:
Slides from the group’s presentation at the End of Year Celebration