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Faculty Mentoring

Academy of Distinguished Teachers Annual ConferenceRutgers, October 15, 2006

Helen Mongan-RallisEngin SungurConnie Weil

Image source: http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~aspucb/mentoring.htm

Overview ofSession

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• How many of you:– Were mentored (formally or informally) when you

were a new faculty member?– Were mentored as mid or late career faculty

members?– Have been or are currently mentoring other faculty:

• Formally?• Informally?

• What questions do you have about mentoring?

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Survey Responses

Individual Reflection

Think about a current or recent mentoringrelationship you have had which centers onyour academic or professional work.

• View the relationship both from your perspective as amentor and as a mentee

• Use the questions that follow to prompt your thinkingabout the character and qualities of that specificrelationship.

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Part 1: Reflectingon the Relationship

• What worked? What are the most positiveaspects and qualities of the relationship?(a) mentee (b) mentor

• What was not as effective? What are themost problematic or difficult aspects of therelationship? (a) mentee (b) mentor

Image source: http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~aspucb/mentoring.htm

Part 2: Reflecting onMentoring Activities

• Which activities were most successful?Consider each from the perspective of(a) mentee (b) mentor

• Which activities were least successful?Consider each from the perspective of(a) mentee (b) mentor

Image source: http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~aspucb/mentoring.htm

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Part 3: Reflect on MentorCharacteristics & Qualities• List specific characteristics or qualities

that foster effective mentoring.• List specific characteristics or qualities

that hinder effective mentoring and arelikely to create stress, conflicts,tensions, or worse.

Image source: http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~aspucb/mentoring.htm

• What should be the expectations fromperspective of (a) mentee (b) mentor?

• What would be key mentoring activities forthis person? Expected outcomes of these?

• What should be the characteristics of theideal mentor?

Guidelines forScenarioAnalysis

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Scenario A

• Gender: Female• Country: Not USA• Family: Single parent• Teaching: No experience in teaching with full

responsibility• Research: Exclusively dependent on previous

thesis advisor• Service: No professional and institutional

service experience

Scenario B

• Gender: Any• Country of origin: USA• Family: Single• Teaching: No experience in teaching with full

responsibility• Research: Some refereed research experience

& evidence of independent scholarly work• Service: Some professional but no institutional

service experience

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Scenario C

• Gender: Any• Country of origin: USA• Family: Single parent• Academic Rank: Associate Professor• Teaching: Distinguished teaching record• Research: Low scholarly work activity• Service: Low professional and institutional

service activity

What issues andchallenges are faced byfaculty during:

a) Initial years?b) Mid years?c) Later years?

Issues & Challenges

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Early Years Issues & Challenges1. Over-enrichment Perfect Professor: self-

expectations and reality2. Perfect Discipline: expectations of new faculty for

discipline colleagues3. Securing Power, establishing a voice in the

discipline4. Networking Within / Without, developing supportive

links both on and off campus5. Research Identity / Voice6. Publication, successes and challenges; resilience7. Work and Family

Mid Years Issues & Challenges1. Middle Age Memory2. Changes over time in how students are

prepared3. Sharing Power4. Change, redirection and flexibility5. Outreach, work for the larger academic

community, journaling; application of work6. Work Recognition (feeling unappreciated)7. Work and Family

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Later Year Issues & Challenges1. Priorities for Remaining On (short term and long term in

teaching, research, service)2. Mentoring, Graceful Use of Power, Advising in disciplinary

matters3. Legacy (assessment of contributions, enjoyment of

accomplishments, historical statement)4. Loneliness in Later Years (loss of audience, colleagues

moving on; development of new relationships with youngerfaculty)

5. Opportunities of Retirement (transition to more less-structured time, part-time teaching, research, service work;speaking, continuing education offerings; completechange: new career options, avocations)

6. Work and Family (possible care for aging parents)

What Are theBurning Questions?

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Some Burning Questions & Issues• Overemphasis on teaching and ignoring research or

vice versa; impact on tenure and promotion.• Peer mentoring versus senior-junior mentoring• Classroom visits: Is it meaningful and/or sufficient?• Constant integration and collaboration• Sharing resources and knowledge: Collaboration

versus competition• Characteristics of mentor: Is there one optimal or

depends on mentees’ characteristics?• Characteristics of mentee: What are the different

“types” of mentees?• Impact on tenure and promotion?• What are the “messages” that mentors need to deliver?

Questions & Issues Continued• Mutual benefits for mentor and mentee: What are they?• Same discipline vs. different discipline: Benefits and

challenges• How does mentoring fit with general faculty characteristics

at various stages?• What are the general objectives in mentoring? Best for

institution or best for the mentee?• How to relate being mentor and being promoter?• Role of the mentor in tenure and promotion committees?• Academic mentor vs. teaching, research, service mentors• Conflict of interests in mentoring• Specialized mentoring: Technology, service learning, grant

writing etc

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MentoringResources

Mentoring Resources• The Faculty Enrichment Project (FEP)• Preparing Future Faculty (PFF• Bush Innovative Teaching Mentoring• Tenure Tracking Seminar.• Mid-Career Seminar.• Teaching Buddies• Service Learning Faculty Fellow Program. Faculty Online

Club.• Center for Teaching and Learning Services (CTLS)• Early Career Teaching Program• Mid-Career Teaching Program• Making Meaning of a Life in Teaching• Faculty Center for Learning & Teaching

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References

• University of Minnesota Commission ofWomen (1996). Mentoring for the 1990’s andBeyond: New Perspectives on an Old Way toMove Ahead. University of Minnesota.

• To download handouts from this session goto:http://www.d.umn.edu/~hrallis/professional/presentations/adtfa06/mentoring/

Image source: http://ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/~aspucb/mentoring.htm