1) Who can serve as a college-wide mentor?
Any full time tenure track teaching faculty member with at least three years of teaching experience at MCC can serve as a college–wide mentor to a new faculty member from a different department. Full-time temporary years count toward the three year minimum.
2) Why should I become a mentor?
College-wide mentors help new faculty to acculturate to the college. It’s a great way to meet new faculty and to network with other departments. You will also have the opportunity to hone your listening skills, transmit institutional values and culture and help strengthen the entire college.
3) How much work is involved?
In general there is not a huge time commitment. The amount of work depends on the level of interaction that unfolds between the new faculty member and the mentor. This can vary widely from relationship to relationship.
4) Is mentoring effective? How do you know?
Many people have reported that their mentoring experience was very positive. Additionally, the core of current mentors were mentored themselves under the program but, because of the confidential nature of mentoring relationships, we don’t formally evaluate the program.
5) What do I do if I can't answer a new faculty member’s question?
It is not necessary for you to have all the answers. You may need to refer the new faculty to someone else who can help. Try to find the right person/place who can answer the question. Keep in mind that no relationship can fulfill all the needs of the parties involved.
6) My new faculty member has more teaching experience than I do. Can I still benefit that person as a college-wide mentor?
Absolutely. You were chosen because you have specific experience at MCC that a new faculty member may lack. Teaching experience is not the only measure of your value as a mentor. New faculty need to learn the culture of the college, and as a mentor you can guide them in their first year. Also, even the most experienced new faculty can be encouraged to stretch themselves in new ways.
7) Can I mentor more than one faculty member?
Usually volunteers mentor one new faculty member only. On the rare occasion that that a mentor had more than one person to mentor, it was voluntary and their new faculty members were always in separate departments.
8) Can I mentor someone I already know?
Yes, as long as you meet the mentor qualifications.
9) Can I renew my service as a mentor a second, third and fourth time?
Yes. Yes. Yes. In fact there are mentors who have served much longer than four years in the program.
10) I have not been able to reach the new faculty member I agreed to mentor after several attempts. What should I do?
Keep trying to contact the new faculty member; however, if you have not been able to reach them by October 1st, contact the program coordinator for advice. Keep in mind that many new faculty members feel overwhelmed by their new responsibilities and may not make mentoring a priority.
Questions and Answers for New Faculty
1) How will I know who will be my mentor?
After the welcome letter is sent, the coordinator of the program attempts to contact you to determine your interest in a mentor relationship. The coordinator usually selects your mentor and informs you of his/her name and department.
2) I have a mentor within my department. Why do I need a college-wide mentor?
The college-wide mentor relationship is, by design, more removed from your department, since you may have concerns that you may not want to discuss with someone from your department. A college-wide mentor is also a starting point for networking outside of your department.
3) Is my mentor relationship confidential?
Confidentiality is the hallmark of this program. Mentors never evaluate new faculty members for hiring, retention, promotion or tenure. Confidentiality allows new faculty to relate to mentors openly with the reassurance that privileged knowledge of the relationship will not be revealed to others.
4) What do I do if my mentor can't answer my question?
There are lots of resources at the college and your mentor should be able to point you in the right direction.
5) How do first year teaching faculty know that they are “doing enough” to be considered for tenure in the future and what is the mentor’s role here?
Your college-wide mentor can help you to understand the expectations, behaviors, and attitudes needed to achieve the goal of tenure. There are written documents such as the Contractual Agreement between the Faculty Association and the Board of Trustees that you may want to examine as well as memos that have been used as historic reference points.
In addition, if you have a department mentor, that person can act to help you gauge expectations set by the department’s tenure committee.
6) What happens if a mentor/new faculty relationship doesn't work?
It rarely happens, but if there is a concern, you can contact the program coordinator.
7) My mentor can not make it to the pizza lunch. Can I still come?
Yes. You can still come to the pizza lunch. There will be an opportunity to meet the other faculty members in your cohort.
General Questions and Answers
1) What’s the history of the program?
The College-wide Mentor Program for New Faculty was established by Dr. Ken Huggins at Monroe Community College in 1993 to assist new faculty members in their orientation to the College. It has been coordinated by Mr. Dave Boni since 1997. In addition to maintaining the continuity of the culture and shared values, the program aims to familiarize new faculty members with the challenges and rewards of teaching at MCC. As the program grew, a brochure and web page were added to improve communication.
2) What is the timeline of events that occurs each year?
As teaching faculty members are hired in May, June, July and August, they receive a welcome letter and program brochure that invites them to participate in the program. Rarely do they decline.
Shortly thereafter, a mentor is assigned to each new full-time tenure track faculty member. The official start date is September 1st each year. However, many new faculty members have already met with their mentors before this date.
Shortly after September 1st a spreadsheet with the names and departments of all the mentors and new faculty members is posted on the program web page and is emailed to all participants.
On the first Friday of October, there is an informal pizza lunch that officially kicks off the program. The pizza lunch is held at the Brighton Campus during college hour (12 noon). Mentors and their new faculty members attend together. The mentors and new faculty members meet informally throughout the academic year and without a predetermined structure imposed by the program.
3) Is there release time or a stipend paid to the coordinator or to mentors?
No. The entire program is an all volunteer effort.
