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Who can serve as a college-wide mentor?
Any full-time tenured teaching faculty member can serve as a college-wide mentor to
a new faculty member from a different department.
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 enhance your listening skills, transmit institutional values and
help strengthen the entire college.
How much work is involved and what’s the nature of the work?
The length of service is from start to finish of the academic year. The amount of
work depends on the level of interaction between the new faculty member and the mentor
and this can vary widely from relationship to relationship. Since this program, by
design, is unstructured it is difficult to predict how much work is involved.
The two broad categories that fall under faculty mentoring are career development
and psycho-social support. The nature of the work is highly interpersonal requiring
soft skills as well as institutional knowledge. Much of what happens is one-on-one,
unstructured, collegial support of our new faculty. There is no fixed agenda. Confidentiality
is the hallmark of this program. Therefore, a college-wide mentor holds a position
of special trust.
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. Because of
the confidential nature of mentoring relationships, we don’t formally evaluate the
program.
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 to answer
the question. Keep in mind that no relationship can fulfill all the needs of the parties
involved.
My new faculty member has more teaching experience than I do. Can I still benefit
that person as a college-wide mentor?
Absolutely you can! You were chosen because you have specific full-time 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 members 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.
Can I mentor more than one faculty member at the same time?
Usually volunteers mentor only one new faculty member per year. On the rare occasion
that a mentor had more than one person to mentor, it was voluntary.
Can I mentor a new faculty member I already know?
Yes, as long as you meet the mentor qualifications.
Can I renew my service as a mentor a second, third and fourth time?
Yes, yes, and yes. In fact, there are mentors who have served much longer than four
years in the program. You may mentor one new faculty member per year for any number
of years. You may also take a break for a year or more after mentoring a new faculty
member. You may then choose to renew your service in succeeding years.
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 1, please contact the program coordinator.
Keep in mind that many new faculty members sometimes feel overwhelmed by their new
responsibilities and may not make mentoring a priority. There are many expectations
that new faculty strive to meet. While mentoring is an important part of faculty development,
it is understandably not one of the mandatory responsibilities that new faculty feel
obligated to meet. Mentors are encouraged to make themselves available for the new
faculty whom they mentor, but not intrusively so. Gentle and occasional outreach is
the best policy when trying to establish the new relationship.
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