FACULTY MENTORING
Learn more about mentoring and find resources here.
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Mentoring is an important form of support and guidance for faculty at all career stages. The word “mentoring” may call to mind a traditional dyadic relationship in which a senior faculty member (“guru” mentor) is the primary guide and model for all aspects of the development of a junior faculty member (“disciple” mentee). However, this is just one of many forms of faculty mentoring. And it may not be fully supportive of a faculty member’s needs.
Mentoring networks are a rich, flexible alternative to the traditional model of dyadic, hierarchical mentoring. By developing a network of mentors over time, a faculty member has many different individuals to rely on for a variety of needs and specialized skills (e.g., grant-writing, feedback on manuscript drafts from content-area experts, dealing with common instructional issues, challenges in professional relationships, emotional support, etc.). Mentoring networks are especially valuable for faculty members who are in a minority in their department or discipline.
Members of mentoring networks can come from one’s department, another department or college, another university, and from outside academia. A good way to begin developing a mentoring network is to review the mentoring network map developed by Kerry Ann Rockquemore.
Conferences/Opportunities
17th Annual Mentoring Conference
Inclusive Developmental Networks: Building Transformative Communities Through Effective Mentoring
University of New Mexico Mentoring Institute
Albuquerque, N.M.
Monday, Oct. 21 – Friday, Oct. 25, 2024
The conference at the University of New Mexico seeks to bring together professionals in higher education, academic researchers, educators, community leaders, administrators, non-profit partners, government agencies, and other professionals to explore mentoring.
Additional information about the conference, including a program events and speaker details, is forthcoming from UNM. The institute has issued a call for proposals for papers, with an abstract deadline of March 30, 2024. A list of deadlines and other conference information is available from the Mentoring Institute here.
Mentoring Basics
Get Started: Essential Guides
Guides from Columbia University and the University of Michigan
We recommend reading two great, thorough guides to faculty mentoring from Columbia University and the University of Michigan, which have been cited by numerous institutions across the United States.
Download them below. PDFs will open in new windows.
Beyond Tradition: Innovative Mentorship Models for Higher Education
Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning
(46 minutes)
Mentorship can be valuable across career stages and disciplines in higher education. Various mentorship models can be used to engage in meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships that support growth and development. During this keynote, we will explore a variety of evidence-based mentorship models that can be used across higher education and identify ways various mentorship models might be introduced and strengthened in different stages and personal contexts. Leave this session with the tools to reflect on your mentorship experiences while exploring how to identify and embrace various types of mentorship to foster productive growth and development across higher education.
FAQs
- Review the mentoring network map developed by Kerry Ann Rockquemore to quickly see what kinds of mentors you already have, and what new kinds of mentors may help you.
- Clarify what you need and start to ask colleagues around you for help.
- Ask for help with something specific to make the most of your mentoring conversations.
- Learn more about the GSU Mentoring Advocates Program (listed below).
- Explore more places to find new members of your mentoring network: colleagues in your college, faculty working in interdisciplinary centers, participants in university-wide workshops or meetings (e.g., CETLOE, committees), and special interest groups or mentoring services provided by your disciplinary societies.
- If you would like assistance finding additional mentors to help you with a specific issue or aspect of your development, please contact the Office of Faculty Affairs at [email protected]. We may be able to suggest a specific faculty member or a type of support session that will meet your needs.
- Learn more about how the mentoring network model works.
- Learn more about shifting from a guru approach to a coaching approach.
- Reflect on your ability to mentor across gender and racial differences.
- Take a few simple steps to welcome new faculty colleagues and encourage your department colleagues to do the same.
- Pass on the mentoring network map!
NOTE: For your convenience, we have pulled copies from the Internet Archive for articles linked in items 1-4 in the event the links above don’t work. These archival links will provide the same content.
Coaches provide immediate, short-term, task-related help, while mentors ideally contribute to a developmentally oriented relationship over a longer period of time. Both can be valuable parts of a mentoring network.
A sponsor speaks up on your behalf, opens up significant opportunities for you, and shapes how others perceive you. Learn more about how to cultivate sponsors.
Talk to OFA to learn more about the effective models of mentoring introduced here and what kind of budget and incentives can best support faculty mentoring.
Faculty Mentoring at GSU
Learn more about GSU mentor programming and watch videos on best practices from Georgia State experts below.
GSU Mentor Advocates
| Unit | Point of Contact | |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Young School of Policy Studies |  Leah Daigle |
[email protected] |
| Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing and Health Professions |
 Anita Nucci
|
[email protected] |
| College of Arts & Sciences |
 Elisabeth Burgess
|
[email protected] |
| College of Education and Human Development |
 DaShaunda Patterson
|
[email protected] |
| College of Law |
 Margaret Vath
|
[email protected] |
| College of the Arts |
 Susan Richmond
|
[email protected] |
 Lara Dahl
|
[email protected] | |
| Institute for Biomedical Sciences |
 Cynthia Nau Cornelissen
|
[email protected] |
| J. Mack Robinson College of Business |
 Marian Higgins
|
[email protected] |
| Perimeter College |
 Deborah Manson
|
[email protected] |
| School of Public Health |
 Katherine Masyn
|
[email protected] |
| University Library |
 Tamika Barnes
|
[email protected] |
The Write-In Network
The Write-In Network (WIN) program’s primary aim is to facilitate faculty’s scholarly writing goals. The program provides WIN Fellows with trainings and support around professional goal-setting and goal attainment, as well as resources to promote writing productivity. WIN includes small weekly writing accountability groups and a monthly skill-building meeting.
Faculty Mentoring 101: Debunking Myths and Building Networks (Video)
Kavita Pandit, Executive Coach & Professor Emerita at Georgia State, presents the Mentoring 101 session via Webex in this April 2023 recording.
Do you want to watch this video in a new window? Are you having trouble viewing it here? Click here to watch the recording at GSU Mediaspace (Kaltura).
Non-Tenure Track Faculty Mentoring (Video)
Watch a Webex recording from the Non-Tenure Track Faculty Mentoring Workshop, held April 2023, with Mindy Stombler, Faculty Associate for Achievement and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Faculty Affairs and Kavita Pandit, Executive Coach & Professor Emerita, Georgia State University.
Do you want to watch this video in a new window? Are you having trouble viewing it here? Click here to go to GSU Mediaspace (Kaltura).
Mentoring Excellence Award
This award recognizes a faculty member who has shown an outstanding dedication to the mentoring of other faculty members. As identified by the Collaborative on Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) faculty satisfaction survey and action plan, the award helps to fulfill the need to increase mentorship at Georgia State and to recognize excellence in this pursuit. The winner of this award will have demonstrated a commitment to fostering the intellectual, creative, scholarly and professional growth; shown a sustained commitment to a mentoring relationship resulting in career growth; and an overall history of service and mentorship to faculty.
Updated information about the award, including deadlines and criteria, will be posted at the link in the button below. It will take you to the awards page at the Office of Faculty Affairs website.
Articles, Books & Other Recommended Reading
Developing and Sustaining Effective Faculty Mentoring Programs
Fountain, J., & Newcomer, K. E. (2016). Developing and sustaining effective faculty mentoring programs. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 22(4), 483-506.
ABSTRACT
How do faculty and universities benefit from mentoring, and what sorts of mentoring programs and policies are most effective? This article reviews existing research on mentoring in higher education and develops a conceptual framework that captures a theory of change regarding expectations about the impact of mentoring on faculty career development and scholarly productivity. We surveyed faculty in U. S. public affairs programs to learn about individual and institutional experiences with mentoring and mentoring programs. We found that informal mentoring is prevalent, as are formal mentoring programs. In line with previous research, we found that both mentees and mentors believe that mentoring is useful for helping mentees with teaching, research, and career planning and that visible support for mentoring is important for its success. Guided by our findings, we offer recommendations for developing and sustaining effective faculty mentoring programs.
NOTE: Where possible, we have included links to freely available e-versions of the books as listed or versions that are free to Georgia State faculty, staff, and students with campus ID and password, and included permanent links to listings of them at the GSU Library when available. If a link to the GSU Library is not included, it is noted.
Books are listed in alphabetical order by the first author’s surname (Example: A book by first author “Sally Smith” and second author “Rachel Martin” would be listed after a book by solo author “Josephine Rogers.”) or the first letter of the sponsoring institution’s name.
Books
Title: Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Faculty, Second Edition
Year: 2006
Publisher: Burroughs Wellcome Fund and Howard Hughes Medical Institute
ISBN-13: n/a
Link: https://faculty.gsu.edu/document/making-the-right-moves-a-practical-guide-to-scientific-management-for-postdocs-and-new-faculty-second-edition/
Summary: (Available for free via the GSU Faculty Affairs Document Library) Based on workshops co-sponsored by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and HHMI, this book is a collection of practical advice and experiences from seasoned biomedical investigators and includes chapters on laboratory leadership, getting funded, project management, and teaching and course design. Note: HHMI is no longer accepting orders for hard copies of Making the Right Moves. This book is available for free as a downloadable PDF document, downloadable through the Faculty Affairs website link above.
• • •
Title: Survive and Thrive: A Guide for Untenured Faculty
Year: 2010
Author(s): Wendy C. Crone
Publisher: Morgan and Claypool Publishers
ISBN-13: 978-1608455133
Link: not available at the GSU library, visit the publisher for purchase options: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-79327-1
Summary: The experience of an untenured faculty member is highly dependent on the quality of the mentoring they receive. This mentoring may come from a number of different sources, and the concept of developing a constellation of mentors is highly recommended, but a mentoring relationship that is guided by the mentee’s needs will be the most productive. Often, however, the mentee does not know their own needs, what questions to ask, and what topics they should discuss with a mentor. This book provides a guide to the mentoring process for untenured faculty. Perspectives are provided and questions posed on topics ranging from establishing scholarly expertise and developing professional networks to personal health and balancing responsibilities. The questions posed are not intended for the mentee to answer in isolation, rather a junior faculty member should approach these questions throughout their untenured years with the help of their mentors. Survive and Thrive: A Guide for Untenured Faculty will help to facilitate the mentoring process and lead junior faculty to a path where they can move beyond just surviving and truly thrive in their position.
• • •
Title: Mentoring Programs That Work
Year: 2017
Author(s): Jenn Labin
Publisher: Association for Talent Development
ISBN-13: 978-1562864583
Link: https://galileo-gsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01GALI_GSU/goifvo/alma9915566351702931
Summary: (Available as an eBook from the GSU Library) A stellar mentor can change the trajectory of a career. And an enduring mentoring program can become an organization’s most powerful talent development tool. But fixing a “broken” mentoring program or developing a new program from scratch requires a unique process, not a standard training methodology. Mentoring Programs That Work is framed around Labin’s AXLES model―the first framework devoted to the unique challenges of a sustained learning process. This step-by-step approach will help you navigate the early phases of mentoring program alignment all the way through program launch and measurement.
• • •
Title: Faculty Mentoring: A Practical Manual for Mentors, Mentees, Administrators, and Faculty Developers
Year: 2015
Author(s): Susan Phillips and Susan Dennison
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN-13: 978-1620361726
Link: https://galileo-gsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01GALI_GSU/goifvo/alma9922313603202931
Summary: (Available as an eBook from the GSU Library) Faculty mentoring programs greatly benefit the institutions that have instituted them, and are effective in attracting and retaining good faculty.Prospective faculty members commonly ask about mentoring at on-campus interviews, and indicate that it is a consideration when choosing a position. Mentoring programs also increase the retention rate of junior faculty, greatly reducing recruitment costs, and particularly help integrate women, minority and international faculty members into the institution, while providing all new hires with an orientation to the culture, mission and identity of the college or university. The book provides step-by-step guidelines for setting up, planning, and facilitating mentoring programs for new faculty members, whether one-on-one, or using a successful group model developed and refined over twenty-five years by the authors. While it offers detailed guidance on instituting such programs at the departmental level, it also makes the case for establishing school or institutional level programs, and delineates the considerable benefits and economies of scale these can achieve.
• • •
Title: The Mentoring Continuum: From Graduate School through Tenure
Year: 2015
Author(s): Glenn Wright
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN-13: 978-0977784769
Link: https://galileo-gsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01GALI_GSU/goifvo/alma9929497053402952
Summary: (Available in hardcopy at GSU Library) Recent developments in academic mentoring have challenged long-standing conceptions of the mentor-mentee relationship as a top-down, wisdom-bestowing proposition. There is growing awareness that for the majority of their working lives, academics are both mentors and mentees, and have shifting needs and obligations as their careers progress. That is, they occupy a mentoring continuum whose navigation requires effort, reflection, and good faith. This book offers theoretical and practical tools to help them on their way and indicates how institutional resources can be mobilized in support.
• • •
Title: The Mentor’s Guide: Facilitating Effective Learning Relationships
Year: 2022 (latest edition)
Author(s): Lois J.J. Zachary and Lisa Z. Fain
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
ISBN-13: 978-1119838180
Link: https://galileo-gsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01GALI_GSU/goifvo/alma9934822499202952
Summary: (Available as an eBook from the GSU Library) The Mentor’s Guide explores the critical process of mentoring and presents practical tools for facilitating the experience from beginning to end. Now managers, teachers, and leaders from any career, professional, or educational setting can successfully navigate the learning journey by using the hands-on worksheets and exercises in this unique resource.
• • •
Title: The Mentee’s Guide: Making Mentoring Work for You
Year: 2009
Author(s): Lois J.J. Zachary and Lory A. Fischler
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
ISBN-13: 978-0470343586
Link: https://galileo-gsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01GALI_GSU/goifvo/alma9934615840302952
Summary: (Available as an eBook from the GSU Library) This practical book offers ideas and suggestions for making the most of a mentoring opportunity for the person being mentored. It shows how to prepare for, sustain, and bring to closure the important mentor/mentee relationship. The author guides mentees through the four phases of the mentoring process and outlines the SMART method (specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic and timely). The book offers valuable advice for any mentee whether in the nonprofit, corporate, or government sector.