Junior Faculty Mentoring Program

September 2004

Introduction

The mentoring of new and junior faculty by senior colleagues at higher education institutions is not new. Many universities have had such programs since the 1960s. The objectives of these programs are varied, but primarily their focus has been on the professional development of new faculty and their success in achieving tenure. Specifically, mentoring programs have addressed: 1) teaching effectiveness, 2) pedagogy, 3) fostering creative and performance based activities, 4) research productivity including publishing and grantsmanship, 5) collegiality, successfully negotiating the probationary period, and 6) acclimating to the campus/regional culture and the community of scholars.

All of these objectives in their own right are sufficient reasons for a university to invest in faculty mentoring. Moreover, junior faculty are an important resource for a university, playing critical roles in the delivery of instruction, conducting scholarly activity, and infusing fresh ideas and perspectives into the professoriate. They also represent a sizeable financial investment that needs to be nourished. While a number of faculty will resign over the course of a probationary period, some resignations could be prevented if more effective mentoring is available. Other reasonable expectations of effective mentoring could be: 1) improved/increased professional productivity, 2) greater teaching success, and 3) a reduction in critical evaluations leading to the recommendation for non-renewal of a contract during the probationary period.

Given these potential benefits, the College of Arts and Sciences and its constituent departments and programs is establishing a formal, college-wide mentoring program for all junior tenure-track faculty.

Mentors and Mentoring

The word mentor is of Greek origin, tracing its historical roots to the character Mentor, in Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey.” While away on his journey, Odysseus was concerned that his son, Telemachus, would not receive the proper instruction and guidance to one day prepare him to become King of Ithaca. To remedy this situation, Mentor was charged with serving as a role model, teacher, advisor, and “wise and trusted counselor” to Telemachus.

Today’s use of the term in higher education reflects this orientation, but also suggests that mentoring involves the building of personal and professional relationships that can be mutually beneficial for both the mentor and mentee. Serving as mentors enables senior faculty to: 1) sustain their own professional growth, 2) share their wisdom, knowledge, and acquired expertise with their junior colleagues, and 3) ensure the health of their discipline and department within the University. Mentees can expect to avoid some of the pitfalls and mistakes commonly encountered during the early stages of an academic career, gain insight into the culture of higher education, realize more success in their teaching and research, be better colleagues, and enhance their probability of achieving tenure and promotion.

Goals of the Mentoring Program

Although not an exhaustive list, some of the specific goals of the College of Arts and Sciences mentoring plan include:

• Assisting faculty with their pedagogical skills and assessing their effectiveness in teaching and learning;
• Helping faculty set realistic goals for their professional, scholarly, and creative development, and balancing their time and energy between teaching, research and service;
• Supporting research and scholarly activities;
• Facilitating the preparation of proposals to secure funding in support of scholarly and creative activities;
• Familiarizing faculty with department/college/university expectations, criteria, documents and processes regarding tenure and promotion;
• Informing faculty of campus-wide resources to support their efforts and to facilitate the development of their professional networks;
• Providing clear, honest, constructive, and diagnostic feedback on the progress of junior faculty toward tenure and promotion;
• Creating opportunities for faculty to feel welcome within the department, college, university, and Richmond community;
• Encouraging a collegial atmosphere where faculty feel comfortable engaging in debate on a variety of academic issues while respecting the rights, responsibilities, and obligations of being a member of the community of scholars;
• Creating mechanisms for the informal support of faculty ranging from social events to peer group discussions;
• Focusing on faculty achievements through one-on-one and group relationships that are non-judgmental and non-threatening; and
• Transferring experience, knowledge, history and leadership skills throughout the organization.

Achieving these objectives will advance the College of Arts and Sciences toward fulfilling its mission and realizing its vision to be the Gateway to Learning, Discovery and Community at Eastern Kentucky University.

Conceptual Overview of Junior Faculty Mentoring Program

A conceptual overview of the CAS mentoring program is presented in Figure 1. This diagram illustrates the breath and depth of topic coverage across the three traditional areas of teaching, professional activity, and service, plus a fourth area addressing university and community life, and collegiality. Topics covered enable junior faculty to obtain advice in those areas where they might feel the greatest need. For example, a new faculty member may have been successful in publishing one or two articles extracted from their dissertation. However, they may need guidance in designing a research agenda extending beyond their doctoral work and in developing external funding proposals to support this agenda. Similarly, a recent Ph.D. may have served as a research assistant throughout her/his doctoral program. While they may have command of the subject material, they may need assistance in the mechanics of teaching, ranging from syllabi construction and designing learning outcomes to developing classroom policies on attendance and grading. University and community relations, collegiality and service are covered under the fourth topic. The focus is on assisting faculty members to become familiar with their new surroundings, both professionally and personally. This may be particularly important if they are not natives of Kentucky and do not have family accompanying them during their relocation. Moreover, all departments have a “culture”, as well as written and unwritten rules on acceptable and collegial behavior, which need to be learned by new arrivals. For example, a new faculty member may be expected to have his or her own graduate students; however, the manner and style they use in recruiting these persons might be at odds with departmental standards or norms and result in the new faculty member not being viewed as a team player.

Structure and Implementation of Junior Faculty Mentoring Program

All tenure-track faculty will be eligible to participate through the first three years of their probationary period which normally runs five years. Initially, the mentoring program will be limited to one cohort made up of eligible faculty joining EKU during the 2004-2005 academic year. At full implementation there will be three cohorts participating in the program each year.

Five complementary components, implemented at the departmental and college levels will comprise the CAS mentoring program (Figure 2). Participation in all of the components is voluntary, although junior faculty are strongly encouraged to have a departmental mentor. The program is designed to be flexible and convenient, and provide targeted assistance on an as-needed basis to junior faculty members as they navigate the first three years of their probationary period. The components outlined below should not be viewed in exclusive terms as the only means to mentor junior faculty. We realize that mentoring can and will take place in a variety of ways and encourage junior faculty to seek out individuals from across the EKU community who can assist them with their professional development.