AdvanceVT Mentoring

AdvanceVT Mentoring

Let’s Benchmark: Who Does Mentoring Well?

Let’s Benchmark: Who Does Mentoring Well?

CALS

CAUS

CLAHS

CNR

COE

COS

CVM

PCOB

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

2008 Faculty Worklife Survey, 700 tenure-track faculty responses (53% RR); College RRs varied from 42%-70%

Mean responses to Question q2f: “I have received effective mentoring in my department,”

4-point agreement scale 4=strongly agree

Does CALS Really Do It Well Across the Whole College?

Does CALS Really Do It Well Across the Whole College?

AAECAPSC

AREC

BCHM

CSES

DASCENT

FST

HNFE

HORT

PPWS

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

There is large variability across Departments in this College in perceptions of

mentoring

Which Departments Seem to Have Effective Mentoring?

Which Departments Seem to Have Effective Mentoring?

Department response rates varied from 22%-84%; 90% of Departments had ~35% or higher

COE

CLAHS

CLAHS

CALSCALS

CAUSCO

SCALS

COS

COS

COS

CLAHS

COE

CLAHS

CLAHS

PCOB

COS

COS

CAUS

CLAHS

CAUSCALS

CNRCALS

CLAHS

CLAHS

COE

CVM

PCOB

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

What do THESE Departments do and how

do they do it?

Does Size of College or Department Seem to Make a Difference?

Does Size of College or Department Seem to Make a Difference?

50 100 150 2001.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 801.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00

Formal or Informal Mentoring Program?Formal or Informal Mentoring Program?

“The formal mentoring program is formally set up to be “informal.”

We do not have a written document of expectations of mentors and mentees.. I try to see that each untenured faculty member

has 1-2 faculty who work with them on an as-needed basis.

The feedback I have received is that people prefer a more informal approach to this

versus having lots of procedures.”-- Dept Head

Are We Benchmarking the Right Departments?

Are We Benchmarking the Right Departments?

COE

CLAHS

CLAHS

CALSCALS

CAUSCO

SCALS

COS

COS

COS

CLAHS

COE

CLAHS

CLAHS

PCOB

COS

COS

CAUS

CLAHS

CAUSCALS

CNRCALS

CLAHS

CLAHS

COE

CVM

PCOB

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

4.00Strongly Agree

Somewhat Agree

Somewhat Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Themes Across Successful Mentoring ProgramsThemes Across Successful Mentoring ProgramsMost common themes: Formally assigned/selected mentor (at least one) Role of department head as additional mentor P&T Committee feedback – structured and frequent Alignment of performance evaluation process with P&T process

Additional characteristics of effective mentoring programs: Defined mentor role expectations Defined mentoring process (topics, minimum frequency of

meetings, timeline) in addition to informal activities Systematic way to orient new faculty to department policies,

resources, etc. Evaluation of mentors

Defining Mentoring ProcessDefining Mentoring Process

Be readily accessible Facilitate development of a network of persons with mutual

interests Discuss specific problems and assist in making contacts Encourage the development of a career plan Discuss peer evaluations of teaching

Mentor should:

To clarify job expectations so that career advancement is predictable

To facilitate the entry of new faculty into the faculty culture and interpersonal climate of the college

To instill the qualities and expectations of professionalism in new faculty

Increase sensitivity to issues of gender, culture, and diversity To provide a time-line marker to achieve key academic

accomplishments

Program Goals:

Defining Mentoring ProcessDefining Mentoring Process

Authorship etiquette Relative importance of journal papers, conference papers, book

chapters Support for assisting with grant preparation Defining research “niche” Time spent in teaching (line between sufficient and over-

preparation) Degree of freedom in defining course content Documentation need to keep related to teaching Time to spent in committees Importance of external professional service

Topics for discussion with mentor:

Through structured, albeit informal, interaction with senior colleagues, it is anticipated that (i) areas in need of improvement are identified early; (ii) junior faculty do not isolate themselves from the rest of the faculty; (iii) junior faculty can operate more efficiently by drawing on knowledge and expertise; and (iv) collaborations develop naturally.

Vision:

Issues Faced by Post-Tenure FacultyIssues Faced by Post-Tenure Faculty

Lack

of T

ime

for R

esea

rch/

Schola

rship

Servic

e Lo

ad

Lack

of R

esou

rces

Lack

of T

ime

Due to

Fam

ily/C

areg

iving

Burno

ut

Lack

of o

r Ine

ffect

ive M

ento

ring

Unclea

r Exp

ecta

tions

for P

rom

otion

Negat

ive Im

pact

Due

to S

uppo

rt of

PTF

Bias A

gains

t Wom

en in

Net

workin

g

Achiev

ing th

e Exp

ecta

tions

for P

rom

otion

Rewar

ds/R

ecog

nition

Lack

of R

espe

ct/S

uppo

rt in

my

Depar

tmen

t

Time

Spent

on

Advoc

acy

Sense

of I

solat

ion

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

# Comments

# Votes

Working session March 2009 with ~40 post-tenure women faculty across VT

Pre-session survey to identify obstacles & contributors, (n=29, organized into themes and ranked by frequency)

Session attended by ~40 women faculty, voted on top issues for further discussion

“No process in place for providing mentoring to post-

tenured faculty!”“Little guidance for getting

promotion to full”“No real mentoring as ‘what to do next’ with my career… towards full professorship.”

Examples of Mentoring Programs at Other UniversitiesExamples of Mentoring Programs at Other Universities• Stanford School of Medicine http://facultymentoring.stanford.edu/ • University of California – San Diego

http://academicaffairs.ucsd.edu/faculty/programs/fmp/default.htm • University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine

http://www.med.ubc.ca/faculty_staff/mentoring.htm • Northern Illinois University:

http://www.niu.edu/facdev/services/newfacmentoring.shtml • University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh: http://www.uwosh.edu/mentoring/ • Washington State University:

http://provost.wsu.edu/faculty_mentoring/ • University of Michigan:

http://www.provost.umich.edu/mentoring/index.html • Giving and Getting Career Advice: A Guide for Junior and Senior

Faculty: http://www.umich.edu/~advproj/career%20advising.pdf