Toolkit: Faculty Mentoring – Motivation & Recommendations

Four stick figure people sit together and discuss, representing a mentoring group

This Faculty Mentoring Toolkit page is designed for departments, mentors, and mentees concerning best practices for faculty mentoring.

The Faculty Success Toolkit contains similar resources for several areas of the faculty experience. View the Toolkit. 

Table of Contents


Why Mentoring?

Faculty mentoring is vital to the success of the institution. Mentoring supports faculty in their roles of teaching, research, and service while improving job satisfaction and aiding retention. And student success is achieved through faculty success.

Reference:

Ibarra, H. (1993). Personal networks of women and minorities in management: A conceptual framework. Academy of management Review, 18(1), 56-87.


Mentor Roles

Mentoring is a “supportive relationship designed to guide the successful integration of new members into an organization” (Columbia University, 2016).

Mentoring is largely understood to encompass both a professional and personal relationship.

Mentor roles are often grouped into two primary categories:

  • Technical or instrumental career functions, including advisor for professional goals, development of academic scholarship, development of teaching skills, and facilitator of professional networking.
  • Psychosocial or expressive career functions, including promoter of scholarly values and professional integrity, advocate, role model, coach, colleague, and supporter.

It is unrealistic to expect a single mentor to perform all roles equally well. Hence, a multi-mentor approach is encouraged.

Adapted from:

Columbia University Guide to Best Practices in Faculty Mentoring


Current State of Faculty Mentoring at CSU

Currently at CSU, there is no universitywide program or guidelines for faculty mentoring. Student mentoring is specifically addressed in the CSU Faculty & AP Manual, but faculty mentoring is not mentioned.

A Spring 2024 survey performed by the Faculty Council Committee on Non-Tenure Track Faculty found that the majority of responding departments have some type of formal or informal mentoring program for new faculty. These programs vary in their structure and documentation. 

Trends include:

  • Many departments assign one mentor to new faculty members. Some assign mentors for different roles (teaching vs. research).
  • Some departments encourage new faculty to identify mentors themselves.
  • Most departments encourage or recommend regular meetings (once a semester or monthly) between mentors and mentees.
  • Some departments provide funding to pay for lunch for mentors and mentees.

Adapted from:

CSU CoNTTF Report on Onboarding and Mentorship (Spring 2024)


Existing Resources

CSU offers several valuable and successful cross-departmental programs that encompass mentoring. These include:

  • EnCircle Mentoring Network – EnCircle is designed to support CSU faculty members through a mentorship network across a variety of disciplines and appointment types. The program is open to faculty of all identities and career stages (tenured, pre-tenure, continuing, contract, and adjunct faculty).
  • NCFDD (formerly the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity) – “provides online career development and mentoring resources.” CSU is an institutional member, granting free membership to faculty, graduate students, and post-doctoral scholars.
  • CSU Writes – “a writing facilitation program designed for professional researchers and academic writers who are interested in boosting their productivity as they develop a sustainable writing practice.”
  • Master Teacher Initiative (MTI) – “a university-wide program to enhance the quality of teaching within CSU’s colleges and libraries.”
  • Identity and affinity groups on campus that also fill mentoring and community-building roles, such as the LGBTQIA+ Employee Network, the Multicultural Staff and Faculty Council, the Womxn of Color Network, and the Women in Science Network.
  • College of Liberal Arts Interdisciplinary Faculty Mentoring for CCAF – provides mentoring to new and promotion-minded faculty.

Recommendations for Departments

Adapted from: 

CSU CoNTTF Report on Onboarding and Mentorship (Spring 2024) 

Columbia University Guide to Best Practices in Faculty Mentoring 

Every new (junior) faculty member deserves a mentor. Departments should have an explicit plan to match all (tenure-track, contract and continuing) new/junior faculty members with at least one senior mentor.
The format and scope of mentoring is expected to vary by department. For new mentoring programs or when changes are considered, input should be solicited from faculty.
Departments are encouraged to develop lists of topics as a starting point for discussion in mentorship meetings.
Departments are encouraged to adopt a multi-mentor model. Different mentors have different expertise and experience and can serve different roles for mentees.
At the time that mentors are assigned, the minimum expectations should be stated in writing. For example, a mentor might be assigned to a new faculty member for two years with the expectation that they will meet at least four times per year. Of course, continued mentorship and additional meetings beyond the stated minimum are encouraged.
Departments are encouraged to facilitate mentoring beyond new faculty. Mentoring in preparation for promotion (and tenure) and mentoring for mid-career faculty should be considered. Faculty mentoring requires adjustments as a faculty career progresses. We encourage an adaptable approach to mentoring to meet these needs as they evolve.
Recognizing that good mentoring takes time and effort, and that mentoring service is often unequally distributed among faculty, departments and the university should recognize and support the service of mentors. Formal and informal mentoring activities should be identified in annual review documents.

References

Ibarra, H. (1993). Personal networks of women and minorities in management: A conceptual framework. Academy of management Review, 18(1), 56-87.

CSU College of Liberal Arts Interdisciplinary Faculty Mentoring for CCAF

CSU CoNTTF Report on NTTF Faculty Success: Onboarding and Mentorship (Spring 2024)

Columbia University Guide to Best Practices in Faculty Mentoring

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