Practical Suggestions for Mentoring a Faculty Colleague
- Contact (in person, by e-mail, or by phone) your mentee at least once a month. Meet in person two or three times per semester.
- Discuss what each of you expects from the mentoring relationship at your first meeting. Remember, your mentee may have more than one mentor, so he or she may want you to focus on particular aspects of his or her professional development.
- Exchange CVs with your mentee to stimulate discussion about career paths and possibilities.
- Review your mentee’s CV at least once a year.
- Assist your mentee in developing short- and long-range professional plans in each major area of his or her position (e.g., a research or creative activity agenda, a teaching development plan, and a service plan).
- Ask about and celebrate accomplishments. Encourage your mentee to inform the dean or department chair about his or her major accomplishments (e.g., publications, awards, invitations) or do it for your mentee.
- Offer to read your mentee’s manuscript drafts, syllabi, and other written work. Provide positive and constructive criticism and feedback.
- Use your knowledge and experience to help your mentee understand how your school or department and the university operate.
- Help your mentee build a professional network in the school or department, on campus, and in the discipline. Introduce him or her to colleagues.
- Discuss annual performance reviews, third-year reviews, and promotion and/or tenure reviews with your mentee (e.g., how to prepare and what to expect). Offer to review drafts of the documents he or she must submit for reviews.
- Assist your mentee in exploring the institutional, school, and departmental culture (e.g., what is valued, what is rewarded).
- Share knowledge of important university and professional events that your mentee should or might want to attend.
- Improve your skills as a mentor by attending mentoring workshops, reading about mentoring, and discussing mentorship with colleagues.