Introduction

The College of Health Professions (CHP) offers a college-wide Faculty Mentoring Program that is sponsored by the Dean of the College of Health Professions and endorsed by the College of Health Professions Faculty Assembly. This program is modeled after one developed by Bronstein (2003). It is available to all CHP faculty in part (meaning some faculty may just want to attend mentoring events or just be on the supplemental mentoring list) or in total (meaning some one is a formal mentor or has a mentor assigned to them and attends related mentoring events).

The Faculty Mentoring Program pairs CHP faculty from related disciplines or within a discipline in the following ways:

  1. All interested tenure track faculty without tenure will be paired with faculty (volunteers) with tenure
  2. All interested clinical track faculty with less experience will be paired with tenured faculty or experienced clinical track faculty (volunteers).

Mentors can help in the following areas:

  • Development and refinement of teaching skills.
  • Enhancement of research and publication efforts.
  • Understanding departmental, college and university structures, processes, and interpersonal climate.
  • Learning institutional norms and expectations relevant to reappointment, promotion and tenure.
  • Development of professional networks.
  • Establishment of professional priorities including long-range career planning.
  • Time management and balancing family/work commitments.
  • Preparing for reappointment and tenure reviews

Program Details

Mentor/Mentee Selection and Pairing

Participation in the mentoring program is voluntary yet may fulfill the requirement by the Board of Trustees that all tenure track faculty be assigned a mentor. The coordinator of the Program, Jan Froehlich, along with the Mentoring Advisory Committee (3 faculty from CHP – Regi Robnett, Karen Pardue, Marji Harmer-Beem) reviews applications from mentors and mentees, and pairs them by taking into account some or all of the following: discipline (closely related, but different department), similarity of scholarly interests, similarity of perspective on the mentoring relationship, and specific individual preferences expressed in the mentee's or mentor's application. Applications are kept confidential.

The Nature of the Mentoring Relationship

Relationships will differ, according to the needs and goals of each mentee, and the agreement developed within each partnership. Pairs generally will meet several times a semester, maintain contact by phone or e-mail, and when possible attend events sponsored by the program and relevant faculty development workshops. The Program will provide an orientation for mentors, and offers specific guidelines to both mentors and mentees related to the parameters of the relationship. It is important to note that having a mentor does not guarantee tenure or promotion. Also, while some pairs may develop an element of personal support, the main focus of the relationship is professional development, characterized by mutual respect and confidentiality. At the end of each year, mentees may choose to continue in the program, with the same or a different mentor. Mentees may also at any time during the year request that the Coordinator of the Program assign a different mentor, or an additional one. The Coordinator is available to help resolve any problems a pair may be having, if both members wish to keep working together.

Additional Support for Mentoring

The coordinator of the Faculty Mentoring program, Jan Froehlich, coordinates all aspects of the program.  In addition, she provides orientations for new mentors, an annual session on preparing for RPT, and an annual appreciation luncheon for mentors.  A list of relevant readings, and a list of supplemental mentors with expertise in specific areas will also be provided. The coordinator also participates on the CHP faculty development committee so that collaborative goals can be addressed. The overall goal of the mentoring program is to support faculty without tenure and less experienced clinical faculty in becoming productive and successful members of the UNE community.

   
       

Back to Top

 
» Advanced Search