School of Social Welfare Mentoring Policy

Formal mentoring is a useful way of helping new faculty members adjust to their new environment and role in the scholarly community. It also supports pre-tenure faculty members in their ongoing scholarly development as they move toward tenure.

 

Unclassified academic staff who hold faculty equivalent rank of assistant are eligible for mentoring pursuant to this policy and references to pre-tenure faculty in this policy include assistant rank unclassified academic staff to the extent they are eligible for mentoring using the standards and procedures of this policy, with due regard for their distinctive roles and professional responsibilities.

 

This document describes the formal mentor (from now on ‘mentor’) process in the University of Kansas (KU) School of Social Welfare (from now on ‘the School’). The purposes of this policy are to ensure that pre-tenure faculty members have an identified mentor available to them from early in their first year at KU and to provide for changes in the identified mentor as needed. In addition to the formal mentoring outlined here, pre-tenure faculty members are encouraged to develop collaborations and informal mentoring with other faculty members, perhaps for different purposes. Faculty members are encouraged to take their roles as mentees and mentors seriously, as this is important for supporting pre-tenured faculty members’ success.

 

 

New faculty will be notified of this policy and procedure in three ways in order to help them prepare to select a mentor. (1) The Dean will provide a copy of this policy at time of appointment to the faculty. (2) The orientation for new faculty will include a brief presentation about the mentoring policy by a member of the Faculty Executive Committee. (3) In the first week of the new faculty member’s first semester, the Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee will send a reminder including an attachment of the policy and will lay out the specific steps which are outlined below that the Faculty Executive Committee is responsible for facilitating.

 

 

New faculty members will have varying needs and areas of focus upon their arrival at the School and as they move toward tenure. Therefore, the nature of each individual mentoring relationship will be unique and should be defined by the mentee. Once a mentoring relationship is established, it is helpful for the mentee and the mentor to discuss their hopes and expectations for the mentoring relationship. In general, the mentor can serve as a guide and resource for navigating the formal and informal policies, procedures and expectations in the School and the University. Additionally, a mentor can act as a sounding board and supporter who provides tips and strategies for success in the School and the broader University as well as in the mentee’s areas of scholarship and teaching. Mentor responsibilities do not include evaluation. Questions about evaluation and promotion and tenure should be directed towards the School’s Promotion, Retention and Tenure (PRT) Committee. Mentors also need to be cautious to avoid actions that may communicate the appearance of conflict of interest or pressure to engage in collaborations.

 

Mentees and mentors are encouraged to reflect on how they can best engage in this relationship. Helpful resources about mentoring can be found by internet search under the terms ‘pre-tenure faculty mentoring’ or ‘junior faculty mentoring’. One example is the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (https://www.facultydiversity.org/home).

 

NOTE: The entire initial mentor selection process must be completed by the end of the new faculty member’s first semester in the School of Social Welfare.

 

 

NOTE: If a change of mentee/mentor assignment is needed before waiting for an annual merit review meeting, either the mentee or the mentor can bring this to the attention of the Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee who will discuss with the Dean how to initiate the change.