A Lehigh ADVANCE Approach to Mentoring
Mentoring is a two-way, interactive process of communication, facilitation, and discovery of the mentee's abilities. An individual may have many mentors; a July 6, 2011 article by Owen Stukowski summarizes this as a "Kitchen Cabinet of Mentors" who each contribute a unique perspective to your professional and personal development. It is a personal process combining role modeling, apprenticeship, and sponsorship through honest, active discussions in confidence.
Lehigh ADVANCE supports mentoring needs and skills across all faculty and along multiple career points, with a special focus on STEM faculty with historically excluded identities.
Lehigh University encourages all faculty to access our Institutional Membership in National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity.
In the pre-tenure phase we invite new Assistant Professors to participate in the Interdisciplinary Networking Committee program.
In the post-tenure phase, ADVANCE will support Associate Professors in developing a Promotion Plan for the helping develop the skills and identifying opportunities and experiences that will allow for continued development of excellence and leadership along the path to full professor.
Mentoring strategies exist for faculty building mentor relationships with graduate students and other resources to support mentoring of graduate students are posted here.
A great start is How to Be a Great Mentor, a series of essays by Kerry Ann Rockquemore.
Other resources include
- The Science of Effective Mentorship
- Faculty Promotion Plan
- Mapping a Mentoring Roadmap and Developing a Supportive Network for Strategic Career Advancement, Beronda L. Montgomery, 2017
- Resources to support and mentor graduate students
- Mentoring resources developed by the Faculty Advancement Network
Supported by Lehigh ADVANCE and the The Office of the Provost-Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs.