We understand that no mentor can possibly know everything a mentee might need. The following list contains possible topics of discussion on which mentees might need advice. For information beyond their own knowledge, mentors are encouraged to direct mentees to the appropriate resources (such as other colleagues or UCSC units and centers).

Research

Possible topics include:

• Understanding campus organization and locating resources (funding, grant-writing support, etc.)
• Networking nationally and internationally
• Pursuing collaborations
• Establishing and following short- and long-term career goals
• Reflecting on research goals and contributions
• Integrating theory and practice, if expected in your field
• Obtaining funding, applying for grants
• Preparing manuscripts and publishing
• Developing and maintaining effective work habits (e.g. writing, creative projects, etc.)
• Establishing and managing a lab or research group
• Managing start-up funds
• Understanding intellectual property issues
• Attracting and working with graduate student researchers

Tip for Mentors: Help mentees network with colleagues who work on the same field as them and have common interests. Share calls for papers or other information (e.g. on publishing venues or new publications) that might be of interest to your mentees.

Service

Possible topics include:

• Selecting service commitments appropriate to rank
• Diversifying service contributions as appropriate (Department, College, Division, Senate, Campus)
• Considering appropriate service commitments to the discipline, field, or profession
• Keeping track of all service commitments (even one-time cases) in online biobib
• Effectively presenting service in personal statements (for personnel reviews)

Tips for Mentors:

• Service Appropriate to Rank: Help pre-tenure mentees to select service commitments that are not onerous and do not interfere with their progress to tenure (say “no” to heavy service requests).
• Purposeful Service: Encourage mentees to select service activities that match their interests. Share with them the advantages of meaningful service so that they find satisfaction in the service commitments they accept. Service is a great learning experience that hones communication and leadership skills and helps faculty familiarize themselves with the campus organization, get integrated into the community, and extend their networks. Service is purposeful work that makes a difference to the lives of individuals and communities, helps them achieve and develop their potential, and provides satisfaction from seeing concrete results at a good pace.
• Highlighting Service in Personal Statements and Personnel Files: In personal statements, faculty should list their UCSC service organized by unit (Department, College, Division, Senate, Campus), and provide details about their commitments (time and labor investment, responsibilities, initiatives, results, etc.). Simply listing service titles is not enough. In the case of major service commitments, faculty can ask their department to solicit a letter (e.g. from a committee chair) about their individual contribution, to be included in their personnel file.
• Leadership Academy: Encourage mentees to consider participation in Leadership Academy (LA), preferably after tenure, when they will have more service experience and responsibilities. LA provides valuable insights into essential leadership values and campus organization. It also helps participants develop essential skills in communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, interpersonal relationships and other areas that are important for success in service leadership roles and in life as a whole.
• Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program: Encourage mentees to consider participation in the Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program organized by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This program is “designed to offer participants an in-depth examination of diversity and differences in order to gain a greater understanding of how we can and why we should work together to build a stronger and more inclusive UC Santa Cruz community. Participants will gain valuable knowledge and skills that will enable them to more effectively and enjoyably work and lead in a multicultural, diverse environment.” 
• Senate Service: Encourage mentees to consider Senate service that matches their time availability. To protect and maintain the tradition and practice of shared governance, the Senate counts on the participation of faculty, and all voices are valuable. Senate committees have varying workloads, from committees which meet a few times a year to committees which meet weekly for several hours. Contact senate@ucsc.edu. 

Teaching

Possible topics include:

• Pedagogy (learning-centered teaching, clear expectations, addressing diverse learning modalities, supporting diversity and inclusivity in the classroom, etc.)
• Confidence in the classroom
• Time-management (handling emails, student requests, etc.)
• Planning a course (creating syllabi, assignments, exams, study guidelines, etc.)
• Planning class sessions (preparing lectures, encouraging student engagement, etc.)
• Evaluating and grading student work
• Promoting constructive class feedback and evaluations by the students (midterm reflection form, brief feedback session on select questions every other week, etc.)
• Working with challenging situations (academic integrity, disruptive behavior, disgruntled students, students under severe stress, etc.)
• Accessing campus resources for students in need
• Teaching DRC (Disability Resource Center) students
• Working with TAs
• Mentoring undergraduate students
• Attracting, advising and teaching graduate students
• Using resources for faculty (e.g. Faculty Instructional Technology Center, FITC; Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, CITL; STEM Active Learning Seminar).

Tips for Mentors

• Recommend that mentees attend classes by colleagues who are considered effective and charismatic instructors, and encourage them to reflect on the aspects of their teaching that are most productive in promoting student engagement, learning and success.
• The Diversity and Inclusion Certificate Program organized by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (discussed in more detail below, in the section about service) can also help faculty promote and support diversity and inclusivity in the classroom.
• Share the following reading, highly recommended from CITL:  Teaching across cultural strengths: A guide to balancing integrated and individuated cultural frameworks in college teaching, by Alicia Fedelina Chavez and Susan Diana Longerbeam.
• See also CCA online resources on teaching.

Path to Tenure

Possible topics include:

• Understanding promotion, mid-career, and tenure timeline, requirements and expectations (according to the campus and the mentee’s department)
• Establishing and following a research and publishing plan that will pave the path to tenure
• Using family friendly policies, as appropriate
• Thinking strategically about the scholars a mentee recommends to their department as external reviewers for their tenure action
• Attending the Academic Personnel Office workshops for assistant professors, and the annual CCA pizza lunch talks on the path to tenure
• Reviewing CAP’s 10 tips for faculty
• Writing a strong personal statement (for personnel reviews)
• Regularly updating your divdata biobibnet and keeping track of appropriate information (e.g. students who won awards under your mentorship, graduate committees you participated in, etc.)

Tip for Mentors: If mentees’ departments allow faculty to attend personnel review discussions of the same or higher rank and step, recommend that mentees reflect on the process and the personal statements and department letters as learning experiences and preparation for their own reviews. If mentees are not allowed to attend personnel reviews, recommend they discuss the process with their department chair, and offer insights from your own experiences. Share your own personal statements and work with your mentees to improve theirs.

Work-Life Balance

Possible topics include:

• Time-management, handling emails
• Diversifying tasks, optimizing “peak brain time” during the day by proper scheduling
• The power of positive thinking
• Work as purposeful personal time, work as social contribution
• Lessons learned from the past
• Self-care (exercise, nutrition, breaks, fun time, alone time, down time, etc.)
• R&R resources, campus and local events and activities (see this CCA link)
• Mindfulness tips and resources, Inner Ease tips and resources

Tips for Mentors: Share challenges and coping mechanism. Ask questions that encourage positive reflection. For example, you can use some of the following prompts:

Sharing challenges and coping strategies

• Share your greatest challenges in academic or personal/family life and your coping strategies.
• What do you do to center yourself, put things into perspective, and support your well-being when you are having a particularly bad moment or day? Share your survival and recuperation strategies.

Sharing the fun

• Share your favorite activities for individual or family R&R.
• Talk about the last time you had great fun (individually or as a family). What made that time special? What do you do to make sure more fun lies ahead?

Self-empowerment through positive story-telling

• Reflect on the accomplishments for which you are most proud. What challenges did you overcome and how? What did you learn?
• Count your blessings: share what you are most grateful in your life for and why.
• Count your blessings: share whom you are most grateful in your life for and why. How do you show your appreciation? How do you stay connected?
• Share the most purposeful and rewarding aspect(s) of your academic life and how they positively impact your persona/family life. Also do the reverse:
• Share the most purposeful and rewarding aspect(s) of your persona/family life and how they positively impact your academic life.
• Share a positive and uplifting story from your academic life and reflect on why it is dear to you (e.g. a specific interaction with a student or colleague).
• Share a positive and uplifting story from your personal/family life and reflect on why it is dear to you (e.g. a funny or heartwarming incident with a family member or friend).