UCSC Faculty Mentorship Program

Advice from a well-respected mentor can be an invaluable supplement to the guidance and assistance that a Department Chair and colleagues provide during the early years at a new university.

The Committee on Career Advising (CCA) is excited to begin another year
of the UCSC Faculty Mentorship Program!

Who Can Participate in the Faculty Mentorship Program?

New faculty are automatically contacted about this program. Participation in the FMP mentoring program is entirely optional. Continuing faculty have the option of remaining in the program each academic year as long as it is useful. The aim of the program is to help faculty adjust to the norms and expectations of UCSC and to succeed in your career.

CCA is always recruiting for faculty mentors in the program. If you are an existing faculty member interested in serving as a mentor in the program, please contact CCA Analyst, Morgan Gardea: mgardea@ucsc.edu

What Does the Mentorship Program Entail?

CCA matches mentees and mentors at the beginning of the fall quarter of each academic year, and provides a series of social events through which mentors and mentees can network with one another, as well as other mentoring pairs in the program. CCA also provides quarterly workshops focused on topics and issues relevant to faculty career development on campus.

UCSC Faculty Mentorship Program mentors and mentees are also encouraged to meet at least once a quarter or as the need arises to discuss various issues of interest to the mentees, such as handling teaching challenges, developing career and research goals, choosing appropriate service commitments, preparing for promotions and tenure, and maintaining life-work balance. Mentors can be a valuable source of support and guidance and assist mentees on their path to career satisfaction and success.

Where Can I Find Additional Resources For Mentors and Mentees Participating in the Program?

Resources Related to Faculty Mentoring:

• Information for Mentors
• Information for Mentees
• Potential Activities for Mentors and Mentees
• Potential Discussion Topics for Mentors and Mentees

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Information for Mentors

Thank you for serving UCSC faculty through your mentoring!

Mentees value the guidance and suggestions they receive from mentors in order to successfully face the challenges of academic life and integrate themselves into our community. Many UCSC faculty who have served as mentors find the experience to be gratifying, not only because they make a meaningful contribution, but also because they learn a lot from their mentees.

Meeting with Your Mentee

CCA requests that all mentors to contact their mentees in fall, as soon as they know their mentees, to set up a timeline for collaboration throughout the year. We expect mentor and mentees to meet at least once a quarter and more frequently if the need arises. As the senior faculty member, you should initiate the quarterly meetings. It is often useful to meet all your mentees together, so that they meet and learn from each other as well as you.

Please remember to treat all personal information confidentially, unless you are required by law to report it to the appropriate authorities.

Creating a Constructive Relationship with Your Mentee

Faculty new to this campus often need help learning about the the norms and culture of UCSC. An important aspect of mentoring is the creation of a trusting relationship that provides a safe and comfortable space for new faculty to ask questions and bring up their concerns.

Be honest and constructive with your feedback, offer, encouragement and prompt mentees to be reflective.

It is often helpful to mentees to talk through their goals. Many benefit from a mentor’s help in thinking through and setting specific near-term and long-term goals.

Mentees appreciate hearing about the experiences, strategies, and concerns of their mentors. We encourage you to share your failure and success stories and what you have learned from them. It helps to be open about your own struggles, show mentees it is natural to feel overwhelmed with work, and reassure them there are things they can do to improve the situation. At the same time, it is important to appreciate differences in others and not assume your own way is the best. Provide guidance, but also recognize that mentees will find their own way. You don’t need to know the answers to everything. Feel free to say “I don’t know,” and make suggestions regarding where else mentees might get the information they need.

Attending CCA Events

Throughout the year, CCA will host a series of social events where mentors and mentees can connect. We will also offer workshops on issues of interest for mentees and mentors (in relation to teaching, research, and the path to tenure) throughout the year. You are welcome to use these events as venues for your meetings, and we also encourage you to meet at other times/places to talk together.

Documenting FMP mentoring for the personnel review process

You work hard as a mentor, and we recommend that you include information about your service in two places in your merit review materials: in your biobibliography and in your personal statement. Please see this guide for more information.

Additionally, although many of you are senior faculty who may not need them, service letters can be solicited for your personnel files. If you would like CCA to provide a formal service letter, please contact the CCA analyst and provide a short statement about your work as a mentor and what events you attended.

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Information for Mentees

Thank you for participating in the UCSC Faculty Mentorship Program as a mentee!

We hope that the relationships you build with your FMP mentor will be rewarding and will support your successful transition to being a productive scholar and a faculty member at UCSC. We recognize that you may have other mentors within your department, but having a senior mentor outside your department provides a venue to discuss issues with someone who will not be involved in departmental personnel decisions.

Participation in the FMP mentoring program is optional. Continuing faculty have the option of remaining in the program each academic year as long as it is useful. The aim of the program is to help faculty adjust to the norms and expectations of UCSC and to succeed in your career.

Meeting with Your Mentor

Mentees are encouraged to keep in regular contact with their mentors and remain actively involved in mentoring discussions to reap the most benefits from the mentoring relationship. We encourage you and your mentor to mutually agree on the frequency and duration of meetings that will serve your needs and be amenable to both. If unexpected challenges arise, do not hesitate to contact your mentors for advice, even outside your regular meeting schedule.

Creating a Constructive Relationship with Your Mentor

You can openly share questions, concerns, and struggles with your mentors as all conversations will be as confidential, unless the mentor is required by law to report it to the appropriate authorities. New faculty may feel isolated and overwhelmed with research, teaching and service duties at first. Developing relationships with mentors can help you get connected across campus, strategically plan service commitments, and juggle work-life balance issues. Mentors can also offer valuable advice on teaching and research. If they do not have an answer to a question, they may be able to direct you to someone else who does. Your mentors can also help you to develop an action plan to reach your goals.

Requesting a New Mentor

Although your mentor is supposed to initiate a plan for meeting with you at least once a quarter, many senior faculty are juggling multiple commitments and this may “fall off their plate.”

If you haven’t met in person with your mentor by the end of fall quarter, please contact CCA Analyst Morgan Gardea at mgardea@ucsc.edu, so we can either check in with your mentor or find another mentor for you.

Networking with Other Mentors

It is a good idea to develop a network of mentors from inside and outside your department, in order to get a range of advice relevant to your career and become familiar with diverse perspectives. We encourage you to be open to trying new approaches, but also reflect on the advice you receive from different sources and evaluate what might serve your needs better.

Providing Feedback to CCA

Finally, at the end of each year, we will be asking for a brief paragraph or survey regarding your mentoring experience. If you feel that your mentors’ advice has been helpful and constructive, please let CCA know, and communicate that to your mentor. Developing a culture of faculty support is very rewarding for all involved.

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Potential Activities for Mentors and Mentees

Quarterly Meetings

CCA requests that each pair meet at least once a quarter to discuss and address career goals and progress, as well as specific needs and concerns. This can happen individually or in a group. Group meetings are often advantageous as they promote peer-mentoring, networking, and a richer exchange of advice and experiences.

Meeting for coffee or meeting up at the CCA functions is a good way to “check in” on a regular basis. More in-depth meetings are often useful to deal with specific concerns and advice. There are many areas that new faculty may want to discuss, and mentors can offer lessons learned regarding teaching, service, and research, as well as their balance. For guidance on facilitating conversations with your mentor or mentee, please review the potential topics of discussion page.

Attend CCA Events

Throughout the year, CCA hosts a series of social events where mentors and mentees can connect. We will also offer workshops on issues of interest for mentees and mentors (in relation to teaching, research, and the path to tenure) throughout the year. You are welcome to use these events as venues for your meetings, and we also encourage you to meet at other times/places to talk together.

Resource Sharing

It can be useful to see models for personal statements, syllabi, and grant proposals and also to receive feedback on their documents.

The Committee on Teaching (COT) and The Teaching & Learning Center (TLC) offer valuable tips for teaching, and COT offers videos by

Excellence in Teaching Award Winners about teaching at UCSC, along with copies of their syllabi.

The goal of these partnerships is to create an inclusive and supportive environment that facilitates the professional success of new faculty. As young scholars seeking to establish themselves in their field, activities that promote their scholarship are particularly valuable. Helping them find collaborators for research grants, pointing them toward opportunities such as calls for papers and RFPs, and brainstorming ways to amplify their research will help them succeed as UCSC scholars.

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Potential Discussion Topics for Mentors and Mentees

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 the TLC: 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 mechanisms. 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).