How the Mentoring Program Works

A formal mentor shall be selected from among tenured faculty within the hiring department during the first year after hire to inform, advise, and assist each new tenure-track faculty member. Non-tenure-track faculty also have the option of requesting a mentor, but are not required to do so. The new faculty member will have the option of choosing her own mentor or having a mentor chosen for her. By the end of the first year of employment, the chair of the department will be responsible for seeing that the new faculty member has chosen a mentor, and if a mentor has not yet been chosen, for assigning one.

At any time, the faculty member may change mentors as her interests or concerns change. Furthermore, if the chosen or assigned mentor is not a woman, and the junior faculty member wishes to include a woman as an additional mentor, she may work with the director of the Mentoring Program for Women in Science to choose one from within or outside her department.

The department chair may not act as the formal mentor for a faculty member, but may act as an informal mentor, in addition to the formal mentor. The department chair will contact the junior faculty member at least once a year to assess satisfaction with the mentoring process. Participation in the formal mentoring program should be maintained at least until the time at which tenure is granted or denied. If tenure is granted, the mentoring relationship may continue upon consent of both individuals involved, but will no longer be formalized with input from the chair.

Get a copy of the Mentoring Program Handout (pdf 189KB).

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