For New Mentors + Mentees



All new faculty should be assigned mentors on appointment.

Upon appointment, each early career  faculty member should be assigned a more senior member of the faculty as a mentor. The assignment is to be made by the Department Chair and specified in the offer letter.  Additionally, department chairs, deans, or their delegates should confer at least annually with each junior faculty member to provide feedback on his or her performance relative to the standards for reappointment or promotion.

Mentoring Frameworks Within Departments:

Departments and divisions are expected to have policies and practices for providing mentoring to all early career  faculty. A mentoring framework within the department should allow for:

  1. A process for matching early career faculty to a mentor:  Faculty should have mentors for research, professional development, and when appropriate clinical care
  2. A process for early career faculty to switch or add mentors:  This could be part of annual counseling. Chairs may elect to suggest several mentors for the junior faculty member to approach depending on the needs and time availability.
  3. A process for oversight to ensure early and periodic contact between mentors and mentees:  Departments are encouraged to dedicate resources within the department to facilitate this oversight.  This includes references in annual reviews of mentors and mentees; use of nominal funds to support meeting over coffee or a meal.
  4. Appointment of a department faculty member with responsibility for oversight of mentoring in the department.

University Guidelines

  1. Department chairs or deans or their delegates should confer annually with each junior faculty member to provide feedback on his/her performance relative to the standards for reappointment or promotion.
  2. During the counseling session with junior faculty, the comparative and predictive aspects of the tenure or promotion decision should be stressed.
  3. Mentors may not be the junior faculty's department chairs or chiefs. In situations in which the initial mentor assignment is not successful, department chairs should  work with the junior faculty member to identify a suitable mentor.
  4. Mentors should provide guidance on an ongoing basis and should meet at least annually with their junior faculty mentees.
  5. Junior faculty seek informal mentors from inside or outside their departments and divisions who may share interests and provide additional perspectives.

Need Help?

Faculty mentors and mentees may seek support, advice and guidance from a variety of resources:  

  1. The Department Mentoring Champions can offer advice and assistance relevant to the academic area and offer insights or problem-solve specific issues. 
  2. The Office of Academic Affairs Associate Deans are available to meet with individuals, or groups, to discuss criteria and other topics related to reappointment and promotion. 
  3. For professional advice, training and coaching related to mentoring, Rania Sanford, Director of Faculty Professional Development, and Ellen Waxman, Director of Faculty Relations, are available.
  4. The Office of Academic Affairs offers school-wide workshops for mentors and for mentees, online training, and can offer expertise to facilitate department-wide efforts to develop mentoring programs or evaluate the mentoring experiences of department faculty.

Faculty Peer Mentoring Program

Sign up for 2020-2021 Program by September 15, 2020

Find a Mentor

ConnectEd helps match mentees to mentors.

Preparing for Mentoring

Mentoring is a long-term commitment that involves time, energy, and attention. And careful preparation.

How Do I . . . ?

Frequently asked questions on topics ranging from career development, to setting up and hiring for a lab, work-life balance issues, and more. 

In addition to the resources on this website, additional mentoring and counseling information can be found at the Faculty Development site: