Faculty Mentoring Symposium

When: January 26th, 2024

NCFDD Facilitator's Bio: Dr. Erin Furtak, Professor of Education, University of Colorado - Boulder

The Faculty Mentoring Symposium aims to support the impact of the recently launched UVM Comprehensive Faculty Mentoring Program, which is a collaborative effort between the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and various academic units/divisions, including the Office of the Vice President for Research and the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

The Faculty Mentoring Symposium will have two parts, each with a specific target audience. Part 1 will educate administrators and senior faculty mentors, while Part 2 is designed for faculty mentees. All faculty members are welcome to participate in Part 2 of the Symposium. The objective is to promote the effectiveness of mentoring at UVM by equipping leaders and senior faculty with the tools for effective mentoring and guiding faculty in maximizing the benefits of mentoring relationships and programs.

PART 1: Rethinking Mentoring: Building Communities of Inclusion, Support, & Accountability

• Date: January 26, 2024 (In-Person Session)
• Time: 9:00 am-12:00 noon
• Target Audience: Deans, Associate Deans, Chairs, Directors, and Senior Faculty serving as Mentors
• Venue: Alumni House, Silver Pavilion at 61 Summit Street, Burlington, VT, 05401

Guiding Questions:
• Does your department/college/ school effectively mentor pre-tenure faculty?
• How can you work towards providing faculty at different stages of career development meaningful mentoring relationships and experiences?
• How can UVM provide effective mentoring for under-represented faculty?
• How does mentoring differ for pre-tenure and post-tenure faculty?

Content:
1. Identifying common problems that pre-tenure and post-tenure faculty members experience;
2. Discussing why traditional mentoring programs fail to meet those needs;
3. Offering best practices in mentoring pre-tenure, under-represented and mid-career faculty; and
4. Establishing an alternative framework for mentoring that focuses on building a broad network of support, community, and accountability.

PART 2: Mentoring 101: How to Get What You Need to Thrive in The Academy

• Date: January 26, 2024 (Virtual Session)
• Time: 2-Hour Virtual Workshop on Zoom, 1.00-3.00 pm EST
• Target Audience: All Faculty (No limit to the number of attendees)
• Venue: Zoom - Register here using your UVM email address: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrdu-spzotEtzzmT3xa8al3qSPsq4ZcF2M

Guiding Questions:
• Do you have a reliable and robust network of mentors?
• Do you need help to cultivate mentoring relationships?
• Do you know the difference between a mentor and a sponsor?
• Are you moving to a new stage of your career and wondering how to find new mentors and sponsors that are appropriate to the next level?

Content:
1. Identifying how traditional ideas about mentoring leave faculty needs unmet;
2. Discussing the challenges of conventional wisdom about faculty mentoring affecting pre-tenure, under-represented, and mid-career faculty;
3. Establishing a new, alternative, needs-based framework to re-imagine mentoring; and
4. Offering participants the opportunity to map their current mentoring network and create a plan to expand their existing mentoring network.

*Please note that registration through Zoom is required for attendees of PART 2: Mentoring 101. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrdu-spzotEtzzmT3xa8al3qSPsq4ZcF2M

For more information, please contact Crispina Pincus at Crispina.Pincus@uvm.edu.

PROGRAMS

1. New Faculty Orientation (NFO): This is a mandatory two-day orientation for faculty members new to the full-time bargaining unit (optional for new part-time faculty) in which new faculty members will be introduced to the University's senior leadership, receive information about Human Resource Services, enroll in employee benefit programs, and learn about important academic policies and procedures in including rank progression and faculty performance review requirements. See the following link for more details: https://www.uvm.edu/provost/new-faculty-orientation
2. First-Year Faculty Experience (FYFE) Program: The First-Year Faculty Experience (FYFE) Program is specially designed to help new faculty members at UVM understand their roles and responsibilities and the faculty evaluation and progression processes. The program comprises 6-8 sessions over the academic year and is tailored for first-year faculty, Henderson-Harris Fellows, and post-doctoral fellows. Using an equity-centered approach, each session considers the diverse experiences of faculty members and provides access to timely information and resources to bridge any gaps in knowledge that may hinder faculty success. The FYFE Program is part of UVM's comprehensive faculty mentoring program, including the Mid-Career Faculty Experience (MCFE) and Demystifying the RPT Process programs. See the following link for more details: https://www.uvm.edu/provost/first-year-faculty-experience-program
3. Mid-Career Faculty Experience (MCFE) Program: The Mid-Career Faculty Experience Program is designed for faculty members who have recently received tenure and promotion to Associate Professors and more experienced Associate Professors. It consists of workshops that aim to support and address their needs beyond the term. The program uses an equity-centered model and considers the diversity of faculty experiences. The workshops focus on sustaining research and scholarship productivity, continuing professional development, and rank progression. The Program includes 3-4 sessions scheduled over the academic year and is part of UVM's comprehensive faculty mentoring program, including the First-Year Faculty Experience (FYFE) and Demystifying the RPT Process programs. See the following link for more details: https://www.uvm.edu/provost/mid-career-faculty-experience-program
4. Demystifying Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure (RPT) Process at UVM: The Demystifying the RPT Program is designed to support faculty by providing equity-centered workshops. This approach takes into account the diverse experiences of faculty members and provides access to timely information and resources to bridge any gaps in knowledge that may faculty hinder success. The program consists of 3-4 sessions scheduled over the academic year, offering strategies for preparing Blue and Green Sheets, including associated documentation, and strategies for healthy and productive peer relationships in the academy. It is part of UVM's comprehensive faculty mentoring program, alongside the First-Year Faculty Experience (FYFE) and Mid-Career Faculty Experience (MCFE) programs. It's worth noting that the Blue Sheets review discussion process is part of the FYFE Program. See the following link for more details: https://www.uvm.edu/provost/demystifying-rpt-process-program
5. UVM Faculty Writing Retreats: Inkwell Academic Writing Retreat - August 11-12, 2023: Ready, Set, Flow: How to Overcome Overwhelm & Make the Most of Your Writing Time. This retreat will teach your faculty three essential skills: the first is how to quickly clarify what needs to be done in any given writing session; the second is to set writing goals that boost their focus and productivity; The third is to cultivate the feeling of intrinsic motivation that is the key to regular writing. See the following link for more details: https://www.inkwellretreats.org/umv.html
6. National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD): UVM is an institutional member of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD), which is a nationally-recognized independent organization dedicated to supporting faculty, particularly under-represented faculty, post-docs, and graduate students in making successful transitions throughout their careers. NCFDD provides online career development, training, and mentoring resources. See the following link for more details: https://www.uvm.edu/provost/national-center-faculty-development-diversity
7. North Star Collective-NEBHE Program: NEBHE aims to lead the region in reparative justice efforts, and to that end, NEBHE has created the North Star Collective (NSC). The NSC is a part of NEBHE’s broader reparative justice initiative, which is committed to restoring, nourishing, and uplifting BIPOC faculty in the region and supporting leaders as they transform institutions around racial equity. Every year, NSC selects two UVM faculty members who identify as BIPOC to serve as North Star Fellows and to participate in a semester-long mentoring program. See the following link for more details: https://nebhe.org/reparative-justice/northstarcollective/
8. Resources for Faculty Professional Development: (to be added)

​Contact us at DOFA@uvm.edu if you have any questions about these programs.​