There are many specific ways in which you can provide the kinds of support that fall within the broad scope of your responsibilities as a faculty mentor. Most of them will probably emerge naturally in the context of your relationship.
Here are just a few suggestions that might not be immediately obvious.
- Make a point of sitting with your mentees at the Faculty Retreat.
- Offer to go together to an LTC event, or to join a book discussion group. Sometimes just knowing someone else makes it easier to walk into a room full of strangers.
- Answer questions about the Northfield or Twin Cities communities that would be helpful to any newcomer: Where should I get my car repaired? What cultural and social groups exist that might be of interest? Which medical clinic do you recommend?
- Offer to go to faculty meetings with your mentees.
- Invite your mentees to your home for a meal and a chance to meet other colleagues.
- Consider getting together with another cohort mentoring group for an informal social gathering. Getting to know a wider selection of colleagues from different departments will help your mentees build a mentoring network beyond their cohort.
- If you are going to a social event, consider inviting your mentees to join you.
- Offer to look at your mentees’ course evaluation forms.