A Guide for Faculty Mentoring at Carleton College
Thank you for your willingness to serve as a faculty mentor to a new colleague. This is one of the most important roles we can play in helping younger faculty members settle into their new professional roles, learn the culture of Carleton, get support for their professional growth and acclimate to their new surroundings.
Mentoring can take many forms. It is unlikely that any two mentoring relationships will be identical, since people’s needs and personalities differ greatly. Successful mentoring relationships also evolve over time, as trust grows and needs change. It follows that the first principles of successful mentoring are to be clear about expectations and open to change.
Ideally, your formal relationship will continue with your mentee from the time he or she arrives at Carleton through the beginning of the third year. The College recognizes that this is a significant investment of your time and energy and we want to do everything possible to support you in this work. Your work as a faculty mentor is part of a larger support network, including the New Faculty Mentoring Program, a series of sessions designed to help new faculty navigate their first few years at Carleton.
These pages will provide some guidelines and suggestions for ways to make your mentoring experience both helpful to your mentee and satisfying for you. I urge you to refer to them, and to contact me with suggestions for improvement.
Victoria Morse
Director, Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching
September 2016