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From Graduate Student to Faculty Member
2003-2004:
The CFT Mentoring Program for Graduate Students of Color
 rom Graduate
Student to Faculty Member: The CFT Mentoring Program for
Graduate Students of Color is a year-long seminar series
presented by the Center for Teaching. The purpose of this
seminar is to prepare graduate students of color for the
challenges of an academic career by addressing issues of
teaching and faculty development specific to instructors of
color.
The seminar typically consists of four to
six meetings over the course of an academic year. These
collegial meetings are facilitated by an advanced graduate
student of color who is experienced in teaching. Meetings are
designed to be informal, discussion-based, and highly
participative. In addition, students meet individually with a
faculty mentor within their discipline to discuss research,
teaching, and faculty development issues. Participation is
limited to ten graduate students across disciplines.
Lloren Foster, Afro-American Studies
Karen Cardozo-Kane, English
2002-2003 Facilitators
Objectives
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Bring together graduate students of
color from across disciplines to explore general teaching
and faculty development issues in a supportive, collegial
atmosphere.
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Learn more about effective strategies
for addressing the concerns and challenges specific to
faculty of color within the classroom, department, and
university.
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Introduce graduate students to faculty
and campus administrators with a broad range of experiences
as persons of color in academia.
-
Develop an ongoing mentoring
relationship with a faculty member within one’s discipline.
To apply
All graduate students of color who have
completed at least one year of their graduate program and who
have at least one semester of experience as a TA or as an
instructor (or who will be teaching or TAing while enrolled in
the seminar) are eligible to apply to participate. The
program is intended for graduate students who are considering
careers as college/university faculty.
To inquire about participating in the
series for 2003-2004, call or e-mail the Center for Teaching
at
cfteach@acad.umass.edu.
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Components
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The Seminar on College Teaching
provides a cross-disciplinary forum to discuss course
planning and teaching methods in general, as well as to
address issues of teaching and faculty development specific
to instructors of color.
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A Mentor Component allows each
participant to develop a relationship with a faculty member
who can provide advice, support, and skills. Each
participant selects his or her own Mentor, with guidance
from the CFT.
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A Mentor Dinner in the fall
semester introduces seminar participants and their mentors
to the concept and practices of mentoring.
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The annual Celebration of Teaching
Dinner brings together members of the University
community across disciplines, departments, and ranks to come
together to celebrate the importance of excellence in
teaching.
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Seminar
The seminar typically consists of four to
six meetings over the course of an academic year. In the
collegiality of a seminar setting, graduate students engage
each other in conversations tailored to their needs. These may
include pedagogical questions that occur across disciplines
(e.g., how to respond when you are the “diversity” in the
classroom or managing difficult moments in the classroom). In
dialogues with junior faculty of color, participants will be
able to seek out the professional guidance, personal support,
and teaching development opportunities crucial to early
success as junior faculty members. In these meetings, graduate
students of color come together to share their experiences,
receive information, discuss readings, and hear guest speakers
on topics related to challenges often faced by faculty of
color and to strategies that successfully address such
challenges. Finally, the seminar provides information about
teaching pedagogy and “best practices” for future faculty.
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Mentors
Additionally,
each participant meets occasionally with their
discipline-based mentor to further explore questions of
professional success, socialization within the discipline, and
to benefit from formative feedback related to early career
development and success. The Center for Teaching is well
placed to assist with selection of mentors and to provide
coaching for mentoring pairs.
In the CFT
Mentoring Program for Graduate Students of Color, mentoring is
designed to be a collegial relationship in which a senior
colleague interacts with a seminar participant in areas of
common interest. Mentors may take on a wide range of roles,
including providing advice about career development and tenure
questions, information and help in “learning the ropes” of the
campus, and intellectual guidance such as collaborating in
scholarly and teaching activities.
Most importantly, the mentor should be
accessible, able to help the participant establish a
professional network, and supportive of the participant's
personal and professional growth. For example, mentor-mentee
pairs may observe each other's classes, share syllabi, work on
research together, discuss academic politics, tenure and
promotion, and consider the challenges of balancing
professional and personal spheres. Mentors are asked to meet
with their mentee on a regular basis; we recommend every other
week, if possible. Meeting regularly helps to ensure the
success of the pair. Mentors are asked to attend a Mentor
Dinner in the fall semester and the Celebration of Teaching
Dinner during the spring semester.
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Schedule
Meeting times will be determined at the
start of the fall 2003 semester. Participants are asked to
commit to regularly attend the series for a full academic
year.
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Outcomes
Through the seminar, participants gain:
Collegial
relationships
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“The seminar provided a valuable
space for exchange.”
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“I really appreciated the opportunity
to meet faculty and other students.”
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“I now feel more connected to a
community.”
Teaching skills
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“It gave me the tools to ask new
questions about my students and myself.”
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“Tackles problems we are facing as
TAs.”
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“Listening to what others reported as
what worked or didn’t work, provided me with strategies to
use in the future.”
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“My teaching will be more layered.”
Professional
development
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“Getting 'inside' information.
Getting the benefit of stories of others who have been
there. Talking to other graduate students of color where
there is more knowledge of cultural issues than there is
with mainstream graduate students.”
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“The final talk with professors of
color was incredibly useful and the advice was great—I now
feel more grounded in the academic realm.”
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“I think I will definitely choose my
committees more wisely and strategically.”
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“The speakers were great because they
were knowledgeable and candid.”
Resources
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“Copies and files handed out in each
session are extremely useful. They really came in handy when
struggling with syllabi and course descriptions.”
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“The materials provided (articles,
handouts, teaching portfolio information) were very useful.”
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