|
The Office of Faculty Development encourages faculty at all career stages to make the most of their mentoring partnerships. Suggested activities include:
Learning to mentor (and be mentored) effectively
One of the challenges of joining a community is the amount of information the newcomers need to learn in a relatively short period of time. They may often feel like they have more unanswered questions than answered ones, or they may not know exactly which questions to ask. To help new and early career faculty, as well as their mentoring partners, through this early period, the following are several resources to consult:
Finding opportunities to participate in Mutual Mentoring programs
The Office of Faculty Development currently offers the following annual programs, all of which are structured around the Mutual Mentoring model:
- New Faculty Orientation (late August)
- Mellon Mutual Mentoring Five Colleges Reception for New Faculty (September/October)
- Campus-wide Career Development Workshop
(January)
- Mellon Mutual Mentoring Mini-Conference
(February)
- An annual online survey of all pre-tenure faculty to evaluate their experiences with and perspectives on mentoring (spring
semester)
- Tenure Preparation Program (May)
- Annual Faculty Writing Retreat (May/June)
In addition, OFD has piloted (or is currently piloting) the following Mutual Mentoring-based programs and resources:
- A two-part faculty productivity series to address time management techniques, organizational skills, and work-life balance.
- A scholarly writing program to connect faculty with experienced local and online editors who can help advance writing projects.
- An online summer writing group for
pre-tenure faculty, facilitated by a professional writing
coach.
- The
Faculty Writing Place, a joint venture with the UMass Amherst Libraries, where faculty can concentrate on their writing projects away from the distractions of home or the office.
Expanding your mentoring networks
By participating in Mutual Mentoring programs, you’ll meet early career faculty and senior colleagues from within and outside your disciplinary area who have similar interests or professional development needs. Once you’ve established an active, productive network within the University, you may wish to consider expanding it.
UMass Amherst is fortunate to be part of the Five College Consortium, which is a cooperative agreement between UMass Amherst, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College and Smith College. Participating in the programs and activities of this consortium will help expand and enhance your network. Some of the programs offered by Five Colleges, Inc. include:
- The Five College Lecture Fund
- Faculty Exchange
- Curriculum Development
- Residencies
- Joint Appointments
- Five College Faculty Seminars
Early career faculty may be particularly interested in joining or initiating a Five College Seminar. Each year, Five Colleges supports approximately 30 seminars in which groups of faculty come together to share scholarly interests and discuss curricular issues in such areas as Afro-Luso-Brazilian, Environmental Studies, and Roundtable on Spirit and the Academy. Depending upon the level of activity being proposed, groups may receive funding in amounts of $250 up to $1,000. Additional information on academic collaborations is available online through the Five Colleges web site.
Finally, for many of you, your career success is related to the career of your spouse or partner, and the success he or she has finding in local employment. To serve the needs of dual-career couples, UMass Amherst has joined the
Academic Career Network, a regional consortium formed to help faculty partners find jobs nearby.
^
Top
|
Printer Friendly Page |
