Diverse Junior Faculty Mentoring Program
About
The Diverse Junior Faculty Mentoring Program (DJFMP), sponsored by the Division of Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, is part of OHIO’s ongoing investment in inclusive academic excellence. Diverse faculty are vital to OHIO’s student-centered educational mission to create learning environments in which all members of our campus community to grow and thrive. Research shows that faculty members with diverse identities often encounter challenges to their professional success and well-being, especially so early in their academic careers. Mentorship is a highly effective tool for engaging and empowering diverse junior faculty as they pursue and secure opportunities for promotion and professional development.
Apply here
Fall 2020 Application Deadline: Friday, September 25
Testimonials
“It was great to get to know a junior colleague from a different department. Our conversations were always stimulating and enjoyable!”
“Getting to know my mentee was an enriching, very rewarding experience! I looked forward to our meetings. I think it creates a sense of belonging and a sense of trust and solidarity ... a bond between two colleagues at different stage in the profession.”
“I had a really positive experience with my mentor! She was great in helping me identify potential areas of growth."
What Does Diverse Faculty Mean?
The term “diverse faculty” is deliberately broad and encompasses members of traditionally underrepresented and marginalized groups in the academy, including faculty members of color, international, LGBTQ+, and Appalachian faculty, women, and faculty members with disabilities as well as faculty with other intersecting lived experiences and identities.
Program Structure
The program pairs full-time junior faculty members (including tenure-track, instructional, and clinical faculty) with senior faculty members who have volunteered to collaboratively offer professional guidance to their mentee on individual developmental goals. Mentor-mentee pairs are often interdisciplinary but commonly remain within the same college or school.
Time Commitment
Over the course of the academic year, mentees and mentors will meet and collaborate in a confidential, respectful, and continuous relationship. We ask mentors-mentees to be in contact about four times per semester, depending on individual preference and availability.
Program Benefits
Rather than following a “top-down” hierarchical model, the program facilitates a collaborative learning opportunity in which faculty can discover strategies on how to best meet specific goals. Individual goals may vary considerably and could relate to requirements for research, teaching, publishing, and grant-writing and may also extend to strategies for maintaining a productive work-life balance. Crucially, a multicultural mentoring relationship can personalize and demystify the academic trajectories that lead to reappointment, promotion, and professional success.
Topics for Collaborative Mentoring
- Meeting research requirements and planning publication trajectories
- Exploring and exchanging teaching strategies
- Student mentoring; including managing the emotional work of mentoring traditionally underrepresented students
- Balancing service with teaching and research obligations
- Identifying and applying for grant opportunities
- Strategizing about conference travel and presentations
- Acclimating to life in Athens
- Maintaining work-life balance during the early years of an academic career
- Professional networking, off and on campus
Outcomes for Mentees
- Greater sense of belonging to OHIO's intellectual and campus community.
- Enhanced professional network across fields and departments and access to professional development and networking opportunities.
- Greater confidence in career trajectory, sense of professional goals, timelines, and requirements.
Outcomes for Mentors
- Greater collaboration across disciplines and departments
- Investment in mentee's professional success at OHIO and beyond
- Exposure to new impulses, emerging trends, and ideas
For more information:
Jan Huebenthal, Ph.D. | huebenthal@ohio.edu | 740.593.2818