The Mentoring Program
The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning offers comprehensive onboarding for new faculty members, which begins with orientation on campus, where faculty can network, receive training on procedures, and meet key members of the administration. This is followed by optional peer-to-peer mentoring support.
The goals of the new faculty mentoring program via Faculty Success are to support new faculty members (experienced and inexperienced) at Lamar University; familiarize them with university expectations, practices, and resources; maximize satisfaction, productivity, and retention; and increase motivation and collegiality across campus.
How It Works
Faculty Success will facilitate peer-to-peer mentoring by providing a structured system to work within, strategically matching mentors and mentees, and managing expectations and documentation.
- New faculty members will be paired with more senior faculty members
- Established faculty may also request a mentor
- Group mentoring is available, pending mentor availability
- The structured relationship will last around two semesters
- Mentors and mentees may meet based on individual preferences and needs with a minimum of two meetings per semester
- If the mentor or mentee wishes to terminate the relationship, they should approach the Faculty Success team to resolve the situation
How Will Being Mentored Help?
Both new faculty and well established faculty can benefit from a mentor by building confidence, capability, and clarity as they navigate our institution. Here are some notable examples:
- Improves efficiency: Learn proven strategies and time-saving practices from experienced colleagues.
- Develops essential skills: Strengthen teaching, research, and service competencies.
- Builds confidence: Gain reassurance and perspective when navigating new responsibilities.
- Clarifies expectations: Better understand institutional priorities, culture, and pathways to success.
- Supports career planning: Make more informed decisions about professional growth, promotion, and long-term goals.
Why Should I Mentor?
Serving as a mentor is a meaningful way to contribute to the institution while strengthening your own professional network and impact. Here are some notable benefits:
- Expands professional networks: Build connections across departments and disciplines.
- Strengthens campus cohesion: Foster collaboration and shared understanding among faculty.
- Shapes future colleagues: Help establish strong standards, practices, and culture for new faculty.
- Enhances leadership skills: Develop coaching, communication, and mentorship capabilities.
- Counts as institutional service: Contribute to service expectations and annual review criteria.
Expectations
Mentoring is a vital part of faculty development, but it’s important to understand that not all support needs fall under a mentor’s responsibilities. Many roles that are often associated with mentors will actually be handled by the Faculty Success team instead.
This section outlines the distinct responsibilities expected of mentors, as well as what support will be provided by Faculty Success, ensuring clear expectations.
Mentor Responsibilities
- Creating a trusted network of junior and senior colleagues
- Helping set career aspirations and goals
- Brainstorming a research/writing plan
- Interacting with and working with personnel and students
- Soliciting feedback on manuscript and grant proposals
- Selecting which university committees to serve on
- Navigating informal and formal advising demands
- Strategizing how to support and maintain work-life balance
- Connecting to senior/influential colleagues
- Advising about participation in particular professional organizations and conferences
- Learning about department criteria for evaluating research and teaching performance post-tenure
- Aligning personal needs with department expectations
Shared Responsibilities
- Identifying resources to support research and teaching
- Providing advice about courses of action to address a specific problem (e.g. research collaboration, teaching evaluations)
- Identifying people at the university (or outside the university) who can be helpful to one’s career, and how to approach them
- Understand the specific steps of the tenure process
- Learn about department-specific criteria to evaluate research, teaching and service
- Understand the relative importance of teaching, publishing, and service in the institution
- Supporting time management skill development
- Clarifying the post-tenure evaluation process and criteria
- Clarifying the timeline to full professor
- Obtaining information about how to advance into academic leadership positions
Faculty Success Responsibilities
- Helping strategize plans to meet career aspirations and goals
- Identifying potential technical and financial support, including seed funding resources
- Navigating the regulatory landscapes
- Finding support for teaching, such as developing new courses, pedagogical methods, technologies, and interdisciplinary curricula
- Helping improve skills, such as how to give talks, supervising research assistants, and managing classroom dynamics, etc.
- Advising on navigating professional organizations and conferences
- Learning about university criteria for evaluating research and teaching performance post-tenure
Please note that this does not cover all of the services the Faculty Success team provides faculty. The above list merely addresses ones commonly associated with mentors.
If you have any questions about assistance not listed above, please email us at CITL@lamar.edu!
Have Questions?
Faculty Success support is available 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. We are committed to the highest ideals of confidentiality in all matters.
Casey Ford | Assistant Director of Faculty Success
For questions about the CITL: CITL@lamar.edu
For questions about Blackboard: blackboard@lamar.edu