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Workshops – Fall 2008 |
 Faculty Mentor Lunch WorkshopOn Friday, October 17, 2008, ADVANCE sponsored a Faculty Mentor Lunch Workshop at the UClub. Faye Boudreaux-Bartels Professor & Chair, Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering and Barb Silver, Director of the ADVANCE Program, facilitated the workshop. About 20 of us enjoyed lunch and discussed faculty mentoring dilemmas, different types of mentors and mentoring, and best mentoring practices. A panel discussion about best individual and college practices featured tips from mentoring “experts”: James Anderson (Professor & Chair, Environment & Natural Resource Economics), Laura Beauvais (Professor, Business Administration), Lynn McKinney (Dean, College of Human Science & Services), and Donna Schwartz-Barcott (Professor, Nursing). 
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Workshops – Spring 2008 |
 Junior Faculty “Mentor Matters” SocialOn Friday, February 1, 2008, ADVANCE sponsored a Junior Faculty “Mentor Matters” social at the UClub. About 15 of us braved stormy weather and enjoyed a glass of wine and nibbles at the UClub to meet and greet. We chatted informally about life at URI and reminded faculty of the importance of mentoring, offering assistance from ADVANCE for any mentoring issues that might arise.   
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Workshops – Fall 2007 |
| Junior Faculty “Mentor Matters” LunchOn November 6, 2007, The ADVANCE Program hosted “Mentoring Matters,” a luncheon workshop for new faculty women and men.The workshop was facilitated by ADVANCE Mentoring Committee members Barb Silver, ADVANCE Program Director, Lisa DiPippo, Associate Professor of Computer Science, and Faye Boudreaux-Bartels, Professor and Chair, Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering.Participants were asked to describe an ideal mentoring relationship, reflect on informal and formal mentors in their lives, and examine their expectations. New faculty were presented with different types of mentoring (one-to-one, multiple, peer, “expert”), directed in setting goals and expectations, and encouraged to seek what they looking for in the experience. In addition, the faculty were urged to view mentoring as an important element in the success of their careers.Mentoring was presented as a tool for success throughout one’s career, not just in the early years. In attendance were 21 new faculty (16 women, 5 men) from 7 divisions/colleges on campus.
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Mentor Training Workshop 2007On October 12, 2007, the ADVANCE Program hosted a Mentor Training Workshop, ”Best practices and other elements of an effective mentoring relationship.” Mentors of faculty hired within the past two years were invited to attend. Department chairs were encouraged to attend as well. Faye Boudreaux-Bartels Professor & Chair, Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering facilitated the workshop, discussing different types of mentors and mentoring, and leading the participants in an examination of their mentoring experiences. |
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A panel of “Best Mentors” shared their experiences. Areas of advice included helping faculty make connections and developing informal networks; decision-making about time management, service obligations, research; the value of imparting “local knowledge”; developing trust; and turning time into support. The contributions of the panelists were diverse and highly valuable. |
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Panelists: Nan Fey-Yensan, Associate Dean, Human Science & Services, Professor, Nutrition and Food Science; Breck Peters, Professor, Sociology & Anthropology; Susan Roush, Professor, Physical Therapy Program; and Arun Shukla, Simon Ostrach Professor and Chair, Mechanical Engineering,The ADVANCE Program functions in a facilitative role to promote better understanding and sustained attention to the critical importance of good mentoring. |
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Workshops – Fall 2005 |
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Mentor Training Workshop 2005On Friday, December 2, 2005, the ADVANCE Program sponsored a pilot Mentor Training workshop for faculty. The target audience consisted of STEM junior faculty, their mentors, and chairs in all STEM departments. Approximately 59% of junior faculty members hired in the past 3-4 years attended and about 58% of STEM faculty mentors. Based on input from attendees, ADVANCE plans to fine-tune the workshop and repeat it for a larger audience. The ultimate goal of this program is to implement more formal and accountable mentoring procedures in each department and college, perhaps even establishing a university-wide mentoring policy. | |
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Both groups, mentees and mentors, expressed an overall favorable response to this workshop. Mentees reported that they were prompted to think in more specific terms about their needs and wants from their relationship. Discussions from the workshop describe the ideal mentoring relationship as a continuing dialog between mentee and mentor, with the mentor sharing past experiences and giving guidance about how things work at the University. The relationship should provide positive feedback and be collaborative. | |
| Some responses about the workshop indicated that the workshop yielded an increased awareness of the mentees’ needs, the need for good mentoring, and the desire for this initiative to involve efforts at the dean’s level. | ||
| The most common reason for wanting a mentor, reported by the mentee group at the workshop, was to receive advice in balancing work and other responsibilities, and setting priorities. The most common reasons for wanting to be a mentor included the desire to be supportive, assist with career advancement, improve the academic quality of the University, build the reputation of the school, and ensure high departmental standards. | ||
We asked mentors and mentees what kind of expectations they had about their mentoring relationship: The workshop was well received: |
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Workshops – Fall 2004 |
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Mentor Training Workshop 2004This workshop, held in October of 2004, focused on the traits that a good mentor embodies as well as the purpose of the mentoring relationship. An analysis of how and when mentors should be assigned by each department occurred, in addition to tips on initiating successful mentor-mentee communication. There was also a brief discussion of the potential obstacles that may face those involved in the mentoring program. See below for more information.An outcome of the workshop was the development of | |
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“Best Practices” for Mentorswhich includes”Good Mentors Are . . .” “Best Mentoring Practices for URI Departments” “How to Initiate a Mentoring Relationship” “Ways to Overcome Potential Obstacles” |
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| View an evaluation of this workshop | ||
