A Ten-Year Faculty Mentoring Program: Administrator, Mentor, and Mentee Perspectives

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Mentoring programs for new faculty in higher education have the potential to increase and enhance the success of new professors, to renew and inspire senior faculty, and to enhance recruitment and retention efforts of the administration. The College of Education at Kansas State University is the home of a New Faculty Mentoring program that has been in place for over 10 years. The program, designed by a committee of tenure-track professors of education, was created following a year of planning, adopted by faculty assembly, implemented, and then evaluated yearly. To date, the program has involved 28 new faculty and over 30 senior faculty mentors. A comprehensive summative evaluation that included stakeholder interviews and a longitudinal tracking of mentees indicated that the program has met the goals of the college administration, enhanced mentee success, and was beneficial to mentors. This presentation will provide the perspectives of administrators, mentors, and mentees regarding the development and the outcomes of the program.

Stream: Organisational Learning, Organisational Change

Paper: Ten-Year Faculty Mentoring Program, A

Linda is a professor in the Department of Special Education, Counseling, and Student Affairs. She was instrumental in founding the faculty mentoring program in her college and, as Assistant Dean, was the first Director of the Program.

Lori is an Associate Professor at Nevada State College and Associate Dean in the School of Education. She is the director of a bi-lingual special education teacher training program. Her research interests are multi-cultural education, learning disabilities, and teacher preparation. Lori was one of the first mentors in the Faculty Mentoring Program at Kansas State University.

Teresa is a former special educator and public school principal. She was a mentee in the New Faculty Mentoring Program at Kansas State University and is now the Director of the program.