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The Faculty Senate requests nominees to serve as the Academic Program Director of a pilot: New Faculty Mentoring Initiative. The Senate will recommend one or more candidates for this position to the Provost, who appoints the Director.

About the New Faculty Mentoring Initiative

Western’s New Faculty Mentoring Initiative is modeled on the program described in “High Retention of Minority and International Faculty Through a Formal Mentoring Program” (Phillips, Dennison and Davenport, 2016). This program successfully increased rates of retention for new faculty—with particularly positive results for faculty from underrepresented groups. Key features of this model include the following:

• All new TT faculty hired in cohort years served by the program are invited to participate.
• New faculty participating in the program describe the mentoring they seek.
• To the extent possible, new faculty participating in the mentoring program select from two possible mentors recommended by the Faculty Director.
• Mentors commit to confidentiality and to meeting at least monthly with their mentees for one academic year.

Position Responsibilities

Lead all aspects of the new faculty mentoring initiative, including develop materials to recruit and prepare participants, facilitate the matching process, train mentors, and assess the effectiveness of the program. Convene and inform the advisory committee; plan and facilitate the peer-support sessions; oversee the mentor/mentee matches; ensure confidentiality and participation in mentoring activities; and summarize program activities and recommended improvements in an annual report to the provost.

Compensation

The Director is supported with a fall course release, a summer planning stipend equal to the faculty member’s rate for a 5-credit summer course, and stipends of $1,000.00 for both winter and spring terms. The Director is expected to devote 15 hours a week to the program in fall, when the matches are made, and two-three weeks of full-time work the preceding summer. The position is renewable for a second year, upon mutual agreement of the Director, the Director’s department chair, and the provost.

Support

• The Director will be assisted in this work by an advisory committee appointed by the Faculty Senate.
• The Director reports to Steve VanderStaay, who assists the Director with logistics, communications, room reservations, etc. as requested.

Required Qualifications

• Tenure and three years of experience at Western.
• Demonstrated commitment to the values of diversity, inclusion and equity.
• A record of successful teaching and research at Western.
• Effective communication and presentation skills.
• Faculty leadership or other experience sufficient to facilitate working with faculty across the university.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience and/or expertise in mentoring.

Interested candidates should send a letter describing their interest and qualifications for serving as Academic Program Director to Lizzy Ramhorst by Friday, April 27

Candidates seeking more information, or who wish a copy of the Phillips, Dennison and Davenport article, should contact Steve VanderStaay at extension 3004 or  Steven.VanderStaay@wwu.edu