Junior Faculty Mentoring Program
PPD-1311
Background
As new faculty join the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), it is a foremost goal that they become successful and productive scientists who contribute effectively to the VIMS mission of research, education and advisory service (see PPD-1310 for faculty profile expectations). Regardless of whether the junior faculty member is new to the faculty role in academia, or simply new to VIMS, mentoring can provide guidance in the process of building a productive scientific career.
Policy
The Junior Faculty Mentoring Program consists of two tiers.
Tier I is a primary program in which participation is expected of all tenure-eligible (TE) and non-tenure eligible (NTE) faculty who enter VIMS at the assistant professor level. New faculty joining VIMS at the associate or full professor level are strongly encouraged to participate.
Tier II is a secondary program in which more directed and regular mentorship is provided to the junior faculty by a two-person committee of senior faculty. Participation in the Tier II program is voluntary – though also strongly encouraged – and limited to junior faculty (assistant and associate professors).
ProcedureTier I: Mandatory Junior Faculty Mentoring Program – This portion of the program is integrated into the standard Faculty Annual Review process and includes:
a. An administration-led series of Junior Faculty Orientation Sessions (scheduled upon arrival of new faculty)
b. Annual informal group meetings with the FS&TR committee (ongoing activity)
c. The Faculty Annual Review process and associated meetings with section chairs and relevant center directors (ongoing activity)
d. One additional annual formal meeting approximately six-months following the Faculty Annual Review. This meeting with the section chair/center director will serve as an opportunity to informally evaluate progress on goals set forth during the preceding Faculty Annual Review and discuss any other issues related to progress towards promotion.
Tier II: Optional Junior Faculty Mentoring Program – This portion of the mentoring program is derived from the desire of VIMS junior faculty to better understand whether they are focusing efforts in the “correct” place to achieve stated career goals (tenure, development of disciplinary expertise, etc.); this concern can also be simplified as a desire to better know “which questions to ask”. The primary goal of the Tier II mentoring program is to provide guidance to junior faculty as a supplement to that associated with the Faculty Annual Review It is also designed to provide an informal setting in which to discuss junior faculty development and engagement across the three parts of the Institute’s mission.
a. Mentorship Team – Two-person mentorship team for each junior faculty. One mentor will be from the junior faculty member’s department/center and one will be from outside the department/center but within VIMS. Prospective mentors will be selected by the junior faculty. Mentors can be TE or NTE faculty but must be at the associate professor or full professor level. To ensure proper guidance, mentor teams should consist of senior faculty with profiles commensurate with the junior faculty profile. As this mentorship team is designed to provide guidance beyond that presented through the Faculty Annual Review process, the individual’s department chair/center director would be ineligible to serve as a mentor. However, the chair/director may assist the junior faculty in identifying prospective mentors and facilitate the participation of the external mentor. Meetings between the junior faculty and each of the two mentors would be expected to occur regularly (e.g. quarterly); however, there would be no formal reporting requirements.
b. Suggested Mentorship Topics – Primary mentorship topics are to be determined through consultation between the junior faculty and each of the two mentors. Key areas of emphasis include, but are not limited to, the following: research funding; graduate student mentoring; course instruction; advisory service to Virginia; navigating institutional culture; building a diverse and inclusive lab group; and development of a research profile and known expertise among broader disciplinary community.
c. Mentor Team Responsibilities and Recognition – The internal and external mentors will commit to participation in regular meetings with the junior faculty and remain generally available between meetings. Mentors are also expected to proactively reach out to the junior faculty on a regular basis and provide resources or insights as available. Finally, mentors are expected to maintain open communication with the junior faculty member’s department chair/center director to ensure integrative and consistent feedback reflective of requirements for both promotion and annual review.
The Junior Faculty Mentoring Program will be instituted at the section/center level with oversight and support from the VIMS administration.
Approved: May 2020, based on proposal dated February 2016
Minor editorial changes (department changed to section, April 2024).
last page update: 4/18/24 by LCS