Formal Faculty Mentoring in Higher Education: A Synthesis of Promising Practices 349Tierney, 1999), leaving people to learn their roles primarily through experience. Although
mentoring relationships may sometimes develop on an informal basis, mentoring support for
new faculty members is not the norm (Morin & Ashton, 2004; Tierney, 1999). Formal
mentoring offers a potential solution to this pervasive cultural problem.
The Stage Structure
A stage approach to formal faculty mentoring practices within academies and professional
associations has recently been illustrated through a wide range of promising practices.
Specifically, a three-stage approach (i.e., early, developing, and mature) represents as one
possibility the development of faculty (and student) mentoring programs (Mullen, 2008;
Mullen, et al., 2008).
In general, the early stage of formal mentoring programs incorporates study results and
“lessons learned” into experiments ranging from unit-based to college-based to university
wide programs. In one early-stage program, a university provost’s office was responsible for
facilitating activities focused on assisting new faculty members with their professional
socialization and productivity through the formation of mentoring relationships with tenured
colleagues (Davis, 2008). In this study, an African-American female reflected on personal and
professional opportunities for mutual learning and increased collegiality.
The developing stage of formal mentoring programs describes practices of faculty
mentoring that have been underway for some time on higher education campuses and via
academic associations. Emphasis is on the evolutionary aspects of integral mentoring program
components that can promote the learning and cultural capacity of universities. For example,
Dubin and Recht (2008) described the evolution of a mentoring system from a university wide
mentoring program to an induction program for new faculty. Their story highlights the use of
research and survey data to design and implement a program that better supports new faculty
during their initial year of employment.
In contrast, the mature stage of formal mentoring programs features advanced forms of
mentoring relative to faculty and student cultures and embraces proven organizational efforts
within the academy that extend to professional conferences. Researchers have examined the
quality and effectiveness of mentoring structures and strategies over time, with implications
for program developers. As one such example, Chan (2008) described an editor’s academic
writing forum, a formal faculty mentoring program supported by the American Educational
Research Association and founded by faculty chairperson Mullen in 1999 whereby beginning
scholars were mentored in writing for publication in academic research journals and for the
professoriate more generally.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FOSTERING MENTORING PROGRAMS
In summary, the literature cited herein, from a synthesizing perspective, offers tips that
can be summarized as follows.
Tip 1: Establish Program Vision and Goals
A clear program vision and goals are essential for guiding participants (i.e., faculty
mentors and mentees) and these must be reinforced through group activity, in addition to
electronic and printed media. The vision undergirding such programs might be to support the