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Background
• Mentoring relationships in the workplace:– Increase job satisfaction– Increase institutional commitment– Increase rates of promotion and retention– Decrease work conflict
de Janasz & Sullivan, 2004; Moody, 2004; Neilson et al., 2001; Tenenbaum et al., 2001
Background
• Women faculty disproportionately benefit from mentoring (Bilimoria et al., 2006; Chesler & Chesler, 2002).
• Recruitment and retention of all faculty, especially women faculty, can be improved by understanding:– the type(s) of mentoring that faculty use,– what faculty value in mentoring, – what concerns they have about mentoring.
Goal of WSU Faculty Mentoring Survey (Spring 2011)
• Gather information from current faculty about:– existing forms of mentoring,– faculty perceptions of barriers and benefits to
mentoring,– important mentoring topics, etc.
Faculty Mentoring Survey
• SESRC administered online survey– Sent to 2,810 WSU faculty
• system-wide• all ranks (tenured/tenure-track & non-tenure track)
– 2,700 eligible respondents – 1,045 participants
• >> 39% response rate• 232 were “partials” (did not report some information,
e.g., gender, or skipped questions).
DemographicRespondent
categoryFemale Male Total
Tenure-track assistant prof
66 77 143
Tenure-track associate prof
75 82 157
Tenure-trackfull prof
58 121 179
Non-tenure track (clinical and research faculty)
96 100 196
Chair/unit dir/administrator
26 51 77
TYPES OF FACULTY MENTORING
What types of mentoring used in your unit?PRE-TENURE FACULTY
% r
esp
on
de
nts
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Respondent sub-group: tt faculty + chair/unit dir/admin
Respondent sub-group: tt faculty + chair/unit dir/admin
What types of mentoring used in your unit?POST-TENURE FACULTY
% r
esp
on
de
nts
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
form
al, te
nure
guid
ance
com
mitte
e
infor
mal,
sing
le-m
ento
r
grou
p m
ento
ring
form
al, si
ngle-
men
tor
infor
mal,
tenu
re g
uidan
ce co
mm
ittee
othe
r
no fo
rmal
men
torin
g
Respondent sub-group: non-tenure track faculty
What types of mentoring used in your unit?NON-tenure-track faculty
% r
esp
on
de
nts
0
20
40
60
80
form
al, g
uidan
ce co
mm
ittee
infor
mal,
sing
le-m
ento
r
grou
p m
ento
ring
form
al, si
ngle-
men
tor
infor
mal,
guid
ance
com
mitte
e
othe
r
no fo
rmal
men
torin
g
SATISFACTION WITH MENTORNIG
How satisfied are you with current mentoringfor PRE-TENURE faculty?
% r
esp
on
de
nts
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
som
ewha
t sat
isfied
very
diss
atisf
ied
neut
ral
som
ewha
t diss
atisf
ied
very
satis
fied
assist prof (n=143)assoc prof (n=157)full prof (n=179)
Respondent sub-group: tenured/tenure-track faculty
How satisfied are you with current mentoringfor POST-TENURE faculty?
% r
esp
on
de
nts
0
20
40
60
80
som
ewha
t sat
isfied
very
diss
atisf
ied
neut
ral
som
ewha
t diss
atisf
ied
very
satis
fied
assist prof (n=106)assoc prof (n=153)full prof (n=179)
Respondent sub-group: tenured/tenure-track faculty
The Post-tenure VOID
“The biggest gap in our mentoring is that associates have NO conversations about promotion to full unless they raise it themselves and do so in one-on-one conversations with each Full Professor. We are given feedback every year until tenure and then there is a total vacuum of information and feedback…”
How satisfied are you with current mentoringfor NON-TENURE track faculty?
% r
esp
on
de
nts
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
MaleFemale
som
ewha
t sat
isfied
very
diss
atisf
ied
neut
ral
som
ewha
t diss
atisf
ied
very
satis
fied
Respondent sub-group: non-tenure track faculty
How satisfied are you with current mentoringfor NON-TENURE TRACK faculty?
% r
esp
ond
en
ts
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
som
ewha
t sat
isfied
very
diss
atisf
ied
neut
ral
som
ewha
t diss
atisf
ied
very
satis
fied
clinical track (n=117)research track (n=76)
OTHER SOURCES OF MENTORING
To what extent do you gain career guidance within other contextsoutside of formal mentoring?"somewhat" + "very much"
% r
esp
on
de
nts
0
20
40
60
80
100
Male Female
socia
lize
w/colle
ague
s @co
nfer
ence
s
atte
nd p
rof w
orks
hops
& co
nfer
ence
s
inter
act w
/colle
ague
s on
com
mitte
es
prof
use
r gro
ups/e
listse
rves
atte
nd ca
mpu
s eve
nts
othe
r con
texts
out
side
form
al m
ento
ring
grou
ps th
at m
eet o
nline
*
*
BENEFITS FROM FACULTY MENTORING
To what extent are the following BENEFITS to faculty mentoring?"somewhat agree" + "strongly agree"
% r
esp
on
de
nts
0
20
40
60
80
100
Male Female
read
cultu
re/e
xpec
tatio
ns o
f unit
bette
r bala
nce
dutie
s
prog
ress
towar
ds T
&P
mor
e sa
tisfie
d with
unit
clim
ate
mor
e pr
oduc
tive
& succ
essfu
l
mor
e en
gage
d in
unit
impr
oved
instr
ucto
r/men
tor
othe
r
*
**
*
Benefits of Mentoring
INCREASES SUCCESS: “…formal mentoring by a committee is crucial to
success at WSU for tenure and promotion. I think it needs to be taken more seriously.”
“…if mentors are willing to be up front and honest about the mentee’s progress in a constructive way the process can be quite helpful”
“Mentoring is critical for helping faculty…”
Benefits of Mentoring
JUST & FAIR: “…this is not a guessing game or private club and
there should be extremely clear guidelines for advancement for everyone…”
“Actively mentored faculty will at the very least have the diversity of opinions from their mentors to add to their own opinions on what they need to do to succeed. How they manifest that into their progress remains to be seen, but at least having the information is better than not having it.”
Benefits of Mentoring
OUR RESPONSIBILITY:“Mentoring is part of helping acculturate a new
person into the academy. As professionals… we have an investment in people we hire and an obligation to ensure that they understand what is important and what is not for their success.”
BARRIERS TO FACULTY MENTORING
To what extent are the following BARRIERS to faculty mentoring?"somewhat agree" + "strongly agree"
% r
esp
ond
ents
0
20
40
60
80
100
Male Female
too
few se
nior f
acult
y men
tors
misd
irecti
on is
a co
ncer
n
sche
dulin
g/ac
com
odat
ing d
ifficu
lt
frustr
ating
exp
erien
ce
men
torin
g no
t app
ropr
iate
men
torin
g of
que
stion
able
value
othe
r
**
Barriers to Mentoring
CONFLICTING ADVICE:“…I’ve received conflicting advice” (from two different full
professors in unit)
OUT-OF-DATE INFORMATION: “It’s been a long time since any of the current senior faculty
in my department went through tenure… I often wonder how useful [their] advice is as WSU culture has changed, the culture of our field of study has changed, the department is not the same one they were tenured in and they may or may not be involved in my tenure process when the time comes.”
Barriers to Mentoring
AVOIDANCE OF BAD NEWS:“…We like to be nice and sometimes it’s hard to be frank with people. Mentoring is hard to do effectively!”
FACULTY SQUABBLES:“WSU needs to create a culture that mentoring junior faculty…
must be a part of professional duties of senior faculty… The president and deans should make clear to department/unit chairs that unified collaborations from all parties on mentoring junior faculty must be on the top of internal politics/infighting and any unprofessional behavior on mentoring junior faculty will not be tolerated.”
Barriers to Mentoring
MENTORING SKILLS AND WILLINGNESS: “Some attention needs to be paid to social skills
and willingness of formally assigned mentors – not all are willing to look ahead to the future of the department, beyond their own research interests and advancement.”
Barriers to Mentoring
INADEQUATE INCENTIVES:
“…there’s no category in the [promotion] file for ‘mentoring.’ It’s an undervalued and unappreciated service obligation… So what if you’re a great mentor?”
“Mentoring or any activity other than grants and publications has no value to university administration – there is no reward and no recognition for these activities.”
Barriers to Mentoring
LACK OF COMMITMENT:
“I hope this study is not aimed at proposing that we spend more time forcing people into mentoring relationships, and further away from personal responsibility. This is a strange era in which we live and at some point faculty members have to grow up and be responsible for their own actions instead of blaming their shortcomings on a lack of mentoring.”
Barriers to Mentoring
GENDER & CAMPUS ISSUES:“Mentoring is tricky for women in male-dominated
fields. Seeking it can be interpreted as a sign of weakness, the last thing we need.”
“multi-campus system makes mentoring extremely difficult to accomplish”
“My experiences with Pullman faculty mentors was mixed” (from a regional campus faculty member)
TOPICS FOR MENTORING
How important is this topic in faculty mentoring?"somewhat agree" + "strongly agree"%
re
spo
nd
ent
s
0
20
40
60
80
100Male Female
unde
rsta
nd u
nit cu
lture
/exp
ect.
T&P pro
gres
s
balan
cing
rese
arch
/teac
hing/
serv
ice
unde
rsta
nd in
stitu
tion
cultu
re/e
xpec
t.
publi
shing
issue
s
deve
loping
long
-term
pro
f. go
als
deve
loping
colla
bora
tions
gran
tsman
ship
serv
ice is
sues
class
room
instr
uctio
n iss
ues
stude
nt m
ento
ring
issue
s
work-
life is
sues
othe
r
* * * ** * * * *
* *
CHARACTERISTICS OF CURRENT MENTORS
Do you have a mentor?
YES NO Not Sure
% r
esp
on
de
nts
0
20
40
60
80MaleFemale
*
*
Characteristics of my mentor"somewhat agree" + "strongly agree"
% r
esp
on
de
nts
0
20
40
60
80
100 Male Female
men
tor o
ffers
liste
ning
ear
is ve
ry a
ppro
acha
ble
know
s me
as in
dividu
al
resp
ects
me
I tru
st m
y men
tor
conv
eys e
mpa
thy
I res
pect
& adm
ire m
y men
tor
enco
urag
es
keep
s con
fiden
tiality
take
s per
sona
l inte
rest
in m
y car
eer
I sha
re p
erso
nal p
roble
ms w
/men
tor
helps
coor
dinat
e pr
ofes
siona
l goa
ls
I mod
el m
yself
afte
r men
tor
*
*
*
* * * **
*
I con
sider
my m
ento
r a fr
iend
I soc
ialize
w/m
ento
r out
side
work
direc
ts m
e to
impo
rt. ca
reer
opp
ort.
*
SUMMARY
Pre-tenure Faculty
The most common type of mentoring for pre-tenure faculty is a “formal tenure guidance committee”.– ~65% of assistant and associate professors are
somewhat to very satisfied with available mentoring for pre-tenure faculty
– 22% are somewhat to very dissatisfied, with no significant gender differences
Post-tenure Faculty
• No mentoring is provided for most post-tenure faculty members.
– Only 22% of associate professors are somewhat to very satisfied
– 48% are somewhat to very dissatisfied
Non-tenure-track Faculty
• No mentoring is provided for most non-tenure-track faculty members.
– Only 27-31% of non-tenure track faculty are somewhat to very satisfied.
– 49% of clinical-track faculty and 32% of research-track faculty are somewhat to very dissatisfied.
Mentoring Helps
• A large majority of faculty (~70-90%) agreed that there are many benefits to mentoring, while many fewer faculty agreed that there are barriers to mentoring.
Mentoring Topics
• 60-95% of faculty (depending on topic) rated the 12 mentoring topics listed as somewhat to very important.
– A significantly greater % of women than men faculty rated 11 of 12 topics as somewhat to very important.
Mentor Characteristics
• Most faculty who have a current mentor (66% of men, 74% of women) somewhat or strongly agreed with 15 of 17 mentor characteristics.
– Women more strongly endorsed these characteristics than men.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Extend Mentoring
• Assistant professors, who receive more formal mentoring than all other faculty, are the most satisfied with mentoring.
Implement (optional) mentoring for associate professors & non-tenure-track faculty
Provide Checklists
• All faculty (especially women) value mentoring, and we know what topics and what mentor characteristics they most value.
Give a checklist of mentoring topics/characteristics to assist mentors.
External Mentors
• Mentors outside of the home institution are beneficial, particularly in providing discipline-specific, rather than dept/institution-specific, career guidance.
Extend the ADVANCE External Mentor Grant Program to faculty in all units. The current program provides small grants for establishing an external mentoring relationship only to women in STEM disciplines.
Choose Mentors Carefully
• Some faculty are better mentors than others. Do not rely on a single mentor. (Misdirection less
likely with greater diversity of input.)Ask mentee to identify possible mentors (increases
likelihood of functional matches)Consider others at WSU who are outside the
unit/campus.
Reward Mentoring
• Some faculty may be unwilling to serve.
Do not require service as mentor (to avoid reluctant and therefore poor guidance).
Recognize/reward service as mentor to faculty colleagues.
Procedural Suggestions – Department
• Chair/director should meet periodically with all senior faculty to maintain consensus on unit tenure & promotion evaluation & guidelines.
• Mentoring committees should resolve internal disagreements by discussing those disagreements with all senior faculty, the chair/director, and the dean if necessary.– Provide the correct information to the mentee.
Procedural Suggestions – Committee
• Before each meeting of a mentor and mentee:– Mentee circulates c.v.– Mentee identifies topics that s/he wants to discuss
(checklist).– Mentors examine mentee’s c.v.– Mentors identify topics that they want to discuss
(checklist).
WE CAN IMPROVE FACULTY SUCCESS AND RETENTION – ESPECIALLY OF WOMEN – BY IMPROVING FACULTY MENTORING
