Mutual Mentoring at Tufts
Faculty of Color Mutual Mentoring Program
04/29/2020 -Alonso Nichols/Tufts University
In January 2019, CELT created a mutual mentoring network for faculty members of color located on Tufts University Medford/Somerville campus who are at the rank of Associate and Assistant Professor. This network establishes a community of practice among participants that recognizes the contributions and unique challenges of faculty of color. Mutual mentoring, by which faculty locate and depend on several different mentors throughout their careers, has been found to be successful in helping faculty members gain the confidence and support to thrive in their academic careers.
In a mutual mentoring network, the protégé might pursue a mentoring relationship with a senior academic in their field, a peer in a similar position at another university, and/or an administrator in a role that they hope to one day perform. It offers a flexible model for mentoring that does not assume a one mentor/one mentee relationship in which the mentor must have all the expertise to guide their protégé through what may be a diverse and wide-ranging career path. Mutual mentoring is not a replacement for departmental mentoring but rather a supplementary source to increase the number of mentors that a faculty member can reach out to for support and guidance.
In becoming a member of this group, participants will gain tools and resources to establish mutual mentoring networks to meet their needs. Participants will meet for one calendar year, beginning in January and concluding in December. Each participant will:
- Have access of up to $1000 during the year for efforts to enhance mentoring.
- Attend monthly meetings to discuss pressing issues related to promotion and tenure.
- Complete an action plan indicating the ways they will enhance their mentoring network and the outcomes they hope to achieve by the end of the program.
*The deadline to apply for this program this 2020 has passed. We will be open for new members beginning in November.*
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ryan Rideau via email (Ryan.Rideau@tufts.edu)