In recognition of the importance of mentoring to faculty success, the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, the Faculty Senate, two successive mentoring advisory committees, and other faculty collaborators, have joined together to create a policy and provide guidance for building an effective mentoring culture at the University at Buffalo.

For departments to develop mentoring programs that are process- and outcome-driven, individualized, flexible to accommodate differences between academic units, and aimed at promotion, retention, and advancement for faculty at all ranks.

When overseeing mentoring at the department level, the chair should:

1. Communicate. Discuss importance of mentoring with senior faculty members and include recognition of their mentoring in their evaluations.
2. Provide opportunities. Enhance the mentoring skills of senior faculty members through professional development workshops, conferences or mentoring by the chair.
3. Establish formal pairs.  Create a formal mentor or multiple mentors for each new faculty member. This includes new faculty members who join the department with tenure may be paired with a mentor.
4. Follow up. Check in regularly with mentor/mentee pairs to ensure mentoring is occurring. Such follow-up can include individual, separate meetings with the mentor and the mentee, as well as short written mentoring evaluation forms.
5. Address issues. Be active in addressing problems discovered and making changes to mentor/mentee relationships and practices as needed.

A positive culture of mentoring at the University at Buffalo is necessary to support a diverse and effective workforce. As soon as a faculty candidate accepts a position, the chair/dean should work with his/her colleagues to develop a mentoring plan in collaboration with the new faculty member.