Mentoring Policy & Purpose

The most understood purpose of faculty mentoring is to help advance a faculty member’s career. This includes:

• Sharing advice on the process and requirements of gaining tenure.
• Reviewing and commenting on works in progress.
• Recommending professional development workshops.
• Providing advice proposal writing, teaching, supervising graduate students, etc.

Mentors provide emotional support and guidance on topics that directly relate to the work environment, such as:

• Offering advice about department politics.
• Listening to and providing guidance on interacting with difficult colleagues.
• Helping to work through issues of balancing obligations of research, teaching, and work/life balance.  

The benefits of mentoring for the mentee include:

• Contributions to professional development,
• Enhanced organizational commitments.
• Career satisfaction.

The benefits of mentoring for the mentor include:

• Information and feedback from the protégé.
• Possible collaboration.
• Satisfaction in helping others.
• Improved career satisfaction.  

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. 

While the faculty mentoring program is designed to assist in enabling a faculty member’s success throughout their career at UB, the frequency and quality of mentoring is never a guarantee for achieving tenure and promotion.

Faculty Mentoring Policy