NIU professors Medhi Semati and Karla Padron talking together in an office.

Faculty Mentoring at NIU

The university acknowledges and recognizes that faculty mentoring should be an essential part of the Division of Academic Affairs with active participation and support from each academic unit. Mentoring programs will help the university achieve its goals for a high-quality faculty, diversity, inclusive excellence and a respectful, positive work environment in which all members of the university community can thrive. While the responsibility for career development and success is ultimately the responsibility of each individual faculty member, university wide support for mentoring initiatives can have a profound effect on faculty retention and success.

Mentoring Relationships

Our faculty mentoring program seeks to support all faculty at all ranks. It’s rooted, however, in a formalized mentoring relationship that matches new faculty with senior faculty. This relationship provides new faculty with personalized attention and builds their sense of belonging as they adjust to NIU. Mentoring can also occur within non-hierarchical relationships, and all faculty are encouraged to engage in peer mentoring opportunities.

Strong mentoring relationships, whether formalized or non-formalized, cultural or cross-cultural, within disciplines or cross-disciplines, can improve the teaching, scholarly growth, career advancement and well-being of all faculty.

Our Vision

A work in progress, our program is designed to be purposeful, inclusive, interactive and comprehensive in creating a culture of mentoring in which all faculty are institutionally supported to be successful at NIU.

 

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