2022-23 Office of Faculty Affairs and Development Mentoring Program Cohort.
This professional development opportunity is designed specifically for new assistant professors. Sponsored by the Office of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development, the Early-Career Faculty Mentoring Program supports early-career faculty and their mentors in building meaningful, productive mentoring relationships.
To participate in the program, early career faculty and their department-assigned mentors must commit to attend in-person workshops; there are eight workshops throughout the year, held 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. (mentors attend five of eight sessions; junior faculty attend all sessions). Junior faculty must complete brief pre-session and post-session assignments and meet monthly or “as needed” as a mentoring dyad and document meeting outcomes.
New assistant professors should review the program goals, expectations, topics, and schedule (on the website) and, in consultation with their mentor, consider registering for this developmental opportunity. Please note that this program will be limited to 15 new assistant professors (and their mentors) – faculty should indicate their interest as soon as possible, to ensure their spot, but no later than midnight on Monday, August 12.
If you would like to reserve your spot in the program, please submit this brief form.
If you have any questions, please contact Ashley Ayers.
Testimonials from faculty participants:
“Participating in the Early Career Mentoring Program was integral for my professional development during my first year as faculty. Although I had completed my postdoctoral fellowship at UVA, the transition to faculty was a time of major professional growth as I took on new clinical and administrative responsibilities. The Mentoring Program afforded me the opportunity to forge relationships with a cohort of other early career faculty who were similarly experiencing the “growing pains” of developing as early career professionals. I appreciated the honest conversations amongst the group (both mentors and mentees) about handling difficult situations and conversations and managing the demands of a career in academic medicine. This program was also a dedicated time in which I was able to reflect on my goals for my early career, communicate these goals with my mentor, and work collaboratively to meet these goals. I was fortunate to set a dedicated weekly meeting time with my mentor throughout the course of the program, which was incredibly important in helping me navigate clinical concerns, set research priorities, and develop as a supervisor to other trainees. The Early Career Mentoring Program was an important space for me to grow and build confidence within my first year as faculty at UVA, while strengthening an important relationship between my mentor and I.” — Racheal Smetana, PsyD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences (mentee)
“I enthusiastically recommend the Early Career Faculty Mentoring program for mentees and mentors, regardless of experience. Although I have been a mentor for many years, I found this program to be very valuable in improving the mentoring relationship. In particular, I thought the frank discussions about mentoring relationships not always working out smoothly and the need for different mentors for different developmental goals and stages were important for normalizing challenges that might be encountered in the mentoring relationship. In addition, developing and signing a formal mentoring agreement emphasized the importance of structuring and protecting time for mentoring by both parties and goal-setting by the mentee. The program highlighted the importance of mentoring and the benefits to the mentee and mentor.” — Donna Broshek, PhD, ABPP-CN, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences
Filed Under: Call for Nominations, Faculty