Download Connecting with Faculty Mentors

Beyond the Books:
Connecting with Faculty Mentors
Presented by:
Michael Savarese
Chair, Dept of Marine &
Ecological Sciences
Mentor as Defined by
Council of Graduate Schools
“Advisors, people with career experience willing to share their
knowledge; supporters, people who give emotional and moral
encouragement; tutors, people who give specific feedback
on one’s performance; masters, in the sense of employers to
whom one is apprenticed; sponsors, sources of information
about, and aid in obtaining opportunities; models of identity,
of the kind of person one should be to be an academic (Zelditch,
1990).”
Role of a Mentor
1.
2.
3.
4.
Academic & personal advisor.
Provide professional development.
Entry to professional socialization and
culture.
Scholarship training.
These roles may be filled by numerous people.
As an advisor . . .




Provide advice about courses to take.
Types of research.
Career counseling.
Advice concerning personal matters.
Purveyor of professional
development . . .






Vocational training.
Interviewing / resume writing.
Giving presentations.
Improve writing skills.
Writing papers / proposals.
Critical thinking skills.
For professional socialization . . .




Networking / professional contacts.
Attending professional conferences.
Entry into professional societies.
Establishing friendships and collaborations.
For scholarly apprenticeship . . .




Scholarly expertise.
Depth and currency of knowledge.
Research and vocational skills.
Connecting with other experts.
Handling Mentor-related Problems






Develop a working relationship.
Diplomacy skills.
Multiple mentors for multiple functions.
Ditch a mentor.
Graduate school too important to remain
compliant.
If things are really bad . . .