Mentorship

group
Mentorship

The university supports faculty as they build their network of mentors, while simultaneously developing their own skills as a responsive, reciprocal and adaptive mentor, coach, sponsor, or advisor of students and junior faculty. This work is supported by the Provost Mentorship Fellow. Learn more about the Provost Fellows Program.

teach

Network-Based Mentorship

The UO is reimagining mentorship. Instead of limiting mentorship to a single, formal, or assigned mentor, typically senior to the mentee, we are shifting to a network-based approach in which you have the agency to build your mentorship network with a variety of relationships and interactions. Some will be formal, but most are informal. Some may be long-term relationships, but most are short-term interactions. Your mentorship network could include advisors, sponsors, coaches, role models, supervisors and peers. Everyone at UO deserves a mentorship network, including undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, faculty and staff.

UO Mentorship Reimagined

Mentorship Characteristics

When developing your network, or when you are a part of someone else's mentorship network, keep the following characteristics in mind. Mentorship should be:

Responsive

Responsive mentors (coaches, sponsors, advisors, etc.) respond to the needs, goals, experiences and identities of the mentee with care, compassion and cultural humility. Responsive mentors listen with curiosity, affirm and validate experiences, center the mentee's goals, and let them be the expert about their lived experiences and identity.

Reciprocal

Reciprocal mentors (coaches, sponsors, advisors, etc.) recognize that mentees bring complementary knowledge and experiences to the relationship that allow the mentor to learn and grow as well. Reciprocal mentorship includes curiosity about the mentee's ideas, a willingness to learn and not always be the "knower" in the relationship, interest in the mentee's unique expertise, and the ability to acknowledge and name what you have learned from them.

Adaptive

Mentoring changes with the needs of the mentee, reflecting the mentee’s current career stage, professional goals, and need for guidance. If a mentorship relationship occurs over a longer period of time, mentors (coaches, sponsors, advisors, etc.) need to regularly adjust based on the mentee's input. Mentors must be reflective about the mentee's needs over time, and self-assess regarding any outdated assumptions about the mentee.

mentor
Build Your Own Mentorship Network

At UO we recognize that there is no such thing as one single mentor who will have all the answers. Instead, we support the idea of a mentoring network. The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity offers a Mentoring Map as a guide.

►  Mentoring Map template from NCFDD 
►  Academic Impressions networking course 
►  LinkedIn course on being a good mentee

 

Resources for Faculty Members & Graduate Students

New faculty members

Tenure-track faculty members

  • The External Mentor Program supports the work of faculty who are early career and underrepresented on campus and those whose research or creative activity focuses on diversity-related issues.

Recently tenured faculty members

  • A Peer Mentorship Program helps faculty members navigate this exciting transition.

Recently promoted career faculty members

New campus leaders

College of Design faculty

Women's Innovation Network

  • The Women's Innovation Network (WIN) helps UO faculty and graduate student entrepreneurs navigate gender-based barriers to bringing their research to market or launching a business.

National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity

Other graduate student mentorship resources

students

Resources for Undergraduate Students
 

Academic Advising PeerLink »  PeerLink Advisors provide UO students with academic advising and mentorship, connecting them with campus resources, helping identify academic or co-curricular opportunities, and serving as a comfortable and continuous point of contact
Peer Advisors for Veterans Education »  PAVE is a peer support program connecting incoming student veterans with those already on campus. Mentors can help with navigating college life, identify challenges they are facing, refer them to resources on or off campus, and provide ongoing support to their academic and personal ventures.
Intercultural Mentoring Program Advancing Community Ties »  IMPACT is a peer-to-peer mentoring program for students of color and first-generation college students. IMPACT student coordinators support first-year and transfer students, offering the opportunity to be part of a community that is comfortable, accepting, and truly yours.
Lundquist College of Business Flight School »  This program is designed specifically for first-year and new transfer business students. Flight School will help you launch your academic journey and set you up for success.