Mutual Mentoring
Mutual Mentoring Grants are competitive grants to create networks of mentoring partners tailored to your career goals and aspirations. Two levels of funding are available for 2023-24
- Up to $1000: Individual grants for untenured, underrepresented or teaching faculty
- Up to $1500: Team grants of 2-3 faculty members at any rank
Traditional Mentoring Pairs versus Mutual Mentoring Networks
The traditional mentoring model consists of a senior mentor and a junior mentee.
The senior mentor serves in a one-size-fits-all capacity, and the primary benefactor of the relationship is the mentee.
Mutual Mentoring
networks may contain any number of individuals who act as mentoring partners. They may include peers, senior faculty member, administrators, writing coaches, partners from outside of campus, or other individuals chosen to meet individual interests
Characteristics of Mutual Mentoring
- Mentoring partnerships with a wide variety of individuals
- e.g., Peers, near-peers, tenured faculty, chairs, administrative staff, students, off-campus personnel
- Flexible approaches that accommodate the partners preferences for contact
- One-on-one, group, zoom, email, chat, etc.
- Partnerships that focus on areas of expertise, not “one-size-fits-all”
- Benefits to all partners, not just the traditional mentee
- A sense of empowerment for early career and underrepresented faculty as
agents of their own career development
Mutual Mentoring Grants
Mutual mentoring grants are available to individual faculty members or teams of 2-3 individuals. Grant proposals should address the following questions:
- What mentoring challenges are you trying to address. For team proposals, include how the challenge impacts the team.
- What are your goals, and why are these important at this stage of your career?
- How does your project build on the mMutualMentoring Model?
- How will your proposal address diversity, equity and/or inclusion?
Individual mentoring grants may be up to $1000, and team grants may be up to $1500. A budget must be included with your grant application. Grants may include funds to hire an hourly student to assist with the project.
Examples of mutual mentoring projects from the UMass Mutual Mentoring Guide are included here:
Applications are due May 24, 2023. Funding is available for AY 23-24.
Resources
Mutual Mentoring Guide (UMass)
Mutual Mentoring for Early Career and Underrepresented Faculty