When Corbridge is working with students, “I want to hear what their concerns are and what barriers they’re facing instead of just assuming I know,” she says. “It’s important to start with that.”

Across the country, colleges are diversifying their student bodies faster than their faculty ranks. That means that more students of different races, genders, and religious backgrounds will be mentored by faculty members who’ve enjoyed relative privilege getting to where they are.

To be effective, cross-cultural mentors need even more openness and empathy than usual, says Phoenix A. Matthews, a clinical psychologist who last year became the Illinois nursing school’s associate dean for equity and inclusion.