Many campus leaders, including provosts, deans and department chairs -- recognize that they need to develop more robust mentoring models, but they are not sure how to create a mentoring program. Yet, to build an inclusive climate for faculty, good mentoring is crucial. Mentoring must also be institutionalized and developed as a program rather than treated as an individualized issue, handed off to specific senior faculty. Through effective institutional approaches, all faculty members can access a web of support, leveling the playing field for faculty from underrepresented groups.

The fact is that academe is set up like a maze. It’s unclear which way to turn, which components of the career to emphasize without the perspective of those who have been through the maze themselves. These mazes are also set up differently at each institution, so knowing the structure of the maze at one college or university does not guarantee the way forward at another. Certain faculty members, particularly women and members of underrepresented groups, may also face wrong turns and dead ends -- such as poorly timed service responsibilities -- that do not impact other academics.

In some distant past, faculty members might have “seen themselves” in colleagues, making it easier to develop informal relationships that conveyed how to succeed. In departments where faculty members regularly worked in their offices, had lunch and coffee breaks with colleagues, informal relationships also developed more naturally.