Mentors for Mentors

Dickinson secures institutional membership with NCFDD

by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

The road from student to professor can be challenging, as new faculty members learn to navigate different expectations and responsibilities from the other side of the podium. A robust toolkit and professional network could make a big difference along the way.

Enter the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD), an organization that provides faculty mentorship, professional development, networking and career-building opportunities to more than 65 colleges and universities nationwide, now including Dickinson. The college’s institutional NCFDD membership goes into effect Aug. 8.

Through it, non-tenured faculty members will be able to tap into webinars and multiweek courses led by trained mentors, as well as peer-to-peer resources. These include a discussion forum for peer mentoring and problem solving, moderated monthly writing challenges and goal-setting partnerships.

Each aspect of the program addresses core challenges pretenure faculty members commonly face, such as time management, work-life balance and network-building, says Bob Winston, associate provost of academic affairs. “We see this membership as part of a larger effort to institute a more robust mentoring program for faculty on campus,” he adds.

Learn more

Published May 13, 2016