LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Mentoring Minorities
built 675 days ago
Despite the widespread interest in mentoring and hopes that it presents potential for addressing a myriad of problems, the concept is not well understood within the Army. The term “mentorship” has different connotations and currently is used so loosely in describing such an array of leadership and human behaviors that well-meaning, intelligent people often talk past each other when trying to discuss it. The term elicits a wide range of responses, from enthusiastic endorsement to adamant cynicism, with confusion in between. In a recent Army War College strategy research project, Merrill Anderson-Ashcraft conducted a content analysis of 64 essays on mentoring submitted by members of the USAWC Class of 2002. Although most essays included positive and negative
Source:
Mentoring is not new to WSU. Some departments or programs already have mentoring efforts underway. In other academic units, chairs have assumed a mentoring role as they guide new faculty through the annual review, third year review, and tenure and promotion review. Thus, the WSU Mentoring Effort expands upon process(es) that are already in place and familiar, but it embraces a wider goal.
Source:
Mentoring will vary by department, program and college, and is not intended to include rigid structures but should allow some flexibility in meeting the objectives of the department as well as the needs of the new faculty member. A mentoring effort is not merely a parallel system for evaluating progress (e.g., annual review) but should complement existing system(s) for the ultimate goal of career advancement.
Source:
Universities are trying to answer this last question by expanding mentoring opportunities for untenured faculty members. Some people... object to explicit and formal mentoring programs as artificial. Indeed, when life was simpler, this sort of thing usually happened by itself. Faculty members—overwhelmingly male and white—used to meet for lunch at now largely defunct faculty clubs and similar locales. In addition, when most professors had stay-at-home spouses, they saw one another at dinner parties and other social events more often than they do today. New faculty members were assimilated with relative ease, and they knew what was expected of them.
Source:
Stephen Gibb suggests that mentoring is something that almost defies description.20 The term in contemporary use describes a wide range of relationships including coaching, teaching, networking, advising, and evaluating. The term “mentor” is actually derived from the character named Mentor, who was a faithful friend of the Greek hero Odysseus, in Homer’s epic story The Odyssey. When Odysseus went off to war, he left Mentor behind to serve as tutor to his son, Telemachus. Mentor served in this role, earning a reputation as being wise, sober, and loyal.21 It is from the relationship between these two characters that the classic understanding of the term “mentorship” has evolved.
Source:
Henry was most proud of his activities in mentoring minorities in the public transportation management field. For his work, he was presented with the Minority Affairs Award and inducted into the APTA Hall of Fame.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Mentoring Minorities