Overview

As part of Ball State University's ongoing commitment to support the careers and personal well-being of under-represented faculty and to attract and retain faculty that reflect the demographics of our student body, we are piloting a new Faculty Mentoring Community program in the College of Sciences & Humanities during academic year 2023/24.

This multi-faceted program is designed to provide instrumental and social support to faculty throughout the course of their careers. Both non-tenure line and tenure-line, full-time faculty have access to traditional mentoring (i.e., dyadic partnerships) and peer mentoring opportunities (faculty resource groups). 

Traditional, Inter-departmental Faculty Mentoring
Often, mentoring programs focus on new hires and/or early career faculty. However, many faculty desire mentoring throughout their entire career (e.g., going up for full; shifting career identities). This mentoring program is designed to ensure all full-time faculty members (tenure-line and non-tenure line) have the opportunity to seek career-related guidance throughout their entire career. This mentoring program has interested faculty report their desired goal/reason for seeking mentorship, and the mentor coordinator matches them with a mentor that can help them reach their goal. 
CSH faculty interested in participating as a mentor or mentee, (or both!) in the full-time faculty mentoring program should contact the mentor coordinator, Dr. Katie Lawson, at kmlawson4@bsu.edu. 

Ball State is committed to helping all new hires with their transition to the university. As stated in the Faculty and Professional Personnel Handbook, department chairs match all new hire, full-time faculty with a mentor within their department. 

Other resources for new faculty, including the New Faculty Academy and New Faculty Orientation, can be viewed here. 

This Mentorship Agreement can be used as a conversation starter for mentors/mentees to help establish the goals and expectations of the partnership.

Faculty resource groups provide peer mentoring opportunities related to topics of interest or concern for faculty. For example, new parents or new to Muncie faculty may be able to serve as resources for each other. 

During academic year 2023/24, the College of Sciences & Humanities (CSH) will pilot faculty resource groups at Ball State University. All CSH faculty will be surveyed in the fall to brainstorm topics, and the inter-departmental mentors will use this information to identify themes and narrow down the topics of interest and/or concern. During the spring, all full-time CSH faculty will be eligible to participate in a faculty resource group, while inter-departmental mentors will serve as the point persons of the groups.