Provost Award for Departmental Excellence in Faculty Mentoring

Applications for  2024-25 are open.

Purpose

The annual Award for Departmental Excellence in Faculty Mentoring will be awarded to the department or academic unit on campus that best displays excellence in onboarding and mentoring of early-career and mid-career faculty, including tenure track and non-tenure track faculty. The winning department will receive $8,000 and a trophy. The unit’s name will be placed on a university plaque housed in that department for a year. The Award is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office for Faculty Affairs.

Eligibility

All academic tenure-home units are eligible to apply for the award.  The winner will not be eligible for the following two academic years. 

Selection Process

The seven-member selection committee, comprised of representatives from academic colleges and the Office of the Provost, will review the documents, assess how they reflect the three criteria detailed below, and choose one recipient of the Award. The committee will complete the selection process by March 15.

 Criteria for Selection

Applications will be assessed on the following two criteria:

  1. How does your department demonstrate its sustained commitment to excellence in new faculty onboarding and mentoring of early-career and mid-career faculty?
  2. How does your department demonstrate commitment to the professional development of faculty mentors and mentees?

Possible examples of each of the three criteria include:

  1. How does your department demonstrate its sustained commitment to excellence in faculty mentoring (examples)?  

    • Offers onboarding and mentoring opportunities for tenure-track faculty and non-tenure-track faculty.
    • Uses best onboarding and mentoring practices, including a team-based approach, and supports faculty participation in college-based and university-based mentoring programs (e.g., Peer Mentoring Circles,  Bridge Program)
    • Recognizes and incentivizes mentoring excellence
    • Works with mentees to provide them with the best mentoring experiences
    • Demonstrates a commitment to providing mentors and mentees with the resources they need for a successful mentoring relationship

 2. How does your department demonstrate commitment to the professional development of faculty mentors and mentees (examples)?

    • Provides resources to faculty mentors to enhance their mentoring skills, including mentor certifications, etc
    • Promotes mentor and mentee development by providing departmental discussions on effective mentoring and encourages attendance at conferences that focus on mentorship, including mentorship of faculty from the underrepresented groups
    • Provides evidence of faculty involvement in mentoring workshops and training
    • Demonstrates that mentoring excellence and serving the mentoring needs of faculty are important priorities for the unit

Application Process

Each unit or department interested in applying for the award should form an ad hoc committee of faculty members to apply. The proposal should include:

  • One-page executive summary
  • Maximum of eight pages (single-spaced, 12-point font) describing the department and address the four criteria listed above

Applications can be uploaded using the form below. Please upload materials in one pdf document by February 28, 2025.