For Mentors: Working with Students
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What Students Say...
By doing this research, I gained the experience of working closely with a member of the UI faculty. I learned the richness that can be present in such a professional relationship.
- Emily Schaum - ICRU Fellow - Art History & Studio Arts
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"Various factors have necessitated both a broader, more sophisticated notion of mentoring, and a heightened recognition of its vital role in the preparation of the next generation’s intellectual leaders, both within and beyond the academy.
Consider this multi-faceted definition of mentors as people who:
- take an interest in developing another person’s career and well-being.
- have an interpersonal as well as a professional relationship with those whom they mentor.
- advance the person’s academic and professional goals in directions most desired by the individual.
- tailor mentoring styles and content to the individual, including adjustments due to differences in culture, ethnicity, gender and so on.
Far from being an optional extra, or a task to be attended as time permits, mentoring is as essential to a faculty member’s success as teaching, research and publication are, and for the same reasons: it benefits both students and mentors as it advances the discipline, ensuring the quality and commitment of the next generation of scholars. And it rewards mentors in an abundance of ways:
- Your students will keep you abreast of new knowledge and techniques and apprise you of promising avenues for research.
- A faculty member’s reputation rests in part on the work of his or her former students; sending successful new scholars into the field increases your professional stature.
- Your networks are enriched. Helping students make the professional and personal connections they need to succeed will greatly extend your own circle of colleagues.
- Good students will be attracted to you. Word gets around about who the best mentors are, so they are usually the most likely to recruit – and retain –outstanding students.
- It’s personally satisfying. Seeing your students succeed can be as rewarding as a major publication or significant grant.
Effective mentoring advances the discipline because these students often begin making significant contributions long before they complete their graduate degrees. Such students are more likely to have productive, distinguished, and ethical careers that reflect credit on their mentors and enrich the discipline. Effective mentoring helps to ensure the quality of research, scholarship and teaching well into the future."
(Taken from How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty . This document has useful information about serving as a student mentor at all levels.
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Other Readings
Research Mentorship for Undergradaute Scholars: A Guide to Best Practices
Undergraduate Research as a Catalyst for Liberal Learning