Underrepresented faculty mentoring at a distance: program implementation and evaluation

ABSTRACT Underrepresented minority (URM) faculty hold about 10% of tenured positions, despite URM comprising more than 30% of the United States population; thus, disparities remain in the recruitment, development, retention and promotion of diverse faculty in large part because of a lack of mentoring. Research suggests that mentoring from senior URM faculty will lower URM faculty attrition rates and lead to success in tenure and promotion. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a mentoring program for new URM faculty in the areas of teaching, advising, research, service, and mastery of subject matter. New URM faculty were matched with URM mentors and received monthly virtual mentoring. Results demonstrated substantial growth in each area post-program, with statistically significant outcomes in the areas of teaching and advising. Faculty reported substantial benefits including sharing experiences, relationship building, lessened feelings of isolation, and increased knowledge of tenure and promotion expectations.