by Dr. Marybeth Gasman
Note: This post is co-authored with Ufuoma Abiola, a current
graduate student in the Higher Education program at the University of
Pennsylvania.
Mentoring can be defined as a long-term relationship between
a more experienced individual and a less experienced person that fosters the
mentee’s professional, academic, or personal development. Mentoring can enrich
the lives of both the mentor and the mentee.
In terms of career benefits, research has shown that
individuals who are mentored earn more promotions, have higher salaries, and
have more job satisfaction and commitment than individuals who are not
mentored. The benefits for mentors include having access to new knowledge from
the mentees and making a difference by establishing and guiding the next
generation. Further research has shown that there are career benefits
specifically related to cross-race mentoring, such as higher earnings for the
mentee.
In terms of roles, a mentor should be an advocate for the
mentee by promoting the mentee’s strengths and securing resources for the
mentee’s success. Mentors also facilitate and stimulate intellectual curiosity.
One of the most valuable roles a mentor can play is that of someone who
communicates and demonstrates the values of the profession and explains how it
can be navigated. Mentors also help mentees to develop skills, including
writing, researching, teaching, networking and general professional
development.
In order to benefit more fully, mentees need to be honest
about the areas in which they need mentoring. They also must use their mentor’s
time wisely by being prepared for each interaction. Mentees should be open to
receiving feedback in order to better themselves. Thinking critically about
this feedback and learning to reflect on it is key.
Mentoring is vitally important to student success at
colleges and universities across the nation. It is a positive factor in
retention and completion rates. Students that have more interaction with
faculty thrive academically and have more positive experiences on campus.
Research shows that the best predictor of college success
for Black graduate and professional students is the presence of Black faculty
members. Unfortunately, Blacks (as well as other people of color) make up only
a small percentage of the professoriate. This fact results in a need for
increased mentorship between Black students and White faculty members.
Moreover, the onus for mentoring Black students should not rest solely on the
shoulders of Black faculty members; White faculty members need to step up.
In order to ensure healthy mentor/mentee relationships
between White faculty and Black students, some groundwork has to be laid.
First, both parties need to understand the barriers to a
successful relationship and how to overcome these barriers. Next, both parties
have to be open to learning based on their racial and cultural differences.
Learning is best achieved when both parties are honest in their discussion of
race and racial issues. The worst thing to do is to ignore race and ascribe to
the notion of colorblindness or the idea that race does not matter in a
relationship. The best cross-race mentoring relationships acknowledge racial
differences but work to find commonalities.
A professor of higher education at the University of
Pennsylvania, Dr. Marybeth Gasman is the author of Envisioning Black Colleges:
A History of the United Negro College Fund (Johns Hopkins University Press,
2007) and lead editor of Understanding Minority Serving Institutions (SUNY
Press, 2008
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