Registration Form

OBJECTIVES

1. To cultivate cross-departmental relationships, fomenting an amiable and supportive community across all teaching professionals in the IWL.
2. To provide support and resources for faculty new to the University.
3. To facilitate pedagogical and professional development support for faculty who desire it.
4. To build pressure-free relationships between mentor and mentee, in which concerns and ideas can be shared freely.

ELIGIBILITY        

Any teaching faculty member with any length of appointment in a language department. Preference goes to faculty who are new to UVA or new to a particular role, but any faculty members who would like to build this type of relationship across language departments are welcome.

PROCEDURE

1. The mentorship program committee will distribute a brief questionnaire to language faculty at the end of the academic year. Faculty who are interested in participating, either as mentor or mentee, in the next academic year will complete the questionnaire to express their general wishes for a mentor-mentee relationship.
2. Mentor-mentee pairs will be matched by the mentorship program committee according to the preferences stated on the questionnaire. Mentors and mentees will ideally be matched across departments to avoid conflicts of interest, to make the relationship one that is pressure-free, and to foment cross-language community.
3. The program includes two semesters, fall and spring. Mentors and mentees will attend an opening gathering with refreshments at the start of the fall semester, and a closing gathering with refreshments at the end of the spring semester.
4. Between the opening and closing gatherings, mentor and mentee pairs have individual meetings approximately once per month for a ½-1 hour at a mutually convenient time. Meetings may be in person or via phone or Zoom. Pairs may meet more frequently if they so choose.
5. The mentorship program committee will check in with each mentor and mentee near the end of the fall semester to ensure that partnerships are beneficial.
6. The mentorship program committee will maintain a group email list for mentors to provide general resources for supporting their mentees and make connections for assistance, networking, etc. At the same time, mentor-mentee conversations are confidential and will not be discussed elsewhere by the mentor without the mentee’s knowledge.
7. If interest is expressed in the opening gathering, group discussions open to all mentor-mentee pairs may be organized by the mentorship program committee.

TIMELINE

1. End of academic year: The mentorship program committee will solicit participants in the program via a questionnaire distributed to all language faculty.
2. Summer/ongoing: With help from communication with department chairs, the mentorship program committee will reach out to newly hired language faculty to invite them to participate in the program. Mentor-mentee pairings will be made by the committee.
3. Fall semester: Mentor-mentee pairs will be invited to attend an opening gathering with refreshments. Pairs continue to meet monthly at their convenience.
4. Spring semester: Pairs continue to meet. At the end of the semester, all mentors and mentees will be invited to a closing gathering with refreshments provided by the committee.

NOTES

1. Mentorship is not evaluative in nature and does not involve measurable outcomes or written reports. The main goal of the program is simply to cultivate relationships of support across departments. The relationship should proceed in a way that is acceptable to and agreed upon by both parties.
2. The committee acknowledges that individuals may have different reasons for seeking a mentoring relationship and different goals from the relationship. Mentees may seek a partner with whom to exchange teaching ideas; advice regarding research, professional development, or promotion and tenure; a listening ear for concerns related to work-life balance or general University culture; and the list goes on. The committee will do its best to match mentees and mentors with compatible goals.

FURTHER QUESTIONS

This document is a work in progress and is intended to be updated as needed with future iterations of the program. The committee (Hsin-Hsin Liang, Mahshad Mohit and Kate Neff)

welcomes comments and suggestions at any time. Please direct any questions to the committee:  Hsin-hsin Liang (hl9s@virginia.edu), Mahshad Mohit (mm3je@virginia.edu), and Kate Neff (keb8a@virginia.edu).