VCU Faculty Mentoring Program

Program Pilot: 2025-26 Academic Year

The mentoring program is launching as a pilot in August 2025. The program begins with 10 mentors that will provide 20 mentee spots (vertical dyads) and includes additional faculty mentors as part of each knowledge group (see Figure 1). In spring 2025, workshops were held with mentors to provide guidance on effective mentoring practices and strategies for developing mentoring relationships. Program assessments will be conducted to identify areas of growth, opportunities for revision and expansion.

Program Overview

VCU’s Faculty Mentoring Program integrates two parts: (1) a vertical dyadic approach of a mentor-mentee and (2) knowledge groups of faculty to provide comprehensive support in the areas of research, teaching & learning, and in navigating academia. Participants engage in activities including 1:1 mentor/mentee meetings, tailored knowledge group sessions, and a Mentors’ Café.The program welcomes assistant and associate professors (tenure-eligible/tenured and term). 

Figure 1: Structure of Mentoring Program¹

Faculty mentoring program structure diagram

Description

Vertical Dyads: Assistant and associate professors can select preferred full professors from the list of mentors provided. Matches are then coordinated by Faculty Affairs staff. Each mentor may work with up to two mentees. The program encourages mentees to select mentors outside their department and school/college to broaden perspectives. This is the individualized part of the mentoring program.

Knowledge Groups: The program includes three knowledge groups for all mentees, each composed of 3 to 4 faculty members. These groups provide targeted guidance in the following areas:  

Research and Scholarship: This knowledge group will provide information and guidance to enhance your research and creative endeavors.  Examples: pointing to potential collaborators, strategies for writing and publishing and building creative art, writing grants and securing external funding; providing tips about these topics by sharing experiences.

Teaching and Learning: This knowledge group will support teaching and learning. Additionally, the programs/sessions/tools provided by the Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence may be accessed. Examples: scholarship of teaching and learning; sharing syllabi information, ways to engage students, ideas for curricular innovation.

Navigating Academia: This knowledge group will assist with thinking through academic expectations, managing workloads, navigating challenges, identifying resources, balancing life-work and assessing goals – short and long term - periodically. 

In the first-year pilot, each knowledge group will host one open session a semester for all mentees.

Benefits to Mentees

  • Candid conversations from one-to-one advice and support
  • Guidance about navigating academia
  • Support for retention and increased productivity
  • Direction for developing a career plan
  • Awareness of and access to resources through knowledge groups
  • Expanded professional community and networks

Expectations

Resources

Mentors: see here for resources. [You will need to log in using your VCU username and password to access.]


¹ The foundations of the VCU Faculty Mentoring program are drawn from the CRN model adopted and implemented by Mangala Subramaniam at Purdue University which remains as her intellectual property. Reference: Subramaniam. Mangala. “Doing the ‘Work’ of Creating Transformative Structures for Faculty Success: Model for Mentoring across Gender and Race.” Unpublished paper.