Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

U. Massachusetts receives $400K grant for faculty mentoring
From Staff Reports
Massachusetts Daily Collegian (U. Massachusetts)
09/10/2007

(U-WIRE) AMHERST, Mass. — The University of Massachusetts has been awarded a three-year, $400,000 grant toward a mentoring program for new and underrepresented faculty on campus.

The grant was given by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York last Friday and is aimed to expand and develop support networks for professionals.

UMass has received a Mellon grant in the past, a $47,000 grant geared toward studying the challenges of being a new and underrepresented faculty member, whether on campus, at the Five Colleges or nationally. Meanwhile, other efforts were focused on finding the best practices for planning a mentoring program.

Similarly, smaller pilot grants were given to departments and programs to build on networks, including anthropology, history, psychology, women studies and "Blacklist," a support group for female faculty members of color.

As a result of the grant, new and underrepresented faculty members can use the knowledge and support of an extensive variety of mentors, including peers, senior faculty, librarians and administrators. Under this program, mentoring will be promoted at three levels: individual; department, school, college and interdisciplinary; and campus-wide.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity for UMass Amherst to support its young faculty with one of the most active and innovative mentoring programs in the country," said Charlena Seymour, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at UMass. "How grateful we are to the Mellon Foundation for working with us over the past two years to craft an initiative that truly respects and supports the power of faculty-driven, context-sensitive mentoring," she added.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation currently awards grants in six areas: higher education and scholarship, scholarly communications, research in information technology, museums and art conservation, performing arts, and conservation and the environment. It aims to "strengthen and sustain institutions and their core capacities, rather than be a source for narrowly defined projects."

"So many faculty members have shared their ideas with us about what they want and need in terms of mentoring," said Director of New Faculty Initiatives Jung Yun. "We're thrilled the Mellon grant will be able to create such opportunities for them and support their innovation."

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