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Faculty Mentoring

Helping faculty members be their best

By Ginger Shepherd

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Click Photo to Enlarge Women faculty members met for dinner at Dr. Debbie Sowell's home this semester. They were brought together by mentoring and have created a strong support system.

Leadership isn't necessarily a natural trait, but ORU wants it professors and staff to be the best leaders, and mentors, for students. One way to develop good leaders, the university has found, is through faculty mentoring.

"We've had lots of mentoring going on [here] on campus; it is part of the leadership culture," said Dr. Debbie Sowell, Dean of Instruction. However, a more formalized mentoring program for faculty started about five years ago in answer to a directive from university officials for more leadership, she explained.

Initially, there had been more individualized, specialized training, Sowell said, that most administrators, faculty, and even some university staff members participated in. Out of that came the recognition that the most successful way to encourage leadership is through mentoring relationships.

What they began to see were seasoned staff and faculty pairing up with junior staff and faculty, she said. Through the process faculty members, especially junior faculty members, can share ideas and see what will help them become better leaders.

"They (mentors) can help set goals for their (mentees') professional lives," Sowell said.

It is also a safe and confidential relationship where a faculty member can talk about issues he or she may be having. Sowell explained that the mentor relationship becomes a support system, which is something especially important to women.

"Women need a support network," Sowell said. "Women traditionally have not shared influence in the workplace the same way men have. Often, they don't understand the expectations and the culture."

She explained a common mistake women make in the workplace is to be all things to all people in the organization.

"Mentors can help better understand the culture," Sowell said, using an example of a mentor giving ideas on how to deal with the stress of one's job. Through the program faculty members develop contacts, develop a support system, and meet more faculty members.

"And it is enjoyable," she continued.

All in all, the mentoring program is good practice for faculty members and it ultimately benefits ORU students, she explained.

"Because faculty that has been mentored well will mentor well," Sowell said.

The mentoring program has met the goal of increasing and encouraging leadership in faculty, she said, and that success is evident in the actions that faculty members have taken.

"People have started taking [the] initiative," Sowell said, pointing to faculty-launched programs such as Writing Across the Disciplines and the new Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education.