Multi-tiered: Various programs, activities and resources to be made available at the level of the School, RBHS and Rutgers University. In addition, partnering with different units within RBHS or Rutgers will leverage these resources.

Culture change: The entire School community to actively engage in the process to assure its success.

Accountability: Participation in mentoring activities to be monitored by department chairs/ division chiefs/institute directors as well as centrally by the School’s office of Faculty Development. Mentoring will be part of annual performance evaluations.

Program Core Components:

Administrative Structure:

Provide a central structure with a staff member in the Office of Faculty Development to monitor mentoring activities within the School. The responsibilities of this individual will be to assure that:

• All faculty members up to the rank of associate professor have a mentoring mini- committee
• Mentor/menteemeetingsaretakingplaceatleasttwiceperyear
• Mentees are participating in the required career development workshops, seminars or webinars depending on their academic track (e.g. research grant writing, clinical research, IRB training, IACUC, etc).

Faculty Mentoring Committee will continue to:

• Oversee mentor training and development
• Regularly evaluate and improve the program over time
• Assess feedback from the faculty about the effectiveness of the RWJMS mentoring curriculum offered in Clinical Research Design and in Education

The committee to be staffed and supported by the Dean's office.

• Require each Department / Division to identify senior faculty mentors, encourage them, and provide them with protected time to attend mentor training workshops and seminars (attached Appendix B). Each department needs a sufficient number of identified mentors to help advise and counsel the faculty in that department.

• Offer letters to new recruits to identify by name the initial mentor. This is usually the Department Chair, Division Director or Institute Director.

• New faculty orientation should provide current information that explains their role and responsibilities in the mentoring process.

• The critical role of the Department Chair, Division Chief, or Institute Director in advising their faculty on selecting mentors and overseeing mentoring activities.

• Assessment of the relationship between mentors and mentees on an ongoing basis to be the responsibility of the mentees Department Chair/Division Chief/Institute Director.

• Mentoring activities to be part of faculty annual performance evaluation as a sub- category of Service, with a percent allocated time.

• There needs to be a separation between mentoring meetings with mentees and faculty annual evaluations, since the goals of the two activities are distinct, and the mentees need to feel comfortable with their mentors as individuals who provide guidance rather than judge or evaluate performance. As stated above, it is hoped and expected that the presence of non-supervisor mentors during mentor-mentee meetings will mitigate these concerns.

• The webpage for Faculty Development office to have an up-to-date schedule of the RWJMS faculty mentoring research curriculum and links to mentoring programs across RBHS and Rutgers University (attached Appendix B). This webpage to also post the names of mentors in each academic unit.

  Core Curriculum:

• Require mentors to attend at least one mentor training workshop offered by theNational Research Mentoring Network (NRMN) and/or a workshop to become a grant writing coach offered by the Grant Writers’ Seminars and Workshops LLC (attached Appendix B).

• Require mentees to attend training classes offered by the RWJMS faculty mentoring research curriculum in clinical research design, IRB regulations and procedures, as well as IACUC, grantsmanship (offered by Grant Writers’ Seminar and Workshops LLC), publications as appropriate for their academic track. RWJMS Mentoring Program has teamed up with CINJ that administers a clinical research course. Additional training opportunities are available to RWJMS faculty at Rutgers University (attached Appendix B).

• Train the trainer model. Senior faculty trained as mentors through attending workshops given by professional mentor trainers and administered by NRMN or Grant Writers’ Seminars and Workshops are then asked to function as instructors to train the next cohorts of faculty mentors at RWJMS. While this can be an effective and cost saving measure to increase the number of trained mentors at the School, three conditions are required for the success of this program at RWJMS:

Considerable time commitment is needed for senior faculty to engage in this training activity, and this requires protected time from other missions. NJMS has started this approach and they are interested in providing this type of training at RWMS as well.

A critical mass of mentors and potential mentors. Currently, RWJMS lacks sufficient number of senior faculty to be trained as successive cohorts of mentors. This is considered a major challenge for the train-the-trainer model at the School.

Proven effectiveness of this model within these constraints. Feedback received from a recent train-the-trainer opportunity using this model did not meet RWJMS attendee expectations. This could be attributed to the superior training provided

by professional mentor trainers who have extensive experience conducting these workshops.

Accordingly, the recommendation is to have an annual workshop by professional mentor trainers in the NRMN network or an equivalent group supported by RBHS for its entire faculty to be held on alternating campuses.

Elements of the Program:

• Mentees to be involved in choosing their mentors within 6 months of initial appointment. Research shows that mentees who have more input into selecting their mentors are more satisfied with the mentoring relationship. Mentees can also switch mentors at a later time if the focus of their scholarly activity or academic track changes, and if the mentor-mentee relationship does not work out.

• Identifying a “mini-committee” of mentors (2-3 members) for each junior faculty appropriate for their academic track and professional interests. Members of these mini- mentoring committees can be within the Department, School or outside the School elsewhere at Rutgers. In special circumstances, mentors can also be at other institutions.

• The mentoring needs of faculty in research, clinical educator, clinical scholar, and professional practice tracks require special consideration. These faculty members who are not engaged in independent, investigator-initiated, funded research need senior mentors with experiences in similar academic and professional activities as the mentees to assure their success in clinical, education, collaborative research and other scholarly activities. In some instances, it may be sufficient and appropriate for faculty in these tracks to have one mentor rather than a mini-committee of mentors. This will be determined by the Department Chair/Division Chief/Institute Director.

• Clearly stated goals and milestones in the Individual Development Plan (IDP)(attached Appendix A) and signed agreement between mentors and mentees(attached Appendix C). The objective of this process is to assist faculty in developing and achieving short-term and long-term career goals. Identifying short-term objectives will give faculty a clearer sense of their own expectations and help identify milestones along the way to achieving specific goals. For Tenure-Track faculty, the IDP will specify preparation and submission of grant proposals with emphasis on federal funding.

  Recognition for Mentors:

• Establish new mentoring awards in addition to the Edelman (Clinical Research) and Schlesinger (Basic Research) awards to recognize and motivate senior faculty to engage in this important service to the School. Recognition of mentoring in Education, and in Clinical Practice Development are recommended. If no deserving individual is identified in a given year, the award should not be given.

• Credit for mentoring can also be broadened by recognizing nominees, and not just winners, by providing nominees with letters of commendation and announcing their names at the Dean’s Faculty meeting. But it is strongly recommended that this announcement not coincide with the meeting when winners are announced.

Who are the Mentees and Mentors?

Faculty in academic ranks up to and including Associate Professor are required to have a mentor(s) responsible for providing career guidance and support. In many cases, a team of 2-3 mentors can serve as a mini-committee for an individual mentee. One of these should be the primary research or scholarly mentor, but the other(s) do not need to be closely familiar with the mentee’s specific research interests. It is strongly recommended that the mentee’s department chair/ division chief/institute director not be part of this mini-committee to avoid creating an uncomfortable situation for the mentee by blurring the boundaries between being mentored and evaluated. However, department chairs/ division chiefs/institute directors need to monitor the mentoring process for their faculty to assure that the mentee’s progress is aligned with departmental expectations. Members of the mini-committee need not be in the mentee’s department or school.

It is also recommended that faculty members above the associate professor level have access to unstructured mentoring as needed.

Qualifications of Mentors:

• Commitment to mentoring and preferably a successful track record in mentoring

• Interested in developing mentee’s career

• A match with mentee’s professional and personal needs

• Professional competence

• Good communication and interpersonal skills

• Knows the institution and can provide networking opportunities both within and outside

  the institution

Responsibilities of Mentors:

• Meet with mentees at least twice per year. While mentees are responsible for initiating these meetings, the mentor is also responsible for ensuring that the meetings take place

• Be available to the mentee as needed should urgent matters arise.

• Establish expectations and clearly communicate them to the mentee

• Design and communicate clear goals for the mentoring relationship

• Put mentees’ interest above self interest

• Listen to and consider the expectations of their mentee

• Teach by example

• Assess the mentee’s knowledge and skill level and adjust the mentoring process accordingly

• Encourage and motivate mentees to move beyond their comfort zone

• Provide specific and timely feedback including strengths and assets, as well as areas for growth, development and enhancement. Feedback on potentially harmful behaviors or attitudes is needed when appropriate.

• Consider how differences in culture and identity may affect the relationship

• Review all relevant material (e.g. CV, publications, abstracts, summary of grant proposals, promotion package, Individual Development Plan (attached Appendix A) etc.) provided by the mentee prior to meetings

• Be sure you have accurate and current information on advancement and promotion policies for the mentee’s academic track at RBHS

• Help mentees set appropriate career goals and advise them of the specific requirements for promotion in their academic track

• Encourage and help facilitate scholarly activities including publications, grants,introduction to potential collaborators, enrollment in professional development programs, career advice, allocation of effort, conferences, study sections, presentations, and nominations for appropriate awards and society memberships.

Mentor/Mentee Partnering Agreement

• Be respectful to mentors

• Make arrangements to meet with your mentor(s) at least twice per year. Take initiative.

• To assist their mentors in giving them relevant advice/counseling, mentees should write down at least three short-term (6-12 months) and three long-term (3-5 years) professional goals in their Individual Development Plan (IDP) to be discussed and perhaps revised at the mentor/mentee meetings

• Provide relevant documents (e.g. updated CV, publications, abstracts, summary of grant proposals, promotion package, Individual Development Plan) to be reviewed by mentors at least one week prior to each meeting

• Mentees need to familiarize themselves with their academic track and promotion requirements so that they can plan and discuss their career path accordingly with their mentors

• Provide mentor with feedback whether advice given is beneficial and solves an issue, and whether the mentor’s communication styles creates challenges to a positive mentoring experience

• Participate in faculty development workshops and seminars

• Participate in mentoring evaluation

Mentor-Mentee Partnering Agreement