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Cornell University

Faculty Advancing Inclusive Mentoring

A Collaboration of the Graduate School and the Provost's Office of Faculty Development & Diversity

Why Does this Matter?

The FAIM framework fosters accountability for ethical and compliant research practices in the academy and helps promote intellectual risk-taking that leads to novel and impactful research.

Intentional and effective mentoring provides the opportunity to:

  • support the retention and progression of mentees across all backgrounds and experiences.
  • facilitate mutual appreciation and understanding between mentors and mentees about each other’s cultures and backgrounds.
  • promote mentees’ agency, self-efficacy, scholarly identity development, and responsible research conduct.
  • encourage the creation and engagement in communities of learning.
  • foster belonging as a result of community-building and collaborative understanding across difference.
  • accelerate positive systemic change.

Imperative for Inclusive Mentoring

When mentees feel affirmed for who they are as whole individuals through their mentoring relationships, they experience a greater academic and social sense of belonging, leading to more positive and productive academic and professional outcomes.

Lack of Access and Opportunity

Intentional and effective mentorship can facilitate the mutual growth, development, and success (writing and research productivity, promotion and tenure, etc.) of mentors and mentees in the academy. However, the potential positive impacts of mentorship is unrealized. For example, nationally, ~25%-45% of doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars are dissatisfied with aspects of their mentoring relationships (Sarabipour et al., 2023).

Within the FAIM framework, we seek to advance equal access and opportunity across graduate education and the professoriate for the benefit of scholars across all backgrounds and stages.

Faculty at the Center

Individual Guidance

Faculty can significantly impact a mentee’s career. For example, faculty can be a gatekeeper and provide introductions to extended networks, a champion who provides access to opportunities through their endorsement to trusted colleagues, or an advocate who vies for the interests of a mentee amongst other things. NCFDD’s Mentor Map highlights the various roles in which faculty mentors can support faculty mentees. The map is also available for download on the FAIM Practical Tools & Resources page.

Systemic Change

Systemic change requires reimagining policies and practices across multiple spaces. Therefore, faculty are uniquely positioned to implement change given their various spheres of influence.

Figure is a visual representation of faculty and their various spheres of influence. Faculty are at the center. Arrows point out towards their various spheres of influence. Those areas are: Service and Professional Organizations Formal and Informal Learning Environments Department and Field Leadership Groups Publishers (e.g., book, journals) Research / Lab Team Department and Field Peer Networks 

Faculty Spheres of Influence

Faculty members’ spheres of influence include peers who develop and implement policies and practices that govern academic and professional success in connected ways, including as they relate to publication, grant, admissions, tenure decisions, etc.

When faculty champion and implement inclusive mentorship within and across their colleague networks and professional and academic organizations, they contribute to new mentoring-related policies and practices to move toward positive systemic change in graduate education and the professoriate.