Mentoring Junior Academics

*May 5, 2015, 9:30 - 11:00 am, Rm 103, Y C Liang Hall

*Guest Speaker: Professor Fanny Cheung

Personnel Office

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Background

Current Mentoring Efforts in CUHK

Review Processes for Early Career Academics

Mentoring vs Staff Review

A Mentoring Culture for CUHK

Content

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On April 20, Provost held a town hall meeting on CUHK

substantiation and promotion process to early career

academics.

About 150 attendees, mostly Assistant Professors and a few

Associate Professors

Informative presentation on the review process, timeframe, know-

how, assessment criteria and FAQ.

Well-received session, recorded and retrievable:

https://strategicplan.cuhk.edu.hk/staff/forumSubstantiate.html

As a consolidating effort, developing mentoring culture at

the departmental/ faculty levels will be essential in

supporting the career development of early career

academics.

Background

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Department Chairman or senior faculties assume a

mentoring role to guide their junior faculties through

various staff review processes e.g. annual appraisal

review, substantiation and promotion review, and other

career development decisions like switching from the

research academic track to a professoriate appointment

Mentoring efforts with different degree of intensity are

existing in some of the departments or programs

Current Mentoring Efforts in CUHK

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Review for Early Career Academics

PhD

Assistant Professor

Associate Professor

Professor

Professoriate Track

Subject to 6-year up-or-out

limit with review for

substantiation and promotion

to Associate Professor

• ~300 ASTP; all on a contract; ~85% on

substantiable-track

• ~260 ASOP; ~85% has been

substantiated; most of the rest are on

substantiable-track

(data as at April 2016)

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Substantiation in the Past 3 Academic Years

82% (108 cases)

Review for

Substantiation

79% (85 cases)

Successful

(10% accelerated)

21%

Unsuccessful (incl. 3% accelerated

cases)

Among the 108 cases reviewed

for Substantiation:

131 cases

11%

7%

Deferral of

Review

Granted

Not

Processed

Note:

Data are based on the records of past 3

academic years as of April 11, 2016

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Review for Early Career Academics (Cont’d)

Research ASTP

(contract)

Research ASOP

(contract)

Research ASTP is subject

to the 6-year up-or-out

limit w/o the prospect of

substantiation

Research Academic Track

In the past 3 Annual Staff Review Exercises:

• 12 cases were due for review;

• 2 cases were reviewed; both successful

• 10 cases were not reviewed because of

re-appointment to another post,

resignation etc.

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Mentoring effort should not be only a parallel system

for staff evaluating processes but should embrace a

wider goal to support colleagues’ career development

and advancement.

Mentoring effort may or may not result in successful

application(s) for substantiation, promotion or an

academic post.

Mentoring vs Staff Review

A Mentoring Culture for CUHK

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Professor Fanny M. Cheung

Outline

Basic Values of the University

Needs of Professors’ Career Course

Benefits of Faculty Mentoring

Forms of Mentoring

Coverage of Mentees

Mentor and Mentee Relationship

Outline

Best Practices

Characteristics of Effective Mentoring Programmes

Desirable Mentor Attributes

Common Mentoring Challenges

Sharing of Practices at CUHK

Basic Values of the University

Assets of the University

Human Talents

Teachers

Students

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Basic Values of the University

How to Cultivate our

Human Talents?

Students – we have paid

much more attention on the

academic and personal

development of our students

Teachers – what have we

done for their development?

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Needs in Professors’ Career Course

Assistant Professor

Career Success - Tenure & promotion

Input to work out a plan for key career evaluation points (e.g., contract review, substantiation review)

Timely feedback on early outputs (submissions, papers, grants)

Academic Performance

Independent guidance on concerns in the classroom, lab, or department

Help determine priorities and avoid pitfalls in research

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Needs in Professors’ Career Course

Assistant Professor

Networks

Assistance in building networks at CUHK

Advice on conferences and professional associations in the discipline

Institutional Navigation

Obtaining administrative support, e.g. grants, teaching

Tacit knowledge about the University, priorities, norms, structures, practices, and resources

Service – when to say “yes” or “no”, at what levels to participate

A sense of inclusion

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Needs in Professors’ Career Course

Associate Professors

Guidelines for

advancement

Career directions

Expanding research

networks outside

university

Building international

collaboration

Learning management

skills

Getting credit for

service

Full Professors

• Goals and plans for

“life at the top”

• Developing leadership

characteristics & skills

• Recognition and

rewards

• Establishing leadership

in the discipline

• Navigating university

administrative system

• Transparency in

appointments of

administrative positions

Administrators

• Communication,

people management &

problem-solving skills

• Budget concepts

• Running meetings

• Familiarization of

policies and systems

• Navigating the

administrative

networks

• Leadership style

D. Bilimoria, Best Practices in Faculty Mentoring,

Case Western Reserve Univ., 2011.

Benefits of Faculty Mentoring

Highly correlated with research productivity

More meaningful collegial relationships

Reduce feelings of isolation, separation, fragmentation

& loneliness in the institution

Higher job satisfaction

Better staff retention

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What is a Mentor?

Homer's Odyssey:

Odysseus, king of Ithaca, fights in the

Trojan War and entrusts the care of his

household to Mentor, who serves as

teacher and overseer of his son

A trusted advisor, friend, teacher and

wise person

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What is Mentoring?

A fundamental form of human development

where one person invests time, energy and

personal know-how in assisting the growth

and efficacy of another person

May serve a variety of roles which

encompass professional, personal and social

growth

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Forms of Mentoring Spectrum ranging from:

Formal/Structured

Administered centrally

Expectations shared and

monitored

More people participate in the

“matching”

Time-bound mentoring

Non-voluntary

Written feedback

Process and effectiveness are

evaluated

Informal/Unstructured

No administrative oversight

Expectations may be shared

informally

Fewer people participate in the

“matching”

Indefinite

Voluntary

Informal feedback

No formal evaluations

D. Bilimoria, Best Practices in Faculty Mentoring,

Case Western Reserve Univ., 2011.

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Forms of Mentoring

Formal/Structured (Sample activities)

Senior faculty are selected and specifically trained in

mentorship

All junior faculty are formally paired with a senior faculty

mentor

School-wide mentorship kick-off event to start the

relationship

Bi-annual mentorship gatherings for discussion of career

progress

Quarterly workshops on career development, grant

writing, achieving tenure

Mentees receive annual written feedback from mentors

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Forms of Mentoring

Informal/Unstructured (Sample activities)

Chairs meet with junior faculty and new faculty to discuss their learning needs

Chairs then discuss potential appropriate mentors, and facilitate appropriate connection

Mentors and mentees work out the details of this relationship

D. Bilimoria, Best Practices in Faculty Mentoring,

Case Western Reserve Univ., 2011.

Forms of Mentoring

One-on-one mentoring

Group mentoring

Zone mentoring (by area of expertise)

Peer mentoring

E-mentoring

Annual review meetings with Department chair and

mentors

Seminars, panel discussions, academic performance

and career development workshops

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Coverage of Mentees

Depending on objective and availability of

mentors:

Lecturers

Research Assistant Professors

Assistant Professors

Associate Professors

Professors

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Mentor-Mentees Relationship

Mentor Roles

Listen patiently

Build a relationship

Nurture self-sufficiency

Establish protected time together

Share yourself

Provide introductions

Be constructive

Don’t be overbearing

Mentee Roles

Listen patiently

Have a positive attitude

Share with your mentor reasons for your decisions

Be prepared to learn from your mentor

Actively seek advice from your mentor and others both in and out of your department

Act on advice from your mentors

Source: “Advisor, Teacher, Role Model, Friend”, National Academy of Sciences National Press,

Washington DC. http://www.nap.edu/read/5789/chapter/1

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Mentoring effort should embrace a wider goal to

support colleagues’ career development and

advancement, but not be confused with staff evaluating

processes

Mentoring may or may not result in successful

application(s) for substantiation, promotion or an

academic post

Mentor-Mentees Relationship

Characteristics of

Effective Mentoring Programmes Clearly stated purpose, goals & administrative

structure

Support from top level management

Integration with a more comprehensive strategy for

faculty development

Needed resources are provided/available

Recognition of mentors’ efforts

Evaluation to ensure proper implementation

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Characteristics of

Effective Mentoring Programmes Programme design includes the following elements

Formal initiation & ending of program with timeline

Stated qualification of mentor

Mechanism for matching mentors & mentees

Training for mentors & mentees

Orientation to set expectations

Each pair of mentor-mentee commits to a mentoring

agreement listing goals and activities specific to the mentee

Systematic contact by the mentoring coordinator to answer

questions, trouble shoot and monitor progress

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Desirable Mentor Attributes

Competence Professional knowledge, experience & contacts

Understanding of university culture and resources

Interpersonal skills & good judgment

Confidence Shares network of contact & resources

Offers critical and supportive assessment

Encourages mentee to develop in own terms at different stages

of development

Shares credit

Commitment Invests time, energy & effort

Accessible

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Common Mentoring Challenges & Actions

Junior faculty reluctant to receive mentoring

Action: Reassure them that mentoring is independent of staff appraisal

Department size: sometimes just not enough senior faculty mentors

Action: Use a variety of mentoring practices or Faculty-level programme

Time challenges: the best mentors are very busy; mentees sometimes don’t perceive their own time investment to be worthwhile

Action: Set a schedule of meetings and co-develop agenda

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Common Mentoring Challenges & Actions

Mentors and mentees have to informally manage on their own

Actions: Provide administrative support, establish guidelines and expectations, provide oversight of the process

Perceptions and expectations of mentoring differ between senior and junior faculty

Action: Discuss expectations early and often; Coordinator to mediate

Department culture does not always support mentoring

Actions: Involve department chair and senior faculty throughout the process; periodically discuss mentoring in department faculty meetings

D. Bilimoria, Best Practices in Faculty Mentoring,

Case Western Reserve Univ., 2011.

Sharing of Practices at CUHK

Women’s Support Network established by the

Task Force on Women & Family-Friendly

Policies (supplementary to faculty mentoring)

Faculty of Medicine

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Faculty of Medicine Academic Career Development

Programme for Junior Faculties

Purpose

To ease the anxiety of newly recruited junior faculty

members

To enhance a smooth transition to the CUHK

community

To facilitate the growth of junior members in the

academic environment in CUHK and in Hong Kong

To make CUHK a welcoming organization to all

new recruits

Areas in Mentoring of Junior Faculty Members

• General Mentoring

• Research Development

• Teaching Development

• Personnel Management/Administration

• Communication Training

• Entrepreneurship Training

Tentative Schedule

A recurrent programme to be organized at the start of each academic

year, with workshops/seminars on specific topics over the year.

Two full-day workshops in a year including:

1 half-day workshop on research development;

2 half-day workshops on teaching and assessment;

1 half-day workshop on mentoring skills, communication skills, and

entrepreneurship.

Talks and seminars in specific topics (bioethics, administrative

structure and procedures, etc) on a voluntary basis over the year.

Target Audience

Junior Faculties (e.g. Clinical Lecturers, Lecturers, Assistant Professors,

Research Assistant Professors)

Proposed Programme

0ne-on-0ne Mentoring by Senior Member in similar or related

discipline

- start at the time when the junior faculty member is appointed

Establish Mentorship Award

- candidate nominated by mentees - candidacy depends on

performance of mentee.

Annual mentor-mentee dinner to recognize the contributions of the

mentors

Women mentor support

Faculty based experience sharing sessions

Recruit mentors – An issue needs to be addressed by Dept/Sch

Mentoring of Junior Faculty

Research Development

Training in research ethics – Seminars collaborate with Center for

Bioethics

Mandatory grant writing workshops – Conducted by colleagues

successful in winning competitive grants

Vetting and editing of grant application – Mandatory for junior

members without any grant history

Experience sharing by successful grant winners – Faculty

organized experience sharing sessions

Visits of panel members of major granting agencies – Invite

members of grant review panels to visit and meet with faculties

Research Grants

Manuscript writing workshop – Conducted by

academic editor of the University

Editing service – Contract editing service by commercial

sources

Visit by editors of high impact journals – Allow

members to have firsthand information on how to be

accepted by those journals

Research Development

Manuscript Writing

Proposed Workshop

Introduction (from bench to bedside to bench) WY Chan and J Chan) –

5 min

Ethics in basic research (Dewi Rowland, director, laboratory animal

services ) – 15 min

Ethics in clinical research (B Zee, director, clinical research ethics

committee) – 15 min

Standard operating procedures (SOP) and good clinical practice (GCP)

(J Chan, director, Clinical Research Management Office) – 15 min

How to protect intellectual property (Walter Ho, Director, ORKTs) – 15

min

What is entrepreneurship (Kevin Au, Director, Center for

Entrepreneurship) – 15 min

Lessons learnt from conceptualization to practice (Rossa Chiu and J

Chan) – 20 min

Panel discussion – 20 min

Teaching Development

Goal:

To build a teaching portfolio that can be used to help

academic advancement of junior staffs.

Scheme:

• Provide a list of information for staff to pick from

• Teacher training – modern pedagogy and concepts

• 2 half-day workshops/yr on teaching and assessment

• Teaching practicum – new technology- voluntary

Talks/lectures:

• Understand the University’s Academic Personnel System (FAPC

members, Personnel Office) Academic Ranks, Review Processes

and Assessment Criteria

• Psychological issues – recruit speakers on stress management.

• Suggestions on how to manage office/laboratory/clinic personnel

• Knowledge on how to manage self - emotional management,

interpersonal skills, etc.

Talks to be attended on a voluntary basis.

Offered at the beginning of appointment and over the year

Personnel Management/Administration

Proposed Workshops/Seminars

Public Speaking Workshop/seminar by renowned public

speakers

Media Training Workshop/seminar by senior

editors/media practitioners

Political & Media Landscape Seminars by public affairs

consultants

Communication Training

Example of Media Training Workshop

Interactive Presentations conducted by media consultant 1 hr

• Medical landscape, covering interaction of the traditional, tradigital, social and owned media

• Media skills, covering Dos and Don’ts in media interview, message house

• Real-life video examples

Discussion and Q&As 30 min

Mock interview 30 min

Entrepreneur advisory committee – members from

the industrial community

Information seminars – provided by ORKTS

Entrepreneurship workshops – invited speakers from

the business community

Offer to all staff members

Entrepreneurship Training

Thank you for your attention

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Additional Reading on Best Practices

Hanover Research (January 2014). Faculty mentoring models and effective practices. http://www.hanoverresearch.com/media/Faculty-Mentoring-Models-and-Effectives-Practices-Hanover-Research.pdf

President’s Emerging Leaders Program (2006-2007). Faculty Mentoring at the University of Minnesota. http://www.academic.umn.edu/provost/faculty/pdf/PELMentorReport.pdf

Columbia University, Office of the Provost. Guide to best practices in faculty mentoring: A roadmap for departments, schools, mentors and mentees. http://facultydiversity.columbia.edu/files/viceprovost/mentoring_best_practices.pdf

The Way Forward:

A vital faculty enhances the productivity and congeniality of the Department and is essential to the mission of the University; ….. It is up to your leadership

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