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Paulo Freire on Mentoring:

“The fundamental task of the mentor is a liberatory task. It is not to encourage the

mentor’s goals and aspirations and dreams to be reproduced in the mentees, the

students, but to give rise to the possibility that the students become the owners of

their own history. This is how I understand the need that teachers have to

transcend their merely instructive task and to assume the ethical posture of a

mentor who truly believes in the total autonomy, freedom, and development of

those he or she mentors.”

From

Mentoring the Mentor

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Table of Contents

A Note from Dean Childers ..................................................................................3

Introduction and Acknowledgements..................................................................4

What is a Mentor? ..................................................................................................5

Why Be a Mentor?..................................................................................................7

Common Misconceptions about Mentoring........................................................9

What Does a Faculty Mentor Do? ......................................................................10

How Do I Begin Mentoring? ................................................................................16

Establishing Your Mentoring Relationship.........................................................17

Developing Professional Relationships...............................................................19

Mentoring in a Diverse Community...................................................................21 Common Themes Across Groups............................................................................. 21 Themes Particular to Specific Groups...................................................................... 25

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer (LGBTQ) Graduate Students...................... 25 Returning Graduate Students............................................................................................................ 26 Students with Working Class Backgrounds................................................................................... 27 Women Graduate Students .............................................................................................................. 29 Students with Disabilities ................................................................................................................... 30 Graduate Students with Family Responsibilities ........................................................................... 32 Underrepresented Minority Graduate Students .......................................................................... 33

Wrapping It Up ....................................................................................................37

Graduate Division Contacts ................................................................................39

Works Cited and Consulted................................................................................42

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A Note from Dean Childers Dear Colleagues: Congratulations on being selected to UC Riverside’s new Mentor Program. I am excited to welcome you to the launch of a project I see as essential to the success of graduate students across the curriculum. Mentors have always played a crucial role in the accomplishments of graduate students, and here at UCR, faculty have embraced that responsibility. This year, we are fortunate to have the resources to create mentoring teams that include both faculty and graduate students. In doing so, I believe we have begun to create a kind of mentoring relationship that will help our diverse population achieve great successes. Mentoring styles are many and varied, and I know that most of you have had experience mentoring a wide range of students. The purpose of this guide is not to interfere with your understanding of the mentoring process, but rather to provide support for the skills you have, remind you of details and situations you may have forgotten, and provide resources specific to UCR so that you might utilize them in your mentoring. We also hope that this will be a helpful tool for those who are new to mentoring in an environment as diverse as that of UCR. In this first year of our mentoring program, I urge you to track carefully your processes, progress, and successes so that we can reproduce your efforts in the future. All of your feedback is important both to me and to those others whose work has contributed to this beginning, a beginning I hope together we can turn into an ongoing championing of the graduate community. I appreciate the time you take to read this guide, your commitment to your professional development, and your dedication to the rewarding work of mentoring your fellow graduate students.

Joe Childers Graduate Dean UCR

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Introduction and Acknowledgements In putting together this UCR mentoring handbook, we consulted resources and materials

from multiple peer institutions. We adapted many aspects of mentoring handbooks

developed by the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, University of Nebraska, Lincoln,

Washington University, and others. Their themes resonated well with our own campus

experience. UCR’s graduate students, faculty, and staff were likewise instrumental in

adding to our handbook their insights and experience. Finally, much of this information

was borrowed from the UCR website.

Like most program rollouts, ours is experimental and subject to change. We hope to gain

from this initial foray into mentoring the kind of information most readily available from

the ground zero perspective. This handbook will change and grow as our program

develops and our goals and outcomes become clearer. It will improve as both mentors

and mentees provide us with accounts of triumphs and failures, of challenges and

solutions, of ideas and innovations.

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What is a Mentor? Most university professors already assume the

role of advisor to graduate students in their

departments or programs. The role of advisor is

generally focused on academic progress, but the

role of mentor requires more than advising.

Effective mentoring involves playing a more

expansive role in the development of a future

colleague, a role centered on a commitment to

advancing the student’s career through an interpersonal engagement that facilitates

sharing guidance, experience, and expertise.

Like any interpersonal relationship, the one between mentor and student will evolve over

time, with its attendant share of adjustments. The fact that today’s students come from an

increasingly diverse backgrounds may add a layer of complexity, but that added

dimension of difference is more likely to enrich than confound the relationship.

New graduate students, in particular, may express the desire for a mentor with whom they

can personally identify, but their eventual level of satisfaction with their mentors seems

to have little to do with this aspect of the relationship. This confirms the important point

that you can be a successful mentor even if you and your student don’t share similar

backgrounds. Of course, each mentoring relationship should be tailored to the student’s

goals, needs and learning style, but the core principles apply across the board. What you

and the student share – a commitment to the goals of the scholarly enterprise and a desire

to succeed – is far more powerful and relevant than whatever might seem to divide you.

Just as students have different learning styles, the skill sets and aptitudes of mentors are

as varied as mentors themselves. There is no foolproof recipe. Our intent is to help you

become a successful mentor in your own way.

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Faculty Mentors in the UCR Mentoring program have multiple responsibilities:

• They interact with, advise, and mentor two Peer Mentors and four Graduate

Mentees.

• They take an interest in developing another person’s career and well-being.

• They have an interpersonal as well as a professional relationship with those whom

they mentor.

• They advance a person’s academic and professional goals in directions most

desired by the individual.

• They tailor mentoring styles and content to individuals, including adjustments due

to differences in culture, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic opportunity, physical

ability or any other.

• They share stories with students about their own educational careers and the ways

they overcame obstacles.

• They help students manage interaction with professors both in class and during

office hours.

• They show students how they learned time management.

• They listen to students describe personal problems and explore resources at

the university to deal with problems.

• They help new students understand how to use academic resources at the

university.

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Why Be a Mentor?

Mentoring benefits new students:

• It supports their advancement in research activity, conference presentations,

publication, pedagogical skill, and grant-writing.

• Students are less likely to feel ambushed by potential bumps in the road, having

been alerted to them and provided resources for dealing with stressful or difficult

periods in their graduate careers.

• The experiences and networks their mentors help them to accrue may improve

the students’ prospects of securing professional placement.

• The knowledge that someone is committed to their progress, someone who can

give them solid advice, can help to lower stress and build confidence.

• Constructive interaction with a mentor and participation in collective activities he

or she arranges promote engagement in the field.

And it rewards mentors in an abundance of ways:

• Your mentees will engage you in their research, which will keep you abreast of

new knowledge and techniques and apprise you of promising avenues for your

own research.

• A faculty member’s reputation rests in part on the

work of his or her former students; sending

successful new scholars into the field increases your

professional stature.

• Good students will be attracted to you. Word gets

around about who the best mentors are, so they are

usually the most likely to recruit – and retain –

outstanding students.

• Your networks are enriched. Helping students make the professional and personal

connections they need to succeed will greatly extend your own circle of

colleagues.

• It’s personally satisfying. Seeing your mentees succeed can be very rewarding.

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Effective mentoring advances the discipline because these students often begin making

significant contributions long before they complete their graduate degrees. Such students

are more likely to have productive, distinguished, and ethical careers that reflect credit on

their mentors and enrich the discipline. Effective mentoring helps to ensure the quality of

research, scholarship and teaching well into the future.

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Common Misconceptions about Mentoring

Misconception: In a university, you need to be an older person with gray hair (or

no hair) to be a good mentor.

Reality: In a university, mentors can be young or old. Some of the most

outstanding mentors of students are young faculty and fellow students.

Misconception: By calling yourself a “Mentor,” you become a mentor.

Reality: Mentors are those who have developed consciousness about mentoring

and in their interactions with students demonstrate respect, patience,

trustworthiness, and strong communication skills, especially listening skills.

Misconception: Mentoring programs at universities only are for high-achieving

students.

Reality: All students need mentors, particularly those students who don’t have

academic role models or mentors in their families or communities. Mentoring

opportunities in graduate education provides students with necessary support

services to help them succeed academically and serve their communities. Thus,

central to the mission of the UCR Mentoring Program is the practice of mentoring

to ensure that the university meets this responsibility for all of its students.

Misconception: Only the person being mentored benefits from mentoring.

Reality: By definition, mentoring is a reciprocal relationship where both the

mentor and mentor learn from each other. True mentors are those who have

developed the wisdom to learn from those they mentor.

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What Does a Faculty Mentor Do? The mentor’s duties begin with the first meeting and extend through the first year of the

mentee’s graduate program. The mentor’s duties go well beyond helping students learn

what is entailed in the research and writing components of graduate school. First and

foremost, mentors socialize students into the culture of the discipline, clarifying and

reinforcing—both by example and verbally—what is expected of a professional scholar.

Here are some of the basic responsibilities mentors have to those graduate students who

seek their guidance.

• Make a Commitment: Those who wish to become faculty mentors are asked to

commit to mentoring students for at least one year.

• Demystify graduate school. Many aspects of

graduate education are unwritten or vague, and

the ability of new students to understand them is

hampered by the fact that they frequently do not

know what questions to ask or what certain

terminology means. Mentors can help by

adjusting conversations accordingly and

clarifying each program’s expectations for lab

work, coursework, comprehensive exams, research topics, and teaching. For

each stage of the student’s program, discuss the prevailing norms and criteria

used to define quality performance.

• Model professional responsibility. It is crucial that the mentor

consciously act with integrity in every aspect of his or her work as teacher,

researcher, and author. Students must see that their mentors recognize and avoid

conflicts of interest, collect and use data responsibly, fairly award authorship

credit, cite source materials appropriately, use research funds ethically, and treat

animal or human research subjects properly. This list is not meant to be

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exhaustive: never compromising the standards that bestow validity on the

discipline is not a suggested guideline but essential to the profession.

Encourage the effective use of time. Work with the student on developing

schedules and meeting benchmarks. Share techniques and

practices that have been useful for others but don’t insist there is

only one way. Rather, help them blaze their own trail and devise

a plan that keeps them on it. For many students, the shift from

the highly structured nature of undergraduate education to the

self-direction that is expected in graduate school presents a

significant challenge.

• Promote skill development: Help your

mentee(s) to expand and improve academic and career skills. Work together to

learn how to accomplish specific goals (e.g., refining research skills or

brainstorming for a project or assignment). When and where appropriate,

emphasize educational or career management skills, such as decision-making,

goal setting, dealing with conflict, values clarification, and skills for coping

with stress and fear.

• Oversee professional development. Activities that have become second

nature to you need to be made explicit to students, such as faculty governance

and service, directing a lab, procuring grants, managing budgets, and being able

to explain your research to anyone outside your discipline. Mentors help their

students become full-fledged members of a profession and not just researchers.

Assist mentee(s) in accessing academic and university resources. Provide

information — or better yet, help your mentee(s) to find information about

academic resources (faculty, staff, academic support services, student

organizations, etc.). Assist your mentee(s) in learning how to access and use

these resources. Don’t assume that just because new graduate students know

where their professors’ offices are that they also understand how to talk to their

professors or how to choose an exams or dissertation committee.

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• Enhance your mentees’ ability to interact comfortably and

productively with people/groups from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and

socioeconomic backgrounds. Contrary to popular belief, we are not “all the

same.” It is important to acknowledge and understand, not ignore, our

differences. We need to learn how to use our differences as resources for

growth. Respecting our differences is necessary but not sufficient; we need to

know how to negotiate our differences in ways that produce new understandings

and insights. Everyone holds particular preconceptions and stereotypes about

one’s own group and other groups. Take special care that you are not

(intentionally or unintentionally) promoting your own views and values at the

expense of your mentees’ viewpoints. Work at understanding and critically

examining your own perspectives on race, sex, ethnicity, culture, class, religion,

sexual orientation, and gender identity. Your own willingness to interact with

individuals and groups different from yourself will make a powerful statement

about the value placed on diversity.

• Assist with finding other mentors. One size doesn’t fit all, and one

mentor can’t provide all the guidance and support that every student needs.

Introduce students to faculty, emeriti, alumni, staff and other graduate students

who have complementary interests. Effective mentoring is a community effort.

• Be a good listener: Listen, Listen, Listen. Ask about your mentee(s)

questions or problems and really listen to the answers. Let them vent their fears,

frustrations and other important feelings, maintaining eye

contact and showing that you’re interested in what they have

to say. Resist the urge to give advice too soon.

• Maintain Confidentiality: Students will be encouraged

to come to faculty mentors for issues they cannot resolve with

their peer mentors or that they feel would be better addressed

by faculty mentors: these conversations should remain

confidential. However, there might be occasions when a problem arises that the

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faculty mentor is not equipped to deal with. These cases include psychological

crises, major problems in the degree process, situations requiring the aid of a

trained counselor, or any other case in which the faculty mentor feels is beyond

his or her expertise. In such cases, the faculty mentor should consult with the

student about his or her options, including the consultation of an outside source

for additional advice. This may require that mentee’s give permission for a

faculty mentor to share information pertinent in solving a problem.

The fundamental rubric for mentors is to be partial to the student but impartial about the

student’s work.

Clarity is the foundation upon which such a relationship is built. Be transparent about

both your expectations concerning the form and function of the relationship and about

what’s reasonable to expect of you and what isn’t. Pay particular attention to boundaries,

both personal and professional, and respect theirs just as you expect them to respect

yours.

Within mutually agreeable limits, mentors have an open door. Because your time is so

valuable, it is often the most precious thing you can give. What lies behind that door,

literally and figuratively, should be a haven of sorts. Give students your full attention

when they are talking with you, and the time and encouragement to open up. Try to

minimize interruptions. Consider scheduling an occasional meeting away from the office

or department to help create more personalized time.

Use concrete language to critique students’ work. What the mentor communicates with

the students must be timely, clear, and, above all, constructive. Critical feedback is

essential, but it is more likely to be effective if tempered with praise when deserved.

Remind students that you are holding them to high standards in order to help them

improve.

Mentors keep track of their students’ progress and achievements, setting milestones and

acknowledging accomplishments. Let your students know from the start that you want

them to succeed, and create opportunities for them to demonstrate their competencies.

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When you feel a student is prepared, suggest or nominate him or her for fellowships,

projects, and teaching opportunities.

Encourage students to try new techniques, expand their skills, and discuss their ideas,

even those they fear might seem naive or unworkable. Let students know that mistakes

are productive because we learn from our failures. These practices nurture self-

sufficiency. As tempting as it can be to dictate paths, the person in front of you has

different strengths and aspirations.

Provide support in times of discouragement as well as success, and be mindful of signs of

emotional and physical distress. Don’t assume that the only students who need help are

those who ask for it. If a student is falling behind in his or her work, resist concluding

that this shows a lack of commitment. Perhaps the student is exhausted, or unclear about

what to do next, or is uncomfortable with some aspect of the project or research team.

Although it is ultimately the responsibility of students to initiate contact with you, it may

make a difference if you get in touch with those students who are becoming remote. Let

them know they are welcome to talk with you during your office hours, and that the

conversation can include nonacademic as well as academic issues.

Being open and approachable is particularly important when a student is shy or comes

from a different cultural background. Many new students suffer from the impostor

syndrome – anxiety about whether they belong in graduate school – so it’s important to

reassure them of their skills and abilities to succeed. The enthusiasm and optimism you

show can be inspirational. Make sure that students understand not only the personal

consequences of their commitment to their work, but also its value to the professional

community and to the general public.

Share what you’ve learned as both a scholar and a member of a profession. You might

think things are obvious to students that aren’t. At the same time, tell your students what

you learn from them. This will make them realize they are potential colleagues.

Identify professional workshops and networking opportunities for students. Involve

students in editing, journal activities, conference presentations, and grant writing.

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Of course, it isn’t necessary to embody all of these attributes in order to be a successful

mentor. Individuals have relative strengths in their capacity for mentoring, and mentors

should be clear about what they can and cannot offer. Part of effective mentoring is

knowing when to refer someone to another resource that might be more helpful.

Most important and more than any particular piece of advice or supportive act, your

students will remember how they were treated. The example you set as a person will have

a profound effect on how they conduct themselves as professionals.

 

 

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How Do I Begin Mentoring?

You were likely mentored in some fashion, so you may find it a useful starting point to

think about how you felt (or feel) about your own mentoring. Consider these questions:

• What kind of mentoring did you have?

• What did you like and dislike about the mentoring you received?

• How well did your mentor(s) help you progress through your graduate program?

• How well did your mentor(s) prepare you for your academic career?

• What did you not receive in the way of mentoring that would have been helpful to you?

Thinking about these points can help you develop a vision of the kind of mentor you want

to be and the most effective ways you can mentor students both inside and outside your

discipline.

You likely met, or will meet, your peer mentors and your graduate mentees at a social

gathering before the academic year begins. Follow up by contacting them by email or by

phone. You will receive contact information for each one of them. Invite each one of

your mentees to a brief individual meeting so you can get to know one other and establish

your relationships

In the companion mentoring guide for graduate student mentees, GENERAL

GUIDELINES FOR GRADUATE MENTEES, we suggest that they undertake a critical

self-appraisal before they meet with both faculty and peer mentors. Below is a modified

version of this list for you to consider discussing at your first meeting.

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• Find out about your mentee’s previous educational experiences and why he or she

decided to go to graduate school. What does the student hope to achieve in

pursuing a graduate degree?

• Discuss your research projects and how they complement or diverge from your

mentee’s interests.

• Offer suggestions about courses the student might consider, labs that might be

appropriate, and other training experiences she or he could seek.

• Refer the student to other people inside or outside the University whom she or he

should meet in order to begin developing professional networks.

Establishing Your Mentoring Relationship. You and your mentees need to communicate clearly from the start about your respective

roles and responsibilities. Some people find it helpful to put

such arrangements in writing, while recognizing that

circumstances and needs can change. Here are a few

areas you may want to discuss.

• Goals: Ask students to develop and share with you a work plan that includes

short-term and long-term goals as well as the timeframe for reaching those goals.

Make sure the student’s work plan both meets the program’s requirements and is

feasible.

• Meetings: There is a structured set of four meetings scheduled between you and

your peer mentors and graduate mentees for the first quarter. You should invite

your mentees to meet with you alone sometime in the first two weeks of the

quarter and then again near the end, but other meetings will likely be necessary.

Tell students how frequently you will be able to meet with them, and that it is

their responsibility to arrange and take the lead in any extra meetings they need or

want. Let them know your own schedule and limitations.

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• Thresholds: Be explicit about the kinds of issues you feel require a face-to-face

meeting. Also let students know if they may contact you at home, and under what

circumstances, and ask them their preferences as well.  

• Drafts: If you agree to read their work, discuss your expectations of what first

drafts should look like before they are submitted to you. If you do not want read

drafts, suggest they share their work first with a trusted peer or writing group.

The hallmark of a successful mentoring relationship is a shared understanding of

expectations and responsibilities. These create the framework for the relationship, and

they are largely established in the early meetings with a student. A relatively modest

investment in those meetings can yield great dividends.

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Developing Professional Relationships While graduate students deserve your support and attention,

the specific needs of a first-year student just learning the ropes

and fretting about the long and challenging road ahead are

different from those of a student who is nearing completion of

the dissertation and has refocused on career decisions. Here,

the apprenticeship model of nineteenth-century graduate

education is insufficient. The responsibility of the twenty-first-century mentor is to assist

in the development of the next generation of scholars and researchers, and that requires a

relationship of ever-growing collegiality.

The greatest challenge that faculty face with incoming graduate students is helping them

make the transition from the format of undergraduate education – the short-term goals,

predictable closure and tight structure of course work – to the unfamiliar, loosely

structured, and relatively open-ended world of lab, research and dissertation. Mentors

sometimes need to be directive, maintain a short-term focus, and assign concrete tasks

and deadlines.

As students become more proficient with the basics, good mentors pay increasing

attention to their progress both as researchers, by acting as a consultant or sounding

board, and as professionals, by socializing them into the culture of their disciplines.

The former means suggesting lines of inquiry and options for solving problems and

discussing potential outcomes. The latter means encouraging the development of

communication and networking skills by providing opportunities for teaching, writing,

and presenting.

Good mentors help students gradually understand how their objectives fit into the

particular graduate degree program, departmental life, and postgraduate options. As the

relationship evolves, mentors expect and encourage their students to accept increasing

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responsibility and more complex challenges. It’s essential to keep in mind that the

doctoral program is the beginning rather than the sum of the student’s career. The

mentor’s “end game” requires assisting the student in successfully launching that career.

In particular, mentors need to understand that it is much harder today to find a tenure-

track position or even, in many fields, any full-time faculty position. This makes the

mentor’s guidance, encouragement, networking and promotion of the student more

critical than ever. If the relationship is, indeed, lifelong, then opportunities to provide

such assistance don’t end with the completion of the degree.

In other fields, the majority of graduate students will pursue non-academic positions. In

working with them the mentor’s function goes beyond the promotion of academic

success, and so the mentor must be open minded about the students’ career interests and

paths, and help them to explore those options outside the academic world if that is where

their interests lie.

The influence that research supervisors wield over their students is enormous; they are

truly the gatekeepers of the student’s professional future. The effective mentor serves as

advocate and guide, empowering the student to move from novice to professional.

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Mentoring in a Diverse Community The conventional categorization of students as traditional and non-

traditional has outlived its usefulness.

Graduate education is continually evolving: content and practices have

changed over the decades and so have the students. If we put women,

students from historically underrepresented groups, international

students, LGBTQ students, students with disabilities, students economically and

educationally disadvantaged, and students with children all in one category, it would

constitute the majority of graduate students in the U.S. The diversity of those in graduate

education has forced us to consider what is worth preserving and transmitting, and what

is rooted in assumptions about homogeneity and should be adapted or discarded.

Research on the role that social identity plays in an individual’s ability to succeed in

graduate school indicates that there are issues that call for attention and thoughtfulness on

the part of their mentors.

Common Themes Across Groups The Imposter Syndrome

At one time or another nearly every graduate student wonders about his or her

competence: “Sure, I got into grad school, but it is just a matter of time before (insert

bad news here: I am exposed, I get kicked out, they find their

mistake, or I fail.) I am obviously not as smart as everyone

else, and that will soon become obvious.”

Often, even new faculty members suffer from the imposter

syndrome, wondering if the first or the second published

article was a fluke, if it is possible to repeat the kind of success

they have had. The impostor syndrome runs rampant in academia—and women and

minority students are especially prone to it.

The impostor syndrome is the feeling of being an intellectual fraud, and it is

particularly rife among high achieving persons. It is characterized by the inability to

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accept one’s successes: denying accomplishments, awards, and academic excellence

as well as dismissing success as simply luck, good timing, or perseverance. Those

who suffer from Imposter Syndrome believe that they have only fooled people into

accepting them into their university or program. They deem themselves less capable

than others believe. This, of course, is not true. What it is, however, is damaging to a

graduate student’s self-esteem, and therefore, to his or her productivity. The Imposter

Syndrome perpetuates an unwillingness to contribute to discussions or to take

reasonable risks in research projects for fear of being found out.

Realistic and accurate assessments of performance are essential to eliminating the

imposter syndrome. It is difficult, however, to help sufferers because they often just

believe that you are fooled too. You might try documenting the successes of your

mentee, including the specific actions that led to the success. Note the experience and

qualities that the mentee brings to the University. When your mentee seems

particularly doubtful of his or her performance, you can remind him or her of the

details of the recent success. Sharing your own feelings about intellectual pressure

will help. Knowing that most people question their abilities allows new sufferers to

look past this emotional barrier.

• Need for Role Models: Students from historically underrepresented or

marginalized groups have a harder time finding faculty role models who might have

had experiences similar to their own. Help establish relationships between your

mentee and faculty and graduate students in your department whose experiences

might resonate with your mentee’s. At the same time, never forget that you can

provide excellent mentoring to students whose backgrounds are different from your

own.

• Questioning the Canons: Students from underrepresented or marginalized

groups, particularly those in the social sciences and humanities, sometimes find that

their research interests do not fit into the current academic canons. Some fear that

when they select research questions focusing on race, gender, class, or sexual

orientation,

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faculty will deem their work irrelevant, and others will see them as being only

interested in these topics for the rest of their professional careers. More commonly,

they find that their experiences are missing from current theory and research. If you

are open to hearing students’ experiences and perspectives, and if you ask where a

student’s research interests lie rather than making assumptions about them based on

the student’s personal characteristics or past work, students will realize that their

choices are really their own. If they choose to do research in areas like race, gender,

class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, you can support them by letting them know

how investigating these areas helps to expand disciplines. Direct them to the many

interdisciplinary programs and research centers across campus that may provide them

with a community of scholars whose interests intersect with their own.

• Feelings of Isolation. Students from historically underrepresented groups and

international students can feel particularly isolated or alienated from other students in

their departments, especially if the composition of the current program is

homogenous. Be aware of students who seem to be finding

it particularly difficult to take active roles in academic or

social settings and take the initiative to include them. Ask

them about their research interests, hobbies and activities

outside of their program. Introduce your student to other

students and faculty with complementary interests.

Remind students of the wealth of organizations within or outside the University that

might provide them with a sense of community.

• Burden of Being a Spokesperson. Students from

underrepresented groups often expend a lot of time and

energy speaking up when issues such as race, class, gender,

ability, status, or sexual orientation arise – or are being

ignored. Support your mentees’ experience of difference.

Listen to them explain how race, gender, or other

characteristics provide different perspectives from those being expressed.

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• Concern about speaking up in class. Certain conditions may be greater obstacles for

some students than for others. For example, research has shown that an overly

competitive and critical atmosphere in graduate programs can alienate women and

minority students as the system often does not reward praising the contributions of

non-traditional scholars. Stay attuned to what’s happening in class.

• Suffering from stereotypes. Few of us go through life without suffering the

experience of others’ assumptions, and it still is challenging to displace that

nineteenth-century gentleman scholar as the typical graduate student. While each

identity group may face different issues and experiences, all students from that group

will not share the same thoughts and perspectives. Social class, geographic origin,

economic status, health and a wealth of other factors also play an important role in

shaping behaviors and attitudes. Recognizing each student’s unique strengths and

scholarly promise will go far to eliminate stereotypes.

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Themes Particular to Specific Groups

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer (LGBTQ) Graduate Students LGBTQ students say that it is not uncommon to encounter homophobia in

the classroom. Remarks can range from the blatantly offensive to the less

obvious such as “that is so gay.” Some LGBTQ students are out about their sexual

orientation or gender identities and easy to identify. Others are invisible, and these

students become a challenge to mentor because they do not feel comfortable, or they do

not think it appropriate, to reveal their identities. If  you  assume  there  are  LGBTQ  

students  present  who  may  not  feel  safe  in  being  out,  you  will  fare  better  at  making  

these  students  feel  that  the  university  both  values  and  welcomes  them.  Try  to  be  

sensitive  to  whether  anti-­‐gay  comments  are  being  made,  and  discuss  how  they  may  

be  offensive  to  other  students  in  the  class  or  discussion,  even  when  you  don’t  think  

there  are  any  LGBT  students  in  the  room.  Be  aware  that  examples  you  and  others  in  

the  class  are  using  may  be  based  on  heterosexual  experiences.  For  example,  when  

talking  about  families,  don’t  talk  as  if  every  family  is  composed  of  a  husband,  wife,  

and  children.  Simply  using  a  word  like  “spouse  and  partner”  instead  of  just  “spouse”  

can  go  a  long  way  in  making  LGBT  students  (and  unmarried  students)  feel  they  are  

represented  in  the  discussion.

Being out as an LGBTQ student (or faculty) is not a one-time

event, but instead is a decision the person experiences each

time she or he enters a new situation. LGBTQ students face a

burden of having to assess the personal, social and political

ramifications of disclosing their sexual orientation each time

they do so. Since heterosexual students do not have to

disclose their sexuality, only LGBTQ students face these physically and emotionally

draining experiences.

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Returning Graduate Students Returning students are more mature than the traditional graduate student. Their

reasons for returning to school vary from work demands, to

personal satisfaction, to having finally met family or economic

obligations that kept them from enrolling earlier. Regardless of

the motivation to return to school, it is common for returning

students to be more focused and aware of what they want out

of graduate school than their younger colleagues. Perhaps one of their biggest assets

is they are not intimidated by the prospects of engaging in discussions with faculty.

Yet older students who have been out of school for a number of years can fear

competing with their younger counterparts. They may see the younger students as

being more up-to-date on the current issues within their disciplines and as having

more computer experience. They often say that their real life experiences are

devalued in the classroom, contradicted by the research and theory they are studying.

Feelings of isolation sometimes affect returning students.

Because of the age differences between them and their peers,

many older students no longer want to be in the places where

younger students go to relax and socialize; that,

compounded with their feeling that some faculty are much more

comfortable with the younger students than with them, drives feelings of isolation.

Reaching out to older students shows your interest. Find out what they did before

they entered their graduate programs and how their life experiences might be relevant

to the classroom setting. Welcome and value the special contributions older students

make in class discussions.

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Students with Working Class Backgrounds Students from working-class backgrounds often do not have family members they can

turn to for monetary support through graduate school. In addition, some students have

the responsibility of financially supporting parents,

siblings, or other relatives. These graduate students are

aware they may not have or know how to develop

professional networks as effectively as their peers who

come from more advantaged backgrounds (especially those

who grew up within academic families). This disparity is

most visible when they attend conferences or when they

seek summer employment. These graduate students also see

a progressive disparity in what they and their more

advantaged peers can do during the summer. The latter,

because of their families’ financial assistance and their

enhanced access to professional networks, can more easily afford and secure

internships which provide them with further professional development. In contrast,

students from working-class backgrounds may need to work in better paying jobs

which are far removed from their graduate studies. Thus, students from working-class

backgrounds feel they are falling behind in their graduate careers by not having more

relevant job experiences over the summer. In addition, they fear some professors may

not understand their financial situations and mistakenly assume they are less seriously

involved in their academic work than more advantaged students.

Once assimilated into their disciplines, students can often find it is both more difficult

to talk to their families and old friends about their work and for families and friends

to understand their new endeavors. This communication gap can make students feel

like they are no longer able to live within their old worlds, but they are not yet

comfortable in their new worlds. Working class students generally want upward

mobility and want to take on a middle-class identity, but generally, they don't want to

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jettison all of their working-class identity, relations, or values. For example,

working-class people value independence—being able to do tasks alone; they value

community—extended family and neighbors; they value frugality and are by

necessity recyclers and anti-consumerist; and they value respect for elders and

authority. This is neither to say that these qualities are always mainstay in working-

class families, nor is it to say they are absent in middle and upper class families, but

rather to point to strengths apparent in the working-class that might be valued as

maintainable aspects of personal history. Acknowledging and supporting these

strengths as viable tools with which to navigate the academy and beyond will go far

to encourage working-class students. Sharing these values with middle-class graduate

students might help them understand both their working-class classmates and the

values that they bring with them to the university.

If you make an extra effort to introduce these students to the people you know who

could be helpful to them, working class students will learn to build networks. Assist

them in expanding those networks. Not all students have the same academic networks

to draw on, so if you hear of funding opportunities, especially for the summer period,

pass this information on to your students, especially those you feel most need it.

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Women Graduate Students While traditionally females have been raised to be polite and soft-spoken, it is clear that

successful graduate students need to assert themselves in

classroom discussions. Many women say that they have

difficulties in speaking up in class. Too often, they find that

in order to say something in class, they have to interrupt

another student. Women often see interjecting themselves in

this manner as being rude and disrespectful. Some fear that

their lack of participation in discussions will be wrongly

interpreted as their not having any thoughts at all. On the

other hand, other women tell us that when they assert

themselves, they are subjected to criticism in a way that men are not, even though it is the

same behavior.

Research has verified that many students, but especially women, can feel alienated by the

competitive and critical atmosphere that pervades many graduate programs. Women are

certainly capable of being critical of others’ work when they think it is appropriate, but

they think some students are being overly critical in order to appear intellectually

superior. Women, and other students, too often see that the system does not reward one

for praising the contributions of other scholars.

Reminding students that people interrupt not only to disagree or silence a bad idea, but

also to support or advance exciting new thoughts or ideas helps them see passionate

dialogue in a new way. Encouraging your mentees to join into even the most enthusiastic

discussions helps them feel confident about doing so. Of course, stopping aggressive

speaking behaviors also provides openings for less assertive participants.

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Students with Disabilities Obviously students with disabilities have different needs and concerns depending

upon the types of disability they have. For example, a student who is visually

impaired has needs different from a student who uses a wheelchair or a student with a

learning disability. Yet students’ needs also vary depending upon whether they have

had their disabilities since birth or whether their disabilities developed later in their

lives. In this section, we try to deal with issues confronting those students with

physical disabilities, those with learning disabilities (such as attention deficit disorder

and dyslexia) and those with psychological illnesses

(such as depression and bipolar disorder).

Students with disabilities often fear that they may

appear to be too dependent—or become too

dependent—if they ask for help. This is especially true for those who have

experienced a fairly recent onset of a disability and are unaccustomed to asking for

help, as well as for those who have disabilities that are invisible to others, such as

individuals with learning disabilities or chronic psychological illness.

For those with physical and learning disabilities, meeting the basic requirements

demands much more time and energy than it does for students without disabilities.

Some students find they cannot participate in certain professional activities (such as

submitting papers for conferences) as much as they would like because they need to

devote all their time and energy to meeting the deadlines of their programs.

Changes in reading assignments can be very difficult for students who are visually

impaired. At the beginning of the semester, students who are blind or severely

visually impaired have their readings converted into Braille. Any readings added on

at a later date mean they need to make special emergency trips to have these new

materials translated in a short period of time. Changes in room locations are also a

hardship for visually and physically challenged students.

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Like LGBTQ students, these students are sometimes invisible. Try suggesting that

anyone with special needs speak to you as soon as possible about what those needs

are. Don’t hesitate to ask students with physical disabilities if they need assistance,

but don’t force your help upon them. Offering to aid someone is much different from

assuming he or she is incapable of performing a task. Keeping these challenges in

mind as you work with these students will make them feel welcome in the

complicated world of graduate school.

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Graduate Students with Family Responsibilities

Students with parenting responsibilities are

committed to being successful graduate

students and feel they can succeed by being highly

organized and intensely focused during the blocks

of time they carve out for their studies.

Unfortunately, these students often feel that some professors and students perceive

them as lacking in commitment to their fields because of other priorities in their lives.

This situation is exacerbated when an emergency makes it impossible for them to

attend classes or meetings.

Students with family responsibilities typically need to be home in the evenings to

tend to those in their care. Difficulties can emerge in a group project since commonly

other students find the evenings the best time to meet. In addition, it is often difficult

for students with parenting responsibilities to come back to campus for evening

lectures or departmental meetings. As a result, students who cannot attend social,

academic, and professional functions can feel isolated from others in their cohort and

from their departments as a whole.

Planning a departmental social event where it would be appropriate for students,

faculty, and staff to bring their children along encourages students with these extra

responsibilities. For these events, make sure you pick a time of day when families can

attend, and, of course, be sure the invitation specifically states that children are

welcome.

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Underrepresented Minority Graduate Students

Students of color speak passionately about many

issues, most of which are covered in the section

entitled “Common Themes Across Groups.” Among

these issues, the one most often cited was their lack of

role models. The few faculty of color at the university

level reduces their chances of finding someone in

their fields who “looks like them.”

Likewise, low numbers of faculty of color convey the message that the academy

remains an unwelcoming environment for many who are not white. Many

underrepresented students, especially African American and Latino students,

sometimes feel other students and faculty assume they are less qualified to be in

graduate school. On the other hand, Asian American students are burdened by the

“model minority” myth, which assumes they are exemplary students particularly in

math and science. Stereotyping in either direction has negative consequences for

students of color.

Sometimes, underrepresented students are, or

feel, overlooked for Graduate Student

Instructor and Graduate Student Research

Assistant appointments. As a result, these

students have fewer opportunities to interact

with faculty or to experience the formal and informal mentoring that occurs for

student instructors or research assistants. They also miss the teaching and research

experiences that strengthen their graduate work and their curricula vitae.

Different underrepresented groups face different issues and experiences from other

groups, yet we should not assume that all students from one group will share the same

thoughts and perspectives. Economic and geographic origin play an important role in

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shaping people’s behaviors and attitudes. We can help erase stereotypes by refusing

to engage in classing students of color in stereotypical ways and instead recognizing

each student’s unique strengths and scholarly promise. Thinking about our own

socializations and making efforts to increase our awareness will help eliminate

casting students into large groups.

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• Mentoring Issues Facing Underrepresented Faculty

Although this may not be an exhaustive list, we include this

information so that you can be aware of some of the faculty

issues as well. If you find yourself here, we hope you take

some comfort in knowing that the Graduate Division is

working to help alleviate the beliefs and practices that

contribute to these conditions. If the following situations do

not apply to you, please understand that many of your

colleagues face these real and persistent challenges on a

daily basis. We have likewise included a section like this in

the mentee’s handbook so that they will understand the special stresses of

underrepresented faculty.

Minority and women faculty often mentor a higher number of graduate students than

their peers. Students seek them out not only because of their research and professional

interests, but also because of their gender or race. As the number of women faculty

and faculty of color remains low, these few faculty attract many students. In contrast

to this problem, faculty of color, female faculty and LGBT faculty are aware that

some graduate students do not select them as mentors because of their marginalized

positions in the academy. Graduate students perceive that these faculty wield less

power and influence inside and outside their departments. Historically marginalized

faculty are therefore seen as being less effective in providing the types of

instrumental assistance graduate students need. Sometimes, graduate students seek

them out for their counsel but hesitate to use them on committees because of their

perceived lower status in the academic community. This puts the extra time

commitment of helping graduate students onto faculty who receive no credit for

mentoring dissertations or other work.

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Women faculty can feel that some students expect them to be more nurturing and

emotionally supportive than their male counterparts. Junior faculty are in an

especially difficult situation because excessive time spent in mentoring jeopardizes

the amount of time they have to carry on the work needed for promotion. The results

are dichotomized with women ending up at each end of the spectrum: some comply

with these expectations until they have no time for their own work; others, in an

attempt to protect their research time, establish such firm boundaries that they seem

detached and emotionally unavailable to students.

Some women professors and faculty of color feel that some students question their

legitimacy as professors because of their race or gender. These faculty state that

students challenge their authority in the classroom and generally do not accord them

the same level of respect that they give to other faculty.

Forming faculty mentoring groups that encourage and support each other helps

minimize the isolation that often accompanies such frustrations as accompany these

often unfair situations. These faculty mentoring group members can find

opportunities both within and outside the University to highlight the academic work

and mentoring skills of a faculty member who is undervalued in your department.

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Wrapping It Up

Certainly, mentors won’t encounter all of the problems presented in the pages above, and

certainly not every person from the groups we have discussed feels the same way about

all of these issues. We are all products of our environments; we are each unique, but we

hope that those issues we have pointed to will help mentors understand as legitimate

those feelings and positions described here.

While it may seem that we make accommodations for underrepresented and non-

traditional students, let us remember that the original scholar had his accommodations

built into the academic system as it developed. It was a program created to serve a certain

select sector of the public. We condone neither lowering academic standards nor offering

special favors; rather, now we work to expand the service area of the university to

accommodate the vast array of students who have opportunities that only a few once

enjoyed.

Effective mentoring is good for mentors, good for students, and good for the discipline.

You’re probably already doing much of what’s been discussed in the preceding sections:

supporting your students in their challenges as well as their successes, assisting their

navigation of the unfamiliar waters of a doctoral program, and providing a model of

commitment, productivity and professional responsibility. During the graduate

experience, students are guided toward becoming independent creators of knowledge or

users of research, prepared to be colleagues with their mentors as they complete the

degree program and move on to the next phase of professional life.

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We have much to learn from our own faculty and students here at UCR. We want to

encourage ongoing conversation about mentoring and diversity issues within the

Graduate School, and we welcome your participation in that discussion. Feel free to

contact Kim Palmore, Director, Professional Development by phone at 951-683-6113 or

by email at kim.palmore@ucr.edu with any comments and suggestions you have.

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Graduate Division Contacts Graduate Division 100 University Office Building 951-827-4302 Joseph W. Childers Graduate Dean graddean@ucr.edu Ken Baerenklau Associate Dean, Graduate Academic Affairs Responsibilities include petitions, employment, grievances, academic integrity and professional development. ken.baerenklau@ucr.edu Leah Haimo Associate Dean, Recruitment and Outreach Responsibilities include graduate student recruitment and outreach, supervision of UCLEADS and AGEP programs. leah.haimo@ucr.edu Bette Quinn Assistant Dean Chief staff officer, budget control (graduate student financial aid and departmental budget) bette.quinn@ucr.edu Virginia Bustamante Graduate Council Coordinator Manages administrative matters of the Graduate Council that include graduate program reviews, new graduate program proposals, graduate program changes, catalog copy and course proposals virginia.bustamante@ucr.edu Accounting Assistant Processes staff employment, payroll—all departmental accounting functions.

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Yung Phung Senior Administrative Analyst Graduate Support Management Manages fellowship budgets and works with programs to provide financial reporting and data analysis relating to fellowships and recruiting yung.phung@ucr.edu · Academic Affairs140 University Office Building 951-827-3315 The Academic Affairs section of the Graduate Division is the unit within the Graduate Dean’s Office that handles all matters pertaining to the academic record, employment, and fellowships of graduate students. We work closely with the Graduate Advisers and Graduate Program Assistants on problems that may arise in these areas with their graduate students helping them to interpret the rules and regulations of the Office of the President, Academic Senate, and Graduate Council. The division also approves all student petition, dissertation, thesis, and qualifying exam committees for the Dean, approves all advancement paperwork and all theses and dissertations. Additionally, we provide the certificate of completion of all degree requirements. If the student needs assistance in finding financial support this office provides help. Linda G. Scott Director Oversees all matters relating to graduate academic affairs, employment and TADP gdivls@ucr.edu Kim Palmore Director, Professional Development Oversees the Graduate Mentoring Program Kim.palmore@ucr.edu Karen Smith Administrative Analyst Oversees graduate student employment and fellowships; processes petitions for leaves, Withdrawals, half-time status and ESL issues karen.smith@ucr.edu Kara Oswood Administrative Analyst Responsible for degree progression issues and petitions, including committee approval, advancement to candidacy, dissertation/thesis formatting, and graduation kara.oswood@ucr.edu

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· Academic Preparation and Outreach

Academic Preparation and Outreach is a vital component of the Graduate Division (and the campus as a whole) and strives to diversify and increase our graduate student population by facilitating the recruitment and retention of highly qualified students in UCR's 45 graduate programs. Maria Franco-Aguilar Director Conducts graduate student outreach and recruitment activities. Coordinates diversity fellowship competitions, Mentoring Summer Research Internship Program, UC LEADS and AGEP. Assists in development of special projects and grant proposals pertinent to graduate student recruitment. maria.franco-aguilar@ucr.edu

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“How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty” Rackham Graduate School.

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StudentInfo/Publications>.ac

King, M. F. (2003). On the Right Track : A Manual for Research Mentors. Washington,

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Lee, A., Dennis, C., & Campbell, P. (2007). “Nature’s Guide for Mentors.” Nature, 447,

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