Maximizing Mentoring: Enhancing the Impact of Mentoring Programs and Initiatives Through the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development at Xavier University of Louisiana.

Abstract

The Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development (CAT+FD) at Xavier University of Louisiana (Xavier) is the stage for a unique model for multiple levels of mentor training and mentoring. The model is made up of four essential components that are necessary to enhance the outcomes of any mentoring initiatives. First, the Institution must be committed to supporting mentoring intitiatives with institutional resources and maintaining a culture that promotes the importance of mentoring for institutional success. Second, mentoring efforts must be directed through a trusted institutional unit that has earned the respect and buy-in of the institutional community. Well-trained people who are committed to developing expertise in effectively administering mentoring initiatives make up the third element of this model. The model is complete with the addition of evidence-based mentoring practices, initiatives and programs that provide the institutional community with resources, training and support for their mentoring. At Xavier, the mentoring culture that was established at the institution's founding has been formalized through a variety of initiatives targeting students, faculty and staff. These initiatives are administered from CAT+FD, a center with a 25-year history at Xavier and a campus reputation of expertise, excellence and trustworthiness. The work of two CAT+FD staff members, the STEM Educational Improvement Specialist (EIS) and the Faculty-in-Residence for New Faculty (FIR), is described in this chapter. The EIS directs a variety of mentoring initiatives focused on students, faculty and staff, while the mentoring initiatives overseen by the FIR are specifically geared towards supporting new faculty.