Faculty Mentoring

The Mailman School of Public Health is committed to supporting faculty at all stages of their academic careers. The Interdisciplinary Faculty Mentoring Program provides a structured and supportive framework to help early and mid-career faculty advance professionally, achieve their academic goals, and thrive within a collaborative and inclusive community. The program is designed to complement and strengthen existing departmental efforts. Mentees are responsible for initiating and scheduling mentoring meetings, maintaining an up-to-date CUIMC-formatted CV, and reporting on progress since the previous meeting. Mentors serve as advisors, guides, and advocates by providing constructive feedback and helping mentees navigate academic advancement. Department chairs and center directors play a key role in developing individualized professional development plans in collaboration with faculty and in facilitating effective mentor-mentee pairings. The Vice Dean for Faculty and the Office of Faculty Affairs provide oversight and ongoing support. In addition to structured mentoring relationships, the School offers peer and near-peer mentoring opportunities coordinated by the Vice Dean for Faculty.

Faculty Mentoring Rationale and Goals

A strong mentoring culture is essential to academic success and long-term faculty development. Mailman’s interdisciplinary mentoring model ensures that faculty receive the guidance, feedback, and support needed to reach key academic milestones while also fostering meaningful connections across departments and disciplines. The program supports the professional growth of early and mid-career faculty through mentoring that is inclusive, intentional, and aligned with the School’s mission and values. It also provides department and center leadership with a structured approach to identifying and advocating for faculty in promotions, awards, leadership opportunities, and other forms of recognition. Mentoring at Mailman reflects our belief in a collaborative academic environment where faculty can thrive as scholars, educators, and leaders, while also guiding and supporting the next generation of public health professionals.

Primary Goals

• Enhance career success by supporting the professional development of early and mid‑career faculty.
• Foster an inclusive environment, ensuring that all faculty, regardless of background or identity, feel supported in their career trajectories.
• Promote interdisciplinary collaboration by encouraging mentoring across departmental boundaries to foster cross‑cutting research, teaching, and service.
• Provide structured support for building skills in research, teaching, grant writing, manuscript preparation, professional portfolio development, and work‑life integration.

Mentorship Plan

The department chair or center director will collaborate with each early and mid‑career faculty member to produce a Mentorship Plan, which outlines the distribution of effort (scholarship, teaching, service, administration) and goals for each area. That plan will be shared with the assigned mentor(s) for input. This plan should be reviewed and updated annually for early-career faculty, and every two to three years for mid‑career faculty.

Assigning Mentors

Early and mid‑career faculty seeking mentorship will have access to a variety of faculty and leaders across Columbia’s institutions.

• Incoming faculty ideally will be matched with a primary mentor by their chair or center director within the first three months of appointment.
• In cases of interdisciplinary work, joint appointments, or complex career trajectories, a mentoring committee of two to three mentors may be formed with input from the chair/center director and Vice Dean for Faculty.
• Mentors may be outside of Mailman when appropriate to meet disciplinary needs. Cross‑departmental or cross‑institutional relationships are encouraged.
• Mentoring relationships should be allowed to evolve; pairs may agree to a “no-fault conclusion” at any time, and chairs or center directors will help reassign mentors if needed.

Mentor Responsibilities

Mentors help mentees set agendas and guide their development. Expected responsibilities include:

• Meeting regularly (at least three formal sessions per year) and maintaining availability for informal consultation.
• Advising on research, teaching, service, and professional priorities.
• Helping mentees define short- and long-term goals.
• Guiding scholarship: reviewing manuscripts, grant proposals, and offering networking support when relevant.
• Providing feedback on teaching, curricula, and student evaluation trends.
• Identifying areas for skill improvement and, when needed, pointing to other resources or mentors.
• Staying informed about University and School policies, faculty tracks, promotion criteria, and support services.
• Encouraging mentees to develop a broad network and advocating for their visibility.
• Maintaining confidentiality and serving as a career coach and sponsor when appropriate.

Mentee Responsibilities

Mentees also play a proactive role in their development. They are expected to:

• Take responsibility for managing the mentoring relationship and scheduling meeting times.
• Pursue excellence across scholarly, teaching, and service domains and document their achievements.
• Request and act on constructive feedback.
• Engage actively with the mentor, bringing forward long- and short-term goals and plans for the mentoring relationship.
• Become familiar with School and University policies regarding faculty tracks, reappointment, promotion, and tenure.
• Cultivate a professional network with mentor support, including interdisciplinary contacts.
• Keep an updated CUIMC-formatted CV and record of teaching evaluations.
• Agree with the mentor on confidentiality expectations in their relationship.

Meetings

Mentors and mentees should meet during the first semester after appointment to ensure a clear understanding of expectations. Thereafter, regular meetings should continue (especially for mid-career faculty). Meetings should include:

• The current mentorship plan
• The most recent CV
• Progress since the prior meeting
• Ongoing challenges and strategies for overcoming them

Mentees should take responsibility for structuring agendas. In addition to scheduled meetings, mentors should be available informally when needed. The Vice Dean for Faculty remains available to join meetings as needed or to address mentoring matters between mentor and mentee or with chairs.

Annual Evaluation of Mentoring Program

While chairs/center directors carry primary responsibility for evaluating faculty performance, mentoring outcomes and the professional development plans should inform those evaluations. The Dean’s Office will conduct a biannual review of the mentoring program to track effectiveness, including:

• Surveys of mentees and mentors
• Confirmation of mentor-mentee pairings and program compliance by chairs
• Participation metrics (number of pairings, engagement levels)
• A summary report highlighting strengths, challenges, and improvements

Periodic School-wide and University climate surveys will help assess how mentoring contributes to faculty satisfaction and retention.

Peer / Near Peer Mentoring

To supplement structured mentoring, the Vice Dean for Faculty will facilitate peer and near-peer mentoring opportunities. Through periodic information sessions and cross‑school gatherings, faculty can share experiences and advice, discuss career navigation strategies, and enhance interdisciplinary networking. Topics may include, but are not limited to: navigating early years at Columbia, mapping mentor networks, and maximizing one’s academic potential.

Mentoring Beyond Associate Professor

For faculty who achieve promotion to Associate Professor, continued mentoring opportunities are available. A mentoring committee may be formed to focus on progression toward full professor or leadership roles. The Vice Dean for Faculty will remain available to address ongoing career questions and strategic planning.

Ways Mentors Can Help Mentees

This list is intended to spark thinking about different ways that a mentor can assist a mentee. No mentor provides assistance in all, or even most, of these areas; nor are all equally important over the course of a career or in a particular mentoring relationship. Mentoring varies with the evolving relationship of mentor and mentee, and their individual needs, expertise, and interests.