personnel office mentoring junior academics · 3 on april 20, provost held a town hall meeting on...
TRANSCRIPT
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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