Resources

Resources by Federal Funding Agencies

Evidence-based mentoring*

This statement was released by the National Institutes of Health— National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Defines the mentoring relationship between a PI and a graduate student or postdoctoral scholar. Explains the benefits of evidence-based mentoring such as cultivating a variety of skills in a mentee. NIGMS encourages the best mentoring practices for the laboratories it funds. These practices include the presence of institutional postdoctoral affairs offices, the use of formal performance evaluations from advisors, and the completion of annual individual development plans.

Keywords: NIH, funding, evaluation

Postdocs’ guide to gaining independence*

This statement was released by the National Institutes of Health— National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases. It is unique in the sense that it explains the mentoring relationship from the point of the mentees. Explains how the mentees can be proactive in approaching and communicating with their mentors.

Keywords: NIH

Thoughts on choosing a research mentor

In this statement by the National Institutes of Health, ways to choose the best mentor are discussed. Specific steps such as talking to current members of the research group are discussed. 

Keywords: NIH

Mentoring: A guide and workbook for mentors and mentees

This guide was prepared to support the National Science Foundation’s formal mentoring program. Includes useful information, tips and resources for both mentors and mentees, particularly focusing on initiating and successfully maintaining the mentoring relationship. Exhaustive resource for both potential mentors and mentees.

Keywords: mentoring relationship

Resources by Critical Journals

The postdoc experience: High expectations, grounded in reality*

This post by Science discusses the importance of a mentor in postdoctoral scholars’ career prospects. Focuses on examples regarding the competitiveness of the academic job market and how mentors can teach postdoctoral scholars how to navigate the market.

Keywords: career, job market

Mentoring and PI productivity*

This post by Science is on the keynote speech by Thomas R. Cech, president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and 1989 Nobel laureate in chemistry, delivered to a gathering of scientific and educational leaders at the National Institutes of Health. His keynote focused on mentoring as a core activity of PI’s. He stated that mentoring of postdoctoral scholars should be a “criterion in judging the success of PIs. He further stressed that funding agencies can increase PI’s emphasis on mentoring.

“Providing good mentoring is not an exercise in altruism by PIs, Cech noted. It is, rather, an element of doing top-flight science. Excellent mentoring attracts excellent pos docs and postdoc alumni in good careers, he added, make a lab “look good.” Indeed, he said, “all the good people” who have worked for him have “made the lab very famous.” 

Keywords: NIH, funding

Women postdocs less likely than men to get a glowing reference*

This post by Nature, focuses on gender bias in reference letters written by mentors to support their mentees’ postdoctoral applications. The post exemplifies the different types of phrases used to describe female and male mentees.

Keywords: gender

Resources by Professional Associations

On Mentoring: Advice from Ambady Award Winners

Society of Personality and Social Psychology interviewed with four faculty members who were winners of a prestigious award for mentoring excellence. Includes faculty members’ mentoring philosophies, specific advice on the challenges of mentoring, joys of mentoring, as well as tips on how to mentor students/faculty from diverse backgrounds. 

Keywords: mentoring relationship, diversity

Becoming a great mentor*

American Psychological Associations’ Monitor on Psychology has four-part article series on mentoring. In this cover piece, the emphasis is on the specific actions mentors take such as praising their mentees, challenging them, or modelling key behaviors. Mentions cross-gender and cross-race mentor-mentee pairs. Features successful mentor-mentee pairs at the end.

Keywords: mentoring relationship, gender, race

New ways to find the right mentor

In this second piece of the four-part series mentioned above, novel ways of initiating mentoring relationships are explained. These include using online tools, mentoring based on projects, and peer mentoring. Focuses on the hierarchical power dynamics in traditional mentoring compared with more egalitarian ways of mentoring today.

Keywords: online mentoring

Mentors for all

In this third piece of the four-part series mentioned above, the challenges students and early career psychologists from historically underrepresented groups face when trying to find a good mentor. Issues such as lack of diversity and academic faculty are discussed. Solutions such as looking for a culturally competent mentor who does not necessarily match the mentee’s background perfectly or using the resources provided by diversity-focused initiatives are discussed.

Keywords: diversity, race, sexual orientation, gender 

How to mentor ethically

In this fourth piece of the four-part series mentioned above, ethical principles in mentoring are discussed. The ways to avoid ethical pitfalls are explained.

Keywords: ethics

Getting your mentoring relationship off to a good start 

In this article by the American Psychological Association, tips for establishing a good start in the mentor/mentee relationship are discussed. A list of practical questions such as “How often will we interact?” and “How will we handle feedback?” are listed.

Keywords: mentoring relationship

Centering on mentoring: A training program for mentors and mentees

This guide on basics of mentoring is published as part of the 2006 American Psychological Association task force on mentoring psychology graduate students and early career psychologists. Besides defining the basics of mentoring such as forms of mentoring and mentoring etiquette, this guide is unique in listing the ethical principles that should be in a mentoring relationship. The guide also gives examples of potential problems observed in mentoring relationships such as expectation of favors or development of a personal relationship between the mentor and the mentee.

Keywords: mentoring relationship, ethics, gender 

Centering on mentoring

This report summarizes the materials form former American Psychological Association President Gerald P. Koocher, PhD’s presidential task force on mentoring. Along with providing information on the basics of mentoring, the report provides lists of American Psychological Association-affiliated mentoring programs.

Keywords: mentoring relationship

Mentoring helps us grow and flourish

In this article, the 2018 APA president Jessica Henderson Daniel explains the importance of mentoring for the pipeline of emerging scientists. She also encourages cross-domain mentoring.

Relevant Books

Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections of Race and Class for Women in Academia (Gabriela Gutiérrez y Muhs, Yolanda Flores Niemann, Carmen González, and Angela Harris, 2012)

The Coach’s Guide for Women Professors Who Want a Successful Career and a Well-Balanced Life (Rena Seltzer, 2015)

Ms. Mentor’s New and Ever More Impeccable Advice for Women and Men in Academia (Emily Toth, 2008)

Life on the Tenure Track: Lessons from the First Year (James M. Lang, 2005)

Tenure Hacks: The 12 Secrets of Making Tenure (Russell James, 2014)

A Survival Guide for New Faculty Members: Outlining the Keys to Success for Promotion and Tenure (Jeffrey P. Bakken and Cynthia G. Simpson, 2011)

What They Didn’t Teach You in Graduate School: 299 Helpful Hints for Success in Your Academic Career (Paul Gray and David E. Drew, 2012)

Culturally Responsive Leadership in Higher Education: Promoting Access, Equity, and Improvement (Lorri Santamaría and Andrés Santamaría, 2016)

Engaging the “Race Question”: Accountability and Equity in U.S. Higher Education (Alicia C. Dowd and Estela Mara Bensimon, 2014)