The Necessity of a Mentoring Program for Fixed-Term Faculty and Academic Specialists

This essay originally came out in MSU's Academic Advancement Network Newsletter on January 9, 2020. This is a draft of the essay, as the availability status on the website is uncertain. So I am uploading this for reference. Abstract - Fixed-term faculty and academic staff often do not have the same access to a means of socialization into academic life as tenure-stream faculty. Some professors can feel isolated in their specific duties and have fewer opportunities to network as contingent faculty. The perceived temporary nature of these appointments by unit administrators often leads departments to invest less and offer fewer privileges to people in such positions. In reality, units should be doing the opposite for multiple reasons. A mentoring program that includes non-tenure track faculty provides many solutions.