Mentoring to facilitate socialization: The case of the new faculty member

How easily a new faculty members adjusts and adapts to life in the professoriate is often dependent on the types of relationships that the newcomer establishes with colleagues and on the willingness of veteran faculty members to assist newcomers as they learn the ins and outs of the academy. One avenue for facilitating interaction between newcomers and academic veterans is to establish formal mentoring programs. In this case study, the formal mentoring relationship is examined as a means for understanding the socialization processes of new faculty members. Results suggest that mentoring relationships may facilitate socialization because they allow newcomers to establish interpersonal bonds and receive support and advice from experienced colleagues. Results also indicate, however, that the most important feature of mentoring may be accessibility. This finding leads to questions concerning the feasibility of assigning mentors rather than encouraging informal mentoring from multiple faculty members.