Program Goals

The goal of ARA (Advancement and Retention in Academe) Faculty Mentoring Program is to enhance the ability of our junior faculty to navigate the challenges of academe during these unprecedented times and in the future. ARA will foster an active and collaborative process for the development of an “intelligent career,” rather than a “reactive career” that responds to impending crises. As the demands of academia have changed and continue to change in public research universities, the ARA program will focus on identifying key career competencies (knowing what, why, when, how, and whom) that are foundational for success in academe and specifically at UCR. For this reason, the mentoring program’s curriculum is designed to: (1) enhance mentor/mentee competencies, (2) support and facilitate junior faculty career development through mentoring, and (3) improve campus climate by increasing awareness of systemic inequities and promote a culture of mentorship. 

The ARA program is designed to complement current departmental efforts in mentoring and has four components.

• Workshops for Mentors: Three workshops to train senior faculty in the best practices for being an effective mentor for assistant professors. These workshops are designed to enhance the mentoring capacity within the college and are designed for Associate and Full Professors. Participation in the Train the Mentors workshops are required to become an official ARA mentor. 

• Professional development workshops: These workshops are designed for our assistant professors. We will address topics to enable easy navigation of the path to tenure. The workshops will be accessible to all CNAS faculty. 

• ARA mentees: The program has funding to support a ~24 assistant professors as ARA mentees. ARA mentees are paired with a trained UCR ARA mentor and a mentor from another UC, who is closely aligned to the assistant professor’s field of study. Finally, each ARA mentee is provided a $2400 stipend to promote the mentorship relationship with their external mentor, which can include travel of the external mentor to UC, travel of the ARA mentee to the external mentor’s home campus or other ARA program-approved activities that promote the mentee’s professional development. 

• ARA Mentors: The UCR ARA mentor will be chosen after the ARA mentees are identified. The UCR ARA mentor will have participated in the three Train the Mentor workshops. Each ARA mentor receives a $1000 stipend. 

The ARA program is designed to develop a sense of community and a culture of mentorship that is recognized by our merit and promotion system for its value and long-term impacts on the success of our mentees and mentors. These initiatives will enhance collegiality, work-life balance, faculty success in research, teaching and service, and provide avenues for professional and leadership growth within our departments, colleges and campus. The enrichment of our CNAS community will enhance junior faculty self-efficacy and satisfaction resulting in professional success and retention at UCR.

Funding
The ARA Faculty Mentoring Program is a pilot project funded for three years by the University Office of the President Advancing Faculty Diversity (UCOP AFD) program Retention Grant to Springer, Walling, Larios, Homyak and Ying. Three additional ARA Mentees will be supported by the UCOP AFD Recruitment Grant to Natalie Holt, Kieran Samuk, Lucy Delaney.