Texas A&M University Center for Teaching Excellence
Texas A&M University | Division of Academic Affairs
Texas A&M University Center for Teaching Excellence

Faculty and Graduate Student Mentoring

 

To promote a culture of mentoring within and across Texas A&M University, faculty can enhance their mentoring capacity using evidence-based mentoring competencies developed by CIMER (Center for Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research). Each competency workshop utilizes customized case studies and activities and is facilitated by faculty who are trained CIMER facilitators. Designed to maximize faculty interaction and dialogue, these workshops provide an environment to share and discuss experiences. Faculty participation can be on a rolling basis. Faculty who complete all competencies will receive a letter of completion co-signed by leadership within the Center for Teaching Excellence, Faculty Affairs, and the Graduate and Professional School.

Sessions and Participation

Weekly Events

Our weekly events, conveniently held via Zoom, cover all the topics you need to become a better mentor. Check out our calendar for upcoming events - we hope to see you there!

TAMU Faculty Mentoring Academy Calendar TAMU Graduate Mentoring Academy Calendar

Participation

If you are interested in participating and collaborating with other faculty from across disciplines and learning valuable mentorship skills, please complete the survey. Participation in all events is not required unless you wish to receive a certificate.

Sign Up

Session Competencies

The various session competencies cover topics including: Maintaining Effective Communication, Aligning Expectations, Assessing Understanding, Promoting Professional Development, and Supporting Well-Being in Mentoring. For more information, view the full list of competencies and learning outcomes.

Session Competencies

Graduate Mentoring

The Graduate Mentoring Academy (GMA) uses the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) resources which includes seven evidence-based mentorship competencies. These Graduate and Professional School workshops work to create a culture of mentoring across our institution.

Graduate Mentoring Academy

The National Academy Report: Science of Effective Mentoring in STEMM (2019)

shares important information related to mentoring in higher education, including the following:

  1. “Mentoring experiences can be transformative for the people involved” (p. 15).
  2. “Despite its important place in the academic culture, mentorship rarely receives the focused attention, evaluation, and recognition of other aspects of the professional development process, such as teaching and research” (p. 16).
  3. “There is still an absence of intentionality, both in designing programs for particular mentor and mentee functions in contexts and in evaluating these components specifically” (p. 23).
The National Academy Report: Science of Effective Mentoring in STEMM (2019) helps cultivate an institutional commitment and collaboration with Faculty Affairs, the Graduate and Professional School and the Center for Teaching Excellence to promote a culture of mentoring within and across Texas A&M University. To this end, many foundational and structural efforts have been implemented, such as:
 
  • CIMER facilitator training for thirty-two faculty
  • Full series of Faculty Mentoring Academy Competencies
  • Equipping for Mentor workshops

Mentorship Resources

If you have more questions about mentoring or wish to explore other mentoring topics, check out these resources.