New Faculty & Staff FAQs

How many mentors can I have?
You may want to limit yourself to one, but if you feel you can manage commitments to more than one mentor and you feel that your needs can best be met by more than one, then you can reach out to more.

Who makes the first contact?
You do. You will be the one to make the initial contact, letting your mentor know that you are interested in a mentoring partnership with her/him.

What do I do if the mentor I have selected declines my invitation?
You can go back to the website and see if there is someone else who seems to fit your needs.

What do I talk about with my mentor?
The two of you may decide at the outset what the focus of you communications will be, depending on your needs. The topics will likely be related to your duties and responsibilities; however, given that nature of human relationships, personal matters may come up. Campus politics or overly personal situations may not be appropriate topics of discussion with your mentor. Remember that the telephone is another option for communications, especially if sensitive matters are the topic of conversation.

What do I do if my mentor doesn’t communicate with me?
You should contact Louise Pagotto and let her know.

What can I do if I don’t like my mentor?
The eMentoring program is completely voluntary. If you’ve established a relationship and then find that you and your mentor are not getting along, you can terminate the relationship at any time. If you terminate a relationship, you should notify Louise Pagotto. You can always go back to the website and choose another mentor.

How long is the mentoring relationship supposed to go on?
We expect the commitment to last for an academic year, in the hopes that you and your mentor will be able to go through a whole cycle of performance and review together.

The year is over but I’d like to continue communicating with my mentor. What do I do know?
We hope that you and your mentor will have an ongoing professional relationship. However, the frequency of the contact and the nature of your continued relationship are up to you and your mentor to decide.