Aerial view of campus with Williamsport, the Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Mountain as a backdrop

Faculty Mentor Program

The Faculty Mentor Program at Lycoming College is designed to enhance departmental support by providing faculty with orientation programs that start before classes commence, a one-on-one mentor relationship with a successful senior faculty member, career-oriented resource luncheons featuring representatives from the Committees on Faculty Personnel and the Promotion and Tenure Committee, teacher-talk presentations by colleagues who have won Lycoming teaching awards, and special programming in conjunction with our Teaching Effectiveness Committee. The program offers new faculty members:

  • Strategies for balancing teaching research, and service expectations
  • Immediate access to sources of support and information
  • Built-in networking opportunities to enhance the quality of academic work
  • Helpful information on personnel, tenure, and promotion processes and procedures
  • Teaching tips and techniques from your faculty colleagues
  • Administrative support for your first year at Lycoming and beyond
  • Teaching dialogue and conversations to address your concerns and share your successes

Mentor Selection Process

In addition to several formal presentations throughout the academic year, the Faculty Mentor Program strives to match incoming faculty members with a tenured member of the Lycoming faculty. This one-on-one mentor selection is made in conjunction with recommendations from the Academic Dean, your departmental colleagues, and your own input regarding preferences for a mentor. Ultimately, our goal is to match you with someone who will be a good resource person external to your department. Thus, when you arrive on campus, you will have not only your departmental members for support, but a senior campus colleague as a resource for questions, concerns, and a friendly “hello.”

Why We Do It

Lycoming College's Faculty Mentor Program exists because excellence in education is the focus of our mission. We care about our faculty who enact that mission each and every day. We take pride in our Faculty Mentor Program because we feel it is innovative, practical, and consistent with the insights provided by the literature in the field. The challenges to academic careers we address through this program include:

  • Professional isolation
  • Insufficient emphasis on teaching needs within a new campus culture
  • “Survival of the fittest” mentalities
  • Lack of access to successful role models
  • Inadequate transitional support for junior faculty new to the full-time faculty role and for more seasoned faculty transitioning to a new campus culture

For More Information

Dr. Sandra Kingery
Director, Faculty Mentor Program
570.321.4217
kingery@lycoming.edu

Dr. Susan Ross
Dean of the College
570.321.4204
ross@lycoming.edu