Inclusive Staff Mentoring in the Dietrich School


CONNECTED participants during training 

Abstract

Formal mentoring will enhance both recruiting and retention efforts for our staff employees, and this project focuses on implementing a mentoring program that fosters an inclusive and supportive workplace. In Fall 2019, we launched an 18-month pilot program called CONNECTED: A Partnered Growth Program for Staff in the Dietrich School. Rather than dividing the group into mentors and mentees, we are taking an innovative approach to mentorship whereby every participant, who we call CONNECTORS, is considered both a mentor and a mentee. The approach was designed to mitigate potential power relationships and recognize that every person has both things to learn and knowledge to offer; individuals are partners in their paths toward achieving goals.

Participants began the program with intensive training on mentoring/partnership fundamentals. They participated as a cohort in the Anti-Defamation League’s A Campus of Difference program, an intensive experience consisting of four half-day sessions focused on broadening understanding of equity and inclusiveness while fostering a safe space for people to have challenging dialogue. In 2020, the program kicks off with a series of development sessions on StoryThriving, which is a framework for personal and professional growth whereby individuals explore their histories and values as a way of clarifying future goals. CONNECTORS will work together as partners over the next year to help one another achieve and tell their stories of growth and development in the program.

The program has overarching goals of improving recruitment and retention of staff by fostering an inclusive environment where staff enjoy working and where they are connected broadly across the school on meaningful personal and professional levels.

CONNECTED participants experiencing the web activity  Setting Boundaries Flipchart  
Left: CONNECTED partcipants during training 
Right: Setting Boundaries Flipchart 


CONNECTED participants gathered to experience group activity
CONNECTED participants gathered to experience group activity 

Project Lead

Michele Montag
Co-Project Lead
School of Arts and Sciences (Dean’s Office)

Maureen Lazar
Co-Project Lead
School of Arts and Sciences (Dean’s Office)

Goal Area