Faculty Development
Eastern Illinois University
1116 Booth Library
Charleston, IL 61920
Phone: (217) 581-7051
Fax: (217) 581-7171
Email: facdev@eiu.edu
Faculty Mentoring Circles Connection (FMCC)
Keeping within the goals proposed by Provost Lord, "Become a showcase for teaching and learning at a regional comprehensive university with an emphasis on relationship-driven education," The Faculty Mentoring Circles Connection (FMCC) Program is committed to building relationships with new and existing faculty. The purpose is to sustain, maintain, and retain faculty at EIU. The Faculty Circles Program at Eastern provides a development and acculturation experience for new faculty, assisting them in making the transition to full-time academic work and a career at Eastern. It provides opportunities for exiting faculty to form relationships which leads to learning partnerships. The Faculty Mentoring Circles Connection provide a wide range of mentoring assistance to new faculty, including advice, social support, information, coaching and friendship. The program helps new faculty to develop social networks outside their academic departments. Mentors and mentees are matched by pairs initially at the beginning of the year. Due to the bond created, many choose to stay together beyond the first year and another mentee is assigned and a circle is formed.
Relationships are organized across college lines, with no more than two individuals assigned to a mentor. Each partnership meets for coffee, breakfast, lunch or dinner for at least one hour, once or twice a month, throughout the academic year. It is totally up to them to work out the logistics of the relationship. Topics for these meetings will be determined by them after attending the Mentor/Mentee first training session and may include such things as teaching techniques, student academic integrity, strategies for achieving tenure, identifying useful resources at the University, balancing teaching and research, maintaining a healthy balance between work and life, handling ethical problems, negotiating departmental politics, navigating in the academy among others.
Requirements For Mentors:
Must be Tenured Faculty to mentor Tenure Track Faculty.
Must be Tenure Track Faculty to mentor Non Tenure Faculty working on terminal degree.
Required to attend Mentoring Training Seminars.
Will attend a maximum of three mentoring training seminars during the academic year (1 1/2 hours each meeting).
Will submit a short report about mentor activities
at the end of each semester.
Will have picture and short bio on the Faculty Development website for new faculty to read.
Will not be assigned a mentee from the same department. Every
attempt will be made to match mentors and mentees from the same college
AY 2008-2009 Dates for Faculty Mentoring Circles Connection
