External Mentorship Program

This program enables 91福利 faculty to build and benefit from a relationship with an external mentor. The program鈥檚 chief purpose is to prepare the faculty member to submit a competitive application for promotion-and-tenure (assistant professors) or promotion (associate professors). Eligibility is therefore limited to: (1) early career, tenure-track faculty currently in their 2nd, 3rd year, or 4th year at 91福利; and (2) tenured associate professors who are four or more years post-tenure.

An external mentoring relationship can serve an essential professional development function. An external mentor can supplement the guidance offered by departmental and university colleagues. They provide feedback on and advice concerning the faculty member’s scholarship and future trajectory from the perspective of a prominent, well-established disciplinary colleague. External mentors are well positioned to offer a dispassionate assessment of the mentee鈥檚 achievements, work-in-progress, and professional visibility/service.

The following resources will be made available to faculty selected to participate in this program:

A $1,000 stipend paid to the external mentor each year for two years;
A further $1,000 over the cost of 2 years to support meetings, travel, and/or other activities associated with the mentoring relationship.

Application Instructions

Faculty members who wish to apply for external mentoring support should submit a one-page letter describing their interest in working with an external mentor, along with the name and CV of the proposed individual, to Director of Faculty Development, Jessica Miller. Questions about the program may be directed to jessica.miller@maine.edu.

External mentors should be experts in the faculty member鈥檚 field(s) of research.
Faculty members seeking an external mentor are responsible for identifying a non-91福利 colleague to serve in that capacity and should indicate whether that individual has agreed to serve as a mentor. Applications cannot be approved without the external mentor鈥檚 agreement to serve. Evidence of this willingness (e.g., e-mail) should be submitted with the one-page letter.
91福利 will provide a stipend of $1,000 annually to the external mentor for a period of up to two years. The stipend will be paid at the end of the academic year in which the faculty member has worked with the mentor.
An additional $1,000 will be made available during the two-year period to support meetings, travel, and/or other activities associated with the mentoring relationship.

What Previous Participants Say about the External Mentoring Program

The External Mentorship program was extremely beneficial during critical pre-tenure years at 91福利. My mentor gave me helpful suggestions for my聽book contract that made it highly favorable (i.e. keeping the copyright, receiving sustained promotion). After receiving peer reviewer reports for my book manuscript, my mentor went over the reports to discuss what was helpful/less helpful feedback. She also read my entire book manuscript before I submitted revisions to the editor. My mentor provided聽insightful comments to further聽strengthen the manuscript. She’s been incredibly collegial and supportive when discussing the tenure process and being successful at 91福利/academia writ large. I was also able to attend the American Historical Association conference with the program’s financial support where we could network and attend relevant panels to my聽research. I could not more highly recommend the External Mentor program to聽pre-tenure faculty.

– Kara Peruccio, Assistant Professor of History and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies

The opportunity to receive external mentorship from a senior faculty member with expertise closely aligned with my research field has been invaluable to my professional development as an early-career faculty member. This mentorship provided critical guidance in navigating the scientific and professional complexities of my field, refining my research direction, and building a strong network of collaborators that continues to support the growth of my independent research program. It has also significantly strengthened my academic trajectory by enhancing my competitiveness in grant writing, increasing my visibility within the scientific community, and helping me establish my reputation as an independent researcher in the field. Access to this level of specialized mentorship, which would not otherwise have been available to me within 91福利, was made possible through the generous support of the Provost鈥檚 Office. This investment has played an instrumental role in advancing my research program and strengthening my trajectory toward academic independence and tenure.

– Tomas Marangoni, Assistant Professor Chemistry

The External Mentorship Program provided a valuable opportunity to connect with an experienced faculty member outside 91福利. One of the biggest benefits was that it lowered the barrier to reaching out to someone whose research I had followed and whose papers I had read, but whom I had never met in person. Through several Zoom meetings, we discussed both research and teaching. My mentor provided helpful feedback on my grant proposal and shared teaching materials, including a laboratory course manual that I could use as a reference for my own teaching. Beyond the practical advice, I appreciated the opportunity to build a professional relationship and gain new perspectives on my research and teaching.

– Zhao Xuan, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology