The role of graduate advisor and

mentor is critical – not only to our

students, our disciplines, and the

University, but to all who stand to

benefit from the contributions

made by those we advise and mentor.

Despite its importance, few faculty

receive any formal training to meet

the demands and challenges of the

advising and mentoring role. The

resources listed provide a brief

overview of graduate student advising

and mentoring by…

● articulating characteristics of

exemplary advisors and mentors;

● discussing challenges associated

with advising and mentoring

relationships;

● suggesting “best practices” for

advising and mentoring; and

● offering the mentoring philosophies

of several award-winning graduate

advisors.

Graduate Mentoring and Advising

Advising and Mentoring Graduate Students:

Annotated Bibliography of Selected Resources

____________________________

Note: Most of the resources listed are currently available on-line. If you have difficulty accessing any of them, or want copies of items that aren’t available through the Internet, contact the Faculty Center for Teaching and e-Learning (ext. 3022).

___________________________________

Gold, C.M. (1997) “Some thoughts on Advising.” University of Wisconsin-Madison; Department of Educational Administration. (available at –

http://www.education.wis.edu/edadmin/faculty/facultyextras/advising.html)

This article articulates one faculty member’s expectations for graduate advisor/student relationships. Although written for students (and containing some information pertaining to a specific Educational Administration program), the article outlines useful principles and models a mechanism for clarifying expectations to students.

Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, University of Michigan (1999). How to Mentor Graduate Studies: A Guide for Faculty at a Diverse University. (available at – http://www.rackham.umich.edu/StudentInfo/Publications/FacultyMentoring/Fmentor.pdf)

In addition to providing general suggestions for good mentoring practice, this handbook also explores some of the special challenges and rewards of advising an increasingly diverse graduate student population.

Fine, M.A. and L.A. Kurdek (1993). “Reflections on Determining Authorship Credit and Authorship Order on Faculty Order on Faculty – Student Collaborations.” American Psychologist 48(11):1141-1147. (available at : http://www.apa.org/journals/amp/kurdek.html)

Fine and Kurdek use a series of case studies to raise issues related to authorship decisions and suggest guidelines for discussing and determining authorship. The authors explore the problems associated with faculty who assign too little – or too much – credit to student contributions. Although the cases involve Psychology faculty and students, the issues and the advice cross disciplinary boundaries.

Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (1997). Adviser, Teacher, Role Model, Friend: On Being a mentor to Students in Science and Engineering. National Academy Press: Washington, DC. (available at - http://bob.nap.edu/readingroom/books/mentor/index.html)

This booklet provides a comprehensive overview of advising and mentoring relationships between faculty and a broad range of students (i.e., undergraduate to post-doctoral). Different mentoring/advising roles are addressed along with tips for being a successful mentor. Issues related to diversity and professional ethics are also examined.

The Dead Thesis Society (available at – http://is2.dal.ca%7Edts/intro.html) and The Dead Thesis Society Resource Library (available at http://is2.dal.ca%7Edts/resources.html)

Founded at Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1998 (and now with branches at Dalhousie and Humboldt State), the society provides a thesis support communityfor graduate students. The website is a window into graduate student issues (including those related to “stalled” dissertations) and a unique resource to pass on to advisees.

Essays on Mentoring from Utah State University

Written by winners of Utah State University’s Graduate Mentoring Award, this series of thoughtful essays discusses good mentoring practice, as well as the personal mentoring styles of faculty in disciplines ranging from poetry to soil science. Essays include:

Brewer, K.W. (1998) Mentoring Poets. Department of English (Poetry).

Bugbee, B. (2001) On Mentoring. Department of Plants, Soils, and Biometerology

(available at – http://milo.usu.edu/cpl/mentoring%20essay.pdf)

Miller, B.C. (2000) On Graduate Mentors and Mentoring. Department of Family and

Human Development

Salzberg, C.L. (1996) Reflections on Mentoring. Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation

Provenza, F. (1999) On Mentoring. Department of Rangeland Resources

	Deborah M. Langsam, 2002 Faculty Center for Teaching and e-Learning University of North Carolina at Charlotte