Mentorship at Penn State is defined as a professional, working alliance in which individuals work together over time to support the personal and professional growth, development, and success of the relational partners through the provision of holistic support.

Effective mentoring supports an individual’s professional and personal development, sense of belonging, and productivity to the benefit of both the individual and the institution. Penn State strives to create a culture where mentoring is considered essential to both individual and institutional success, and effective mentorship is considered a hallmark of successful, well-functioning academic units. All faculty members, students, staff, and administrators at the University should have the opportunity to access a range of mentoring experiences that are intentionally designed to support individuals’ growth and development throughout their careers. A central tenet of mentorship at Penn State is that all mentoring relationships and programs will be culturally responsive and value the identity, experiences, and needs of the mentee.

Free mentorship training is available to Penn State faculty. Events are held throughout the academic year. Events are offered in-person at the University Park campus and Commonwealth campuses (on a rotating basis) and virtually to Penn State faculty. Space is limited. These workshops are presented by the Office of Undergraduate Education in collaboration with the Office of Faculty Affairs.

About the Workshop

The workshop aims to help faculty strengthen their mentoring capabilities by providing resources and guidance on cultivating healthy, mutually beneficial mentor-mentee relationships. Topics include:

• Communicating across diverse dimensions,
• Establishing clear expectations; and
• Creating safe, inclusive research environments with attention to equity and inclusion.

The curriculum for this workshop comes from the Center for Mentored Experiences in Research and will include the core competencies of aligning expectations, assessing understanding, and addressing equity and inclusion.
While the workshop will focus on mentoring students and postdocs, the knowledge and competencies shared are applicable to a broader audience, including the mentorship of faculty.

Format

The workshops are offered both in-person and online, via Zoom, to provide flexibility for attendees.

Registration

Registration is open now for all sessions. Early registration is recommended as spaces are limited.

All in-person sessions will be held at the Dreamery, situated on the ground level of the Shields Building at the University Park campus. Online sessions will be held on Zoom and are available linked through the Faculty Affairs website and registration via the Learning Resource Network (LRN).

In spring 2025, participants who have successfully completed the training may take the Train the Mentorship Matters Workshop Leader to learn how to deliver the Mentorship Matters workshop in the future.

Partners include the Eberly College of Science, the Office of Undergraduate Education, the Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses, the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research, the Office of Research Protections, and the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs.