Mentorship and networking
Mentor pairing
For 1:1 mentor connections, new faculty and librarians should meet with their Unit Head (Chair/Director or Supervising Librarian) to discuss potential pairing options with more senior colleagues. These mentor/mentee relationships can be long-lasting and very rewarding. The terms of a mentorship relationship are unique to the individuals involved and based on personal preferences and needs.
For information on establishing positive mentorship relationships, download our Mentorship Handbook.
Supportive communities
VPAC’s New Faculty and Librarian Supportive Communities Program is designed to bring together new faculty and librarians with colleagues at all career stages to share their experiences and expertise.
The program’s guiding principles and structure create opportunities for faculty and librarians to connect, network, teach and learn from each other. The program provides opportunities for both new and established faculty and librarians to connect with each other through multilateral knowledge-sharing and networking opportunities, including group and peer support and both informal and formal networking activities.
New faculty and librarians interested in participating should fill out the Peer Support Welcome Questionnaire by the end of the second week of September to be included in that academic year's intake.
Joint faculty mentorship program
The Joint Faculty Mentorship Committee (JMC), a joint Faculty Association and Vice-President Academic office committee, works to ensure faculty at early and mid-career stages are supported in the successful achievement of their next career stage.
This program supports and encourages assistant professors and assistant teaching professors as they work towards reappointment, continuing appointment, tenure and promotion to associate, as well as associate professors and associate teaching professors as they work towards promotion to professor or teaching professor.
For 2024/25, the program's focus is on Faculty Mentor Advisors who provide individualized support to faculty. Contact an Advisor below for one-on-one confidential advice on:
- how to plan your research trajectory (for research stream faculty) or scholarly activity (for teaching stream faculty)
- how to focus your limited time to best position you towards promotion
- strengthening your teaching and teaching-related activities
- discussing and addressing any barriers you may face to promotion
- putting together dossier materials for your reappointment, continuing status or promotion process
| Mentor | Supports... | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Jeff Ganohalidoh Corntassel | Indigenous faculty | ctassel@uvic.ca |
| Dr. Adam Con (簡仁翰) | Faculty who identify as Black or a Person of Colour (BPOC) | acon@uvic.ca |
| Dr. Amy Verdun |
Research stream faculty in:
|
averdun@uvic.ca |
|
Research stream faculty in:
|
gtzan@uvic.ca | |
|
Teaching stream faculty |
mmryan@uvic.ca |
Communities of practice
LTSI coordinates several communities of practice for faculty and instructors.- Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: engage in the systematic study of teaching and learning
- Accessible Teaching and Learning: enhance accessible pedagogy and expand accessibility and inclusive learning approaches in courses
- Instructors of First Year Courses: collaborate,develop and share instructional strategies and pedagogies to support student success
Online learning
Building Your Academic Record With Intention
This online course will explore how to manage your time, focus and commitments to ensure capacity to build your academic record towards successful tenure and promotion. Topics include:
- Allocating efforts toward Research, Teaching and Service appropriately
- Evaluating the relative value of tasks in order to focus your time and energy
- When and how to say "no"
- Tools and strategies to balance your responsibilities and ensure a clear, synergistic, teaching/research trajectory that will get results
- Making connections: networking events and resources (conferences, etc.), gathering feedback (internally and externally)