Connections Program
Peer mentorship through Departments and academic units is an important component of Faculty and Librarian success at the University of Toronto Scarborough. The Mentoring Excellence and Diversity (MEAD) Advisory Committee is pleased to embrace a holistic approach to mentorship—one that fosters connections among Faculty and Librarians in other units to facilitate tailored mentorship, especially for those from underrepresented and historically excluded groups. The MEAD Advisory Committee acknowledges that faculty and librarians at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) are a diverse group that have varied mentorship needs. In addition, group mentoring has several advantages: peers share with one another and learn about different perspectives; mentors and mentees can become partners and resist the deficit thinking at the center of many models of mentorship. Mentorship groups can also discuss a wide range of topics and challenges and benefit from a variety of viewpoints on timely issues. Mentorship can also take on different forms, depending on the needs of the individual.
The Mentorship Connections program will address these needs by connecting people with needs and interests not already addressed through existing efforts, including one-on-one mentoring. For example, mentorship models used in this program will include traditional mentor-mentee pairing, group mentoring and peer mentoring. Mentorship Connections aims to build a program that will support Faculty and Librarians across the entire U of T Scarborough community. The program includes two aspects:
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Mentorship Connections Database: find a mentor or peer to connect with via the Mentorship Connections Slack group (mentees and mentors gain access to the online community).
Register to join the online community in Slack, and access the mentor database
New to Slack? Tutorials / quick user guide
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Mentorship Connections Circles: Connect with a group of like minded colleagues for monthly group discussions on topics of mutual interest. (Coming soon! Contact deanhr.utsc@utoronto.ca)
Questions?
Questions can be directed to Eileen Egan-Lee, Faculty Development Administrator, or brought to the following drop-in information sessions:
MEAD Morning Break
Tuesday, May 7, 2024
10:30-11:30 am (in person and online)
Office Hours for Faculty & Librarians
Friday, May 17, 2024
10:10-11:00 am (online)