"The Chair" on Netflix triggered me this week - watching the hapless Ph.D. student, marginalized by a self-absorbed advisor, subject to thoughtless microaggression by her department chair, taken out of context by an ambitious student, reminded me that many faculty are lousy mentors to Ph.D. students.
I've thought a lot about mentoring lately - particularly because I've been asked to be a Ph.D. program coordinator.
I've come to recognize that bad faculty mentors are part of the fabric of academe - present on every campus - including my own - often engaging in small aggressions, such as making students wait for hours, and sometimes in far grander misconduct, such as sexually harassing students.
Why are some faculty bad mentors? It's not like being decent is hard? Right? Or is it?
My thinking suggests three drivers: training, traditions, & doctrine.
Many faculty don't know how to mentor. I can't think of a single university that requires faculty to take mentoring courses - absent meaningful training - is it a surprise that many faculty become bad mentors?
Some mindlessly propagate abusive academic traditions. How many of you were asked to work over the holidays? or while sick? As a student? By a faculty advisor who is simply propagating the abuse they suffered?
The worst ascribe to a Darwinian doctrine - disingenuously espousing that only strong students should survive - because not every student deserves a Ph.D.?
Please note the irony here because I doubt these same faculty could survive in today's competitive academic climate.
So what to do? How to overcome these drivers? And be a good mentor? To your students?
First, find a mentor. God or fortune, you pick, provided me two great mentors - one taught me how to advise - the other taught me compassion - I'm not sure they know they were my mentors - but I do know they made me a better mentor to students.
Second, practice mindfulness - treat students how you wish you had been treated, not how you were treated - positive nudges, supportive conversations, and timely feedback - these are not hard things - and they will make your students and their students, lives better.
Third, support equitable processes - most grievances result from faculty treating students differently - your program's culture will be better when all students get a fair shake.
Finally, actively monitor your own mentoring style - Amartya Sen taught that with support and resources, most people flourish - good mentors help weaker students become better ones.
As I approach my term as a program coordinator, my metric for mentoring will be Sen's, not Darwin's - did I make all of the students better? The strong? And the weak?
And if the answer is yes, then I will be satisfied.
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