The academy as community : Manual of best practices for meeting the needs of new scholars

The Academy as Community A Manual of Best Practices for Meeting the Needs of New Scholars © 2004 by the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences ISBN 0-920052-46-0 We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the University of Alberta for use of their photographs in this publication. [...] The frontline of administrators—Deans and Chairs—has, perhaps, the most important role to play in the initiation process of new scholars, and thus, our manual begins with suggested practices for administrators, and then moves on to advice to new scholars in the second section, and recommendations for stimulating collegial, social interaction and activities in the final section. [...] The following suggestions are meant to help Deans and Chairs avoid potential pitfalls and to increase the chances that mentoring will be helpful and beneficial to both the individual and the institution (See also the appendix on page 26 for a more complete discussion). [...] Successful mentoring is a process that requires a commitment of time and energy on both the part of the mentor and the part of the new faculty member, and this needs to be understood from the outset. [...] What needs to be made clear is that being chosen as a mentor is a distinct honour and mark of the Dean’s confidence, and that it comes with important responsibilities that are vital to the success of the new faculty member, the department, and the faculty.