Designing Better Mentoring Experiences for BIPOC Librarians: Creating a “Constellation” of Mentors Through Self-Advocacy
Event Type
Presentation
Start Date
23-7-2021 12:00 PM
End Date
23-7-2021 1:00 PM
Description
Like other structures in place at academic institutions, mentoring systems are not designed to promote the success of BIPOC academics. In fact, a much broader critique of mentoring programs can be leveraged when it comes to intentional design. Many formal mentoring programs are not intentionally designed much less geared to promote BIPOC success. This means that key issues related to accountability go unaddressed, such as assessment of the mentoring experience or deliberate pairing of mentor and mentee. This presentation situates itself both in the need for better mentoring for BIPOC librarians and in a critical examination of what happens when mentoring is not carefully designed. By drawing from self-assessment of our own experiences and from the academic library mentoring literature, we propose a path forward that focuses on self-advocacy and looks beyond the mentor-mentee relationship to instead draw from a “constellation” of mentors. By assembling a constellation of mentors, BIPOC academic librarians create their own sense of academic community, a community that supports their authenticity as people of color.
Outcomes
As a result of attending the session, attendees will be able to
- Understand a “constellation” of mentors as an alternative to the traditional 1:1 mentor-mentee model
- Evaluate their current relationship to mentoring based upon individual factors and institutional structures
- Create a new mentoring model for themselves that addresses gaps and areas for growth
Designing Better Mentoring Experiences for BIPOC Librarians: Creating a “Constellation” of Mentors Through Self-Advocacy
Like other structures in place at academic institutions, mentoring systems are not designed to promote the success of BIPOC academics. In fact, a much broader critique of mentoring programs can be leveraged when it comes to intentional design. Many formal mentoring programs are not intentionally designed much less geared to promote BIPOC success. This means that key issues related to accountability go unaddressed, such as assessment of the mentoring experience or deliberate pairing of mentor and mentee. This presentation situates itself both in the need for better mentoring for BIPOC librarians and in a critical examination of what happens when mentoring is not carefully designed. By drawing from self-assessment of our own experiences and from the academic library mentoring literature, we propose a path forward that focuses on self-advocacy and looks beyond the mentor-mentee relationship to instead draw from a “constellation” of mentors. By assembling a constellation of mentors, BIPOC academic librarians create their own sense of academic community, a community that supports their authenticity as people of color.
Outcomes
As a result of attending the session, attendees will be able to
- Understand a “constellation” of mentors as an alternative to the traditional 1:1 mentor-mentee model
- Evaluate their current relationship to mentoring based upon individual factors and institutional structures
- Create a new mentoring model for themselves that addresses gaps and areas for growth
