Tool URL: https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/programs-services/assessment-teaching-learn...

Institution URL: https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/programs-services/assessment-teaching-learn...

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We are a state system of 34 Community and Technical Colleges serving 380,918 students with 59 percent of students in Washington's public colleges and universities enrolled in a community or technical college.

Despite efforts to diversify hiring and recruiting practices, the number of full-time faculty of color across the state has remained within 14-17% since 2010. National research shows that faculty of color experience unique challenges that are systemic and remain unaddressed: hidden workloads, campus climate issues, and lack of transparent supports. Research also maintains that mentorship can address many of these issues. The Cross-Institution Faculty of Color Mentorship Program endeavors to expand our system’s ability to mentor, retain, and provide the needed support for faculty of color. While this program supports our current faculty, it will indirectly impact future recruitment and hiring.

• Supporting and facilitating faculty development, personally and professionally, through one-to-one and group mentoring. This work will also further identify and grow professional development programming addressing the needs unique to faculty of color in our Washington State community and technical college system.
• Increasing collaboration and networking opportunities cross-institution.
• Creating a community that will impact the success and retention of faculty of color at their respective institutions.
• Offering professional learning opportunities targeted towards making explicit the link between student success and faculty development — improving instructional quality.
• Developing individual and collective capacity in effective cross-cultural communication.

Faculty in our Washington State CTC system have access to a variety of different kinds of mentoring on their campuses. Some of these are formal (i.e. tenure committees or a mentorship program sponsored by their department or institution) and others are informal. This program is not intended to replace the valuable mentorship faculty members already have access to at their institutions.

However, there are very few, if any, formal supports for faculty of color as they navigate the well-researched and documented obstacles, barriers, and challenges unique to people of color holding a faculty role in historically white institutions. Therefore, this program is designed to offer a kind of mentoring not available consistently at all of our 34 CTCs. As an example, many faculty of color suffer long-term exhaustion from what is termed “invisible workload” – work that their colleagues from systemically dominant populations do not see or experience themselves. For example, they often have larger “informal” advisee loads, asked to sit on multiple committees to “diversify” the team, and are looked to as the experts to take on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on campus. In addition, many faculty of color experience both microaggressions and macroagressions in their classrooms (from students) and from colleagues as they perform the work of the institution (department meetings, committee work, etc.)

As a result of the low numbers of faculty of color state-wide, often a faculty member of color is the only person of color in a department or program. Therefore, there is no one to turn to at their respective individual institutions who has also experienced these significant challenges as they manifest in the faculty role. This can lead to isolation and burnout. Furthermore, there is a need to process traumatic experiences and heal from them so one can continue supporting students. This mentorship program offers faculty of color a unique opportunity to feel connected with others who experience similar challenges, to learn and heal from and with each other.

Mentoring in Context: This work has to be thought of differently than a traditional model of mentorship within our institution to truly meet the needs of our faculty.

One-to-One Mentoring: Using a variety of generative structures and processes (including surveys, personality inventories, and other methodologies), faculty mentees in the program are paired with a mentor with whom they are encouraged to develop a close, connected relationship. Mentors are required to initiate contact with their mentees at least twice per quarter. During each Convening: Mentor and mentee decide collaboratively on modality and duration (e-mail, phone, chat, Skype, F2F, lunch, dinner . . . ) While a more traditional one-to-one mentoring model might be more formal and hierarchal and more about career advancement, the mentoring in this program is about the kind of relationship building that strengthens both mentor and mentee holistically—in ways that improve their teaching, student learning, and the cultural climate at their respective institutions. In this kind of relationship, the mentee has just as much to offer as the mentor, and there is an inherent satisfaction in reciprocal acts of giving and supporting.

Group Mentoring: Each retreat features work-alike breakout sessions. In this way, the mentees have time to get to know each other and bond as a cohort. Perhaps even more important is time for the mentors to be together as a group. At the first meeting of the mentors, the message was clear—they are eager for ment

The Faculty of Color Mentorship Program is supported not only at the local level but recognized by the college presidents and chief academic offices as a statewide strategic effort to close equity gaps by supporting and encouraging faculty diversity.

• Number of faculty participating in the program from quarter to quarter and year to year
• Long-term retention data and career progression of faculty in the program
• Any patterns in reportedly successful pairings as it relates to ethnicity/discipline/gender/communication style/expectations of mentorship relationship
• What types of support and resources are needed to retain faculty of color and what types of professional development opportunities will best serve this growing population?
• What we have learned about mentorship practices for this population and applicable training models (successful matching practices, training for both mentors/mentees, intervention policies when there is a concern).

In our pilot year, we had 72 participants (with a waitlist) from 25 out of 34 of our Community and Technical Colleges. Sample disciplines included English, Communication, Counseling, Math, Communication, Automotive, Diesel, Engineering, Nursing, Physics, Early Childhood Education, ESL, Sociology, Business, & Dental Hygiene. Retention was high in the program in the first year, with a 97% retention rate. In our second year, we had 83 participants (with a waitlist) with 26 of our 34 Community and Technical Colleges represented.

Projected to get further data on Measures 3, 4, 5. Initial results indicate that 100% of the mentees in the program have indicated satisfaction with being able to have a mentor that is a faculty of color. A subset of this group prefers being paired with a mentor that is similar with race/ethnic identification and broader discipline. In relation to Measure #4, faculty have indicated that they would like their respective institutions to provide professional development opportunities and transparent communication related to the barriers that they face.

We recruit, hire, and retain faculty of color across the state. Across the state, we are creating a learning environment in which the faculty represent the diverse student body that we serve at our institutions.

• Creating a program for faculty of color can bring about feelings of discomfort in historically white institutions. Continuously connecting the goals of the program with the needs of our diverse faculty and our diverse student body was essential.
• Managing a large cross-institutional program is a complex endeavor. Navigating the system means to stay connected with many constituents at individual colleges and at the state-wide level to maintain a high level of communication and investment.
• Program participants feel a myriad of emotions when attending the mentorship retreats. It may feel like a culture shock when they return to their respective institutions. Working collaboratively on resources and support at their colleges is essential.
• Faculty of color often feel relief and a sense of comfort at the retreats. Yet, there are many cultural differences and ways of communicating. Strong mentorship training needs to address cross cultural communication for effective mentoring.
• We value that no one institution is solely responsible for the mentorship program, as we are cross-institutional. Yet, as a result, there are sustainability issues as the voluntary advisory board members transition in their careers.
• Having a strong, invested, and highly networked advisory board has been essential. The board members have personal and professional experience with diversity, equity, and inclusion and attend and fa
  
  RESOURCES AND COSTS NEEDED:
  

  Financial support, professional development related to supporting our faculty of color, investment from individual colleges to support faculty accessing these resources and adopting best practices developed by the mentorship program, human resources to facilitate/coordinate the program, network of speakers/presenters, advisory board to set the direction of the work, space to meet.

   

  COSTS

  • Our current self-support model translates to $500 per program participant, which equates to $41,500.
  • Funding for presenters/keynotes. Our advisory board currently facilitates discussions and breakout sessions.
  • We've chosen to utilize conference spaces outside of our colleges to provide safe spaces for dialogue and learning. So, site location, meals, etc would be most of the cost of the program.
  • Human resources to organize the program, the chair of the advisory board, work with registrations, communications to the system.
  
  

Possible integration/collaboration with participation between two and four year colleges in our state. Integrated best practices from the mentorship program with individual institutions. Broader application of mentorship principles that can be used with all faculty at their institutions. Explore expanding the capacity of the program with greater resources and sustainable policies and practices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub9KWEa2MJ8&feature=youtu.be

https://www.sbctc.edu/resources/documents/colleges-staff/programs-servic...

Dr. Sachi Horback 
District Dean, Business & Social Sciences 
Pierce College - WA 
9401 Farwest Drive SW 
Lakewood, Washington 98498-1999 
Phone: 2539646531 
shorback@pierce.ctc.edu

Dr. Sachi Horback 
District Dean, Business & Social Sciences 
Pierce College - WA 
9401 Farwest Drive SW 
Lakewood, Washington 98498-1999 
Phone: 2539646531 
shorback@pierce.ctc.edu