Breaking Barriers: Mentoring Junior Faculty Women for Professional Development and Retention

Abstract
This paper describes a successful two-year pilot program on mentoring new junior faculty women. The program emphasizes individual professional development and retention issues and includes colleague-pairing, mentor training, the use of a mentoring agreement, and a multi-leveled series of development workshops, seminars, and networking activities. The assessment and research component includes a needs assessment, pre-and post-participation perception studies, assessment interviews, and a proposed longitudinal study of mentees from entrance to tenure.