Located in the city of Denver, the University of Denver (DU) is the oldest and largest independent university in the Rocky Mountain Region with high research activity and enrolls approximately 11,500 students in its undergraduate, graduate, and professional preparation programs. Denver is quickly becoming one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the U.S. Census data show that Denver’s population includes 11.1% Black or African American, 31.7% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% Asian American, and approximately 1% Native American residents. Situated in this vibrant metropolitan community, the University is committed to building and sustaining a culturally diverse faculty, staff, and student body. In 2022, DU was awarded NSF Organization Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions (ADVANCE) grant for their DU-MERISTEM proposal. The 3-year, nearly $1 million grant builds on existing momentum to better support historically excluded faculty in the STEM fields at DU.
DU MERISTEM is a program funded by a National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE grant aimed at creating and measuring innovative practices in the hiring, retention, and professional development and support of women and other historically excluded faculty (HEF) in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). This (at least) three-year funded project specifically seeks to:
- Improve hiring practices to increase diverse representation (DU-GROW)
- Increase support across the career trajectory, particularly ensuring that new hires have a pathway to career success (DU-DEVELOP)
- Make the climate more positive for women and other diverse hires through changes to departmental cultures (DU-HEALS)
Position Summary
Two mentoring liaisons will serve as leaders on campus, selecting, training, and supporting faculty mentors in targeted departments and beyond. They will receive formal training in mentorship and use this and the MOARS (Mentoring and Onboarding Across Ranks and Series) model to in turn create other mentors, with the ultimate goal of establishing a sustainable mentorship program. This will serve as a pilot for mentoring programs that could be adopted across campus. With support from DU-DEVELOP, and funds to pay for outside facilitation and faculty participation, the mentoring liaisons will improve promotion and retention of HEF by expanding the number of faculty who are trained as mentors. They will, in collaboration with DU-DEVELOP, explore alternatives to “dyadic” mentoring, including but not limited to peer-to-peer and micro mentoring.
As part of DU-DEVELOP, a mentor training program with a focus on helping new hires succeed, a selected group of mentors will commit to a pilot program of improving their mentoring and support of faculty across their careers at DU, starting from hiring. Mentoring liaisons will serve as a coach for these mentors, helping them implement research-based strategies that improve retention and thriving for HEF. The liaisons will ensure that the pilot programs make progress towards their goals, engage best practices, and assess their work.
In addition, the liaisons will support a broader culture of mentoring and support on campus, through adapting, creating, or arranging for faculty mentoring training. This training should help faculty better support other faculty, including peers. To support this work, the liaisons will have access to a mentoring fund they can use to compensate faculty, as well as funds for training facilitation.
Essential Functions
The Mentoring Liaisons will:
- Using existing models for mentoring to support inclusive faculty success, train and provide ongoing support for DU mentors in STEM fields.
- Serve on and support the DU-DEVELOP subgroup of the DU-MERISTEM grant.
- Administer a “faculty mentoring fund” to help support faculty who agree to be trained as mentors.
- Explore and implement innovative approaches to mentoring, such as peer-to-peer and micro-mentoring.
- Collaborate with the Faculty Fellow for Mentoring Initiatives in the VPFA on developing a campus-wide culture of inclusive mentoring and support faculty engaged in peer mentoring.
- Work with the departments/programs selected to pilot the DU-DEVELOP mentoring program to create concrete action plans for long-term sustainability of a mentoring program.
- Identify best practices for supporting and mentoring DU faculty using survey-based data and work to create sustainability beyond the duration of the NSF grant.
- Lead opportunities for faculty and staff to develop mentoring capacities.
The Mentoring Liaisons will create a joint, yearly report to submit to the DU-MERISTEM leadership team, which will include:
- Description of training activities, including # of DU faculty trained as mentors, including contributing to the DU-DEVELOP NSF annual report
- Usage and impact of Faculty Mentoring Fund
- Update on pilot program, including summary of yearly progress report and concrete steps toward a sustainable mentoring program
- Report to be shared with Unit leadership on activities which have taken place and future activities in their areas, and other stakeholder engagement as appropriate.
Required Qualifications
- Full time, tenure-track or teaching and professional series. University of Denver faculty member at the Associate level or higher. (TPF eligibility pending conversation with their dean; please contact search chair to discuss.)
Preferred Qualifications
- Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing effective peer and professional (faculty and staff) mentoring programs
- Experience with DEIJ issues in STEM fields
- Have already received formal training in mentorship (e.g., CIMER Facilitating Entering Mentoring Training, DU Mentoring Community of Practice)
Work Schedule
While the University's administrative offices are open Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, faculty schedules vary from term to term and are based on courses taught, service commitments, and research agendas. The University's academic calendars are posted on the registrar's website (the law school is on a semester system and has a different academic calendar).
Application Deadline
For consideration, please submit your application materials by 4:00 p.m. (MST) December 1, 2024.
Special Instructions
Candidates must apply online through jobs.du.edu to be considered. Only applications submitted online will be accepted.
Compensation
This is a 1-year position with the possibility of renewals up to the length of the grant (June 2026). One position is available (the other is currently filled).
Faculty will need to work with the NSF ADVANCE grant Co-PIs and their department and unit leadership to negotiate course releases and/or stipends. The budgeted amount for this position is $19,564 + fringe for each of the years, and the hope is that faculty could devote a serious amount of time to this work.
Preferably, this position would begin their work on January 1, 2025.
The University of Denver has provided a compensation range that represents its good faith estimate of what the University may pay for the position at the time of posting. The University may ultimately pay more or less than the posted compensation range. The salary offered to the selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as the qualifications of the selected candidate, departmental budget availability, internal salary equity considerations, and available market information, but not based on a candidate’s sex or any other protected status.
Benefits
The University of Denver offers some benefits for non-benefited employees. The University of Denver is a private institution that empowers students who want to make a difference. Learn more about the University of Denver
Please include the following documents with your application:
- A concise summary that highlights why you are interested in this position and what experience, interests, or strengths you bring to this work. A bulleted list is appropriate.
- A current CV
- An email from your Chair indicating their support
The University of Denver is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital, family, or parental status, pregnancy or related conditions, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran. The University of Denver does not discriminate and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, creed, disability, sex (including sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression), marital family, and parental status, pregnancy, genetic information, military enlistment, or veteran status, and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance in any of the University’s educational programs and activities, and in the employment (including application for employment) and admissions (including application for admission) context, as required by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972; the Americans with Disabilities Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Equal Pay Act; the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act; the Colorado Protecting Opportunities and Worker's Rights ("POWR") Act; and any other federal, state, and local laws, regulations, or ordinances that prohibit discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation. For more information, please see the University of Denver's Non‑Discrimination‑Statement.
All offers of employment are contingent upon satisfactory completion of a criminal history background check.