Mentorships offer new path for professional development
February 22, 2011 •
- Are you looking for a friendly way to expand your professional network or advance your career?
- Would you like guidance from a seasoned professional in your field who can provide informal coaching and share career insights?
- How would you like the opportunity to have regular one-on-one meetings with UCOP leaders like Nathan Brostrom or Dan Dooley?
You could be a perfect candidate for the new UCOP Mentorship Program, which pairs individuals seeking to develop themselves professionally with more experienced colleagues.
Sponsored by the Office of Human Resources, the effort is designed to broaden opportunities for professional development, increase connectivity and help cultivate a more cohesive community at UCOP.
Starting Feb. 22, mentee applications will be accepted from career employees in job classifications PSS 1 through 5 with at least two years of OP experience. The program’s first year will serve as a pilot, with the goal of facilitating 15 to 25 mentor/mentee matches, depending on interest, from May 2011 to May 2012.
For more information, check out the UCOP Mentorship Program website, which will go live on Thursday, Feb. 24, at http://hrop.ucop.edu/employees/trng_dvlpmnt. There you can find program guidelines, the mentee application form and more details.
Human Resources Vice President Dwaine Duckett will answer questions about the program at brown bag lunches on Wednesday, Feb. 23, in room 5320 in the Franklin building, and Tuesday, March 1, in room 612 of the Kaiser building.
To apply, mentees fill out a simple application by answering five questions about their work at UCOP, their career goals and why they think they are good candidates for the program. Finalists will be selected according to specific criteria by members of the Mentorship Program Development Team, made up of staff from a range of divisions.
“Although this initial offering will be limited, our vision is that, one day, everyone at UCOP will be able to participate in the program,” Duckett said. “The Steering Committee along with the Office of the President’s leadership are committed to this program and the positive effect it can have for individuals and the OP culture.”
Program steering committee members will all serve as mentors; they will nominate additional mentors from staff in job categories PSS 5 and above. In addition to VP Duckett, steering committee members include:
- Nathan Brostrom, Executive VP, Business Operations
- Mary Croughan, Executive Director, Research Grants Program
- Dan Dooley, Senior VP, External Relations, and Vice President, ANR
- Luanna Putney, Director, Research Compliance
- Marsha Sato, Deputy to VP, Budget and Capital Resources
- John Stobo, Senior VP, Health Sciences and Services
- William Tucker, Executive Director, Innovation Alliances and Services
Participation is limited this year due to the pilot nature of the program. The goal for subsequent years is to open the program to everyone interested in participating, both mentors and mentees.
The Mentorship Program was inspired by ongoing conversations with the OP Staff Assembly, the President’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women and Bagels with Mark sessions.
Program leaders are also working with managers of the successful mentorship programs at UCSF and Berkeley to follow best practices and borrow program components.
