Mentoring Case

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It’s Not Magic, It’s Mentoring

By Dwuena C. Wyre & Brenda O. Mitchell

Introduction

Mentoring is credited as a key component contributing to the continuance of several

contemporary professions (Murray & Owen, 1991). However, it was the pioneering work of

Kram (1980, 1988) that set the stage for mentoring in organizations and continues to serve as the

foundational backdrop for the mentor’s behaviors. Kram’s (1980, 1988) trailblazing work

identified and categorized the mentors’ behaviors as career and psychosocial. In an ideal work

setting where a traditional mentoring model is implemented, the experienced mentor competently

exhibits career and psychosocial behaviors in order to support the aspiring protégé’s career.

Although, current definitions of traditional mentoring reflect this purpose, the traditional

mentoring model can lead to less than ideal results and impact (Ragins, 2016). As such, an

encouraged alternative to traditional mentoring is relational mentoring (Ragins, 2016). The

relational mentoring model is distinguished from the traditional mentoring model in that it

embraces and thrives on the idea that both mentors and protégés learn and grow as a result of the

relationship (Ragins, 2016). The mentor’s perspective is also different, as he or she feels

comfortable sharing his or her insights, experiences, and challenges. A further distinction

between traditional and relational mentoring models is that traditional mentoring focuses

primarily on how mentors can assist protégés. Whereas with relational mentoring, mentors and

protégés seek to learn and grow from each other and the mutual support is provided based on

need (Ragins, 2016). Moreover, relational mentoring may be further enhanced by diversifying

the mentoring dyad. This is due in part because mentors in diverse mentoring relationships have

a distinct opportunity to obtain more knowledge, empathy, and skills to interact with others from

different power-related groups (Ragins, 1997).

Institutional Setting and Background

University X is a large public research one university located in the northeastern part of

the United States with an undergraduate, graduate, and professional student population of

30,000. University X is the largest employer in the rural community in which it is located and is

an economic powerhouse for the region (particularly due to STEM and athletics). One thousand,

four hundred fifteen (1,415) employees are full-time faculty. Of these, 950 are tenured/tenure

track and 465 faculty have fixed term appointments (not including adjunct faculty). With regard

to diversity, 103 (7%) are African American, 79 (6%) are Hispanic, 20 (1.4%) are Pacific

Islanders, and 10 (0.7%) are American Indian. Additionally, 354 (25%) of the total facult y are

female. As University X is ranked among the nation’s top universities because of its excellence

in teaching, research, public service, and global initiatives, large numbers of students and faculty

from all over the world seek to join the prestigious University X. Many of the faculty are

Fulbright Scholars and University X prides itself on its stellar reputation and high rankings on

multiple best lists.

The university has just completed a 14-month process to develop and adopt its new 5-

year strategic plan. While some of the goals are not new and are essentially a continuation from

the previous strategic plan, University X has a new goal that focuses on faculty diversity and

inclusion. In previous strategic plans, diversity (not inclusion) was addressed in regards to

students. A diverse, inclusive faculty is a new area requiring attention at the highest levels.

Several alumni from underrepresented groups have stressed the need for additional faculty of

Color, and have recently brought their collective concerns to University X’s board of directors

and president.

Although the university has hired faculty of Color in the past, no specific, unified effort

has existed to recruit and retain them. In the past, some deans may have encouraged their

department chairs to advertise faculty vacancies on recruiting websites that attract potential

candidates from minoritized communities and through minoritized professional organizations.

However, this was not the norm. Additionally, there was no clear strategy in place at University

X to help retain faculty or staff.

Key Characters

Dr. Norelle Lopez-Johnson, a Latina recently hired as the new Executive Director for the Office

of Diversity and Inclusion. Prior to working at University X, she was an associate professor and

director of diversity and inclusion at a university in southern California. Dr. Lopez-Johnson also

has 15 years of experience as a senior director of diversity at a Fortune 500 company. She

received an excellence in leadership award from her previous institution, due to her history of

engaging and partnering with alumni and community leaders to create a culture of inclusive

excellence on campus and in the community. Serving as the president’s lead strategist for

diversity and inclusive excellence, her responsibilities include developing policies, executing

strategies, promoting best practices, and monitoring university compliance with related federal

laws and policies to build and sustain a diverse workforce and culture of inclusive excellence.

Dr. Thomas Buchanan, a White male and current President of University X. Dr.

Buchanan is anxious about the recent departure of another tenured/tenure track faculty member

of Color and having to engage in discussions with esteemed alumni. He has tasked Dr. Lopez-

Johnson to use her magic to increase retention of faculty of Color and to make University X’s

community more inclusive.

James Smith, JD, a White male, and current Vice President of Administration for the past

5 years. He is an alumnus and former law professor of University X’s law school.

Dr. Meredith Nordstrom, a White female tenured Associate Professor of Women’s

Studies and president of the faculty senate. Dr. Nordstrom has strong views about the new

strategic plan. She thinks the university should strictly focus on adding and promoting more

women faculty, rather than adding more faculty of Color to the institution at this time. Dr.

Nordstrom applied for the Director of Diversity and Inclusion position; however, she was not

selected.

Benjamin Wellesley, III, a White male senior political science major and student

government association representative. Five generations of the Wellesley family have attended

the institution and the student union building is named after Benjamin’s great-grandfather.

Kayla Treme’, an African American female sophomore pre-med major, and student

government association (SGA) representative with aspirations of becoming SGA president in the

future. Several National Panhellenic Conference member organizations and multi-cultural groups

on campus have voiced their concerns to Kayla about the dismal number of faculty of Color on

campus.

The Case

Dr. Lopez-Johnson is quickly disappointed as she reads her email and becomes aware that

another faculty of Color has resigned from their tenure track assistant professor role at the

university. This is the third resignation this spring informing University X that a faculty member,

but more specifically a faculty member from an underrepresented group, would not return for the

fall term. Not only is Dr. Lopez-Johnson disappointed because there are already so few tenure

track faculty of Color, she is equally frustrated because she has not had a chance to implement

any new policies or practices that she found successful at her previous institution, such as the

relational mentoring model, to address University X’s great faculty diversity divide.

Before Dr. Lopez-Johnson has an opportunity to take the second sip of her morning cup

of coffee, her phone rings--it’s President Buchanan. With a deep sigh and roll of the eyes, Dr.

Lopez-Johnson quickly gathers herself and answers the phone in her most polished professional

voice. Without a proper return salutation, President Buchanan immediately dives in and insists

that Dr. Lopez-Johnson do something now to “stop the bleeding” of faculty of Color leaving the

institution. “This is just not going to cut it; we need a solution now…no yesterday,” says

President Buchanan. Dr. Lopez-Johnson could not get a word in edgewise, as President

Buchanan frantically talked for five minutes about how he would have to explain to the African

American alumni who were leading the discussions and insisting to the board that more faculty

of Color be hired and retained by the university. It was no secret that University X had

numerous distinguished African American alumni, many of whom were known nationally for

their success in their respective fields. These alumni had also made some of the largest

donations to University X in support of academic scholarships for students of Co lor in STEM

majors and professional programs. “Norelle, I need you to work the same magic you used on all

those companies you helped diversify their workforce,” said President Buchanan. “Magic--that

was blood, sweat, and tears President Buchanan. It’s called work,” Dr. Lopez-Johnson said to

herself. Dr. Lopez-Johnson knew that only hard work or sweat equity, which involved building a

diverse, inclusive coalition was what helped her have the success she experienced in corporate

America and in higher education. So instead of saying what she previously said to herself, Dr.

Lopez-Johnson remained professionally poised and responded with a calm and cool voice and

said, “President Buchanan, I too am deeply disappointed that another faculty of Color has

resigned. This is by no means a coincidence and you hired me to address the root cause of these

issues. I must inform you, there will be resistance as we move forward. However, I must also

reassure you. This is not new to me and I have competently helped organizations successfully

address these matters in the past.” With those words came a huge sigh of relief from President

Buchanan and the satisfaction of knowing he had made the best hiring decision.

The next day in executive staff meeting, President Buchanan shares the staggering

statistics of the latest numbers of faculty of Color at University X. Before he has an opportunity

to share his thoughts about the matter, the VP of Administration, who oversees human resources,

interrupts. “James, you interrupted me. However, since you seem to be in a position to

enlighten us, and quite eager to do so I might add, please go ahead and share what’s so

important,” President Buchanan stated in a slightly irritated tone. “I just wanted to let everyone

know that I just received the quarterly turnover reports from HR; believe it or not, we actually

received some feedback from employees in the exit interview that is germane to this very topic.”

Dr. Lopez-Johnson leaned in and moved to the edge of her seat. Ever since she started at

University X she has requested that her colleague share exit interview feedback from HR, as

simply forwarding her monthly employee counts was not helping her at all. Of course, the VP of

Administration always had a very poor excuse as to why the exit interview data was not available

each time she requested it. As silence fell upon the room, all eyes were on the VP of

Administration. Dr. Lopez-Johnson was most eager to hear and had an eagle’s eye stare on the

VP of Administration. Finally, the VP of Administration spoke up, “Well, you know we have

been tracking exit interview data for some time now…we actually started five years ago when

the exit interview was implemented for voluntary separations.” Dr. Lopez-Johnson was not

amused by the fact that the VP of Administration had been holding on to this information. James

expressed that the top three reasons tenure track assistant professors from underrepresented

groups leave the university within two years are: 1) lack of support and professional

development opportunities, 2) overwhelming amounts of service, and 3) microaggressions from

colleagues. There were five years of data which highlighted the experiences of underrepresented

tenure track faculty that had just been sitting in an Excel file on someone’s hard drive. Dr.

Lopez-Johnson made a verbal request for the data and to be added to the list of recipients of the

quarterly turnover reports. President Buchanan looked puzzled, yet opened his mouth and spoke

with great authority and said, “James, I want Norelle to receive every report from HR related to

separations, including voluntary and involuntary. I also want you and the HR Director to

schedule regular meetings with Norelle to discuss our retention efforts and whatever else that

might help us. Actually, I thought this sort of thing was already happening…” After hearing

President Buchanan’s statement, Dr. Lopez-Johnson shook their head from right to left signaling

no and stated aloud, “I will be sure to follow-up and coordinate with James to regularly meet.”

To make sure she would not forget, Norelle wrote herself a note to contact her colleague later

that afternoon. However when she did so, the VP of Administration’s administrative assistant

informed her that he would be busy for the next few weeks and could not meet with her but was

willing to provide the raw data for her to decipher on her own. How ironic was this? Especially

since she had recently been told that James Smith was the only search committee member who

did not vote for her to be offered the position because he preferred Dr. Meredith Nordstrom, a

longtime family friend.

The following day, Dr. Lopez-Johnson was scheduled to attend the faculty senate

meeting. As her previous meeting lasted longer than expected, she dashed across campus and

made it to the faculty senate meeting shortly after it had been called to order. “Colleagues, the

meeting has been called to order. Please adhere to our established parliamentary procedures if

you wish to address the faculty senate,” said Dr. Meredith Nordstrom. The two students in

attendance were somewhat nervous, because they had never attended a faculty senate meeting

before and were uncertain about what to expect. Student success was the last item on the

agenda. While Kayla Treme’ knew she was in attendance to listen to the discussion on student

success, she was unsure why Benjamin Wellesley was attending the meeting. They were

acquaintances through their work with the SGA. As the president of the faculty senate moved

swiftly through the agenda, it was finally clear why Benjamin Wellesley was present. He was

there to accept an alumni award on behalf of his father, who was unable to attend due to a

previously scheduled business trip out of the country. “Thank you, thank you, and thank you. I

am honored to accept the alumni partner award on behalf of my father. He sends his regrets and

says he knows that the faculty are the greatest asset to the students and he will continue support

faculty growth and development in any way he can. As a 5th generation Wellesley, I’m honored

to be a student here and look forward to following in the steps of my forefathers as being an

active alum and great supporter of University X. Thank you all again,” said Benjamin Wellesley.

Kayla had so much to ponder. She had no idea Benjamin’s family had been affiliated

with the university for five generations. It was also now clear to her that the Wellesley name on

the student union was also a relative of Benjamin’s. She had hoped to discuss the concerns that

the students of Color had brought to her attention with Benjamin. She needed an ally in the

SGA. Originally, she thought that could be Benjamin Wellesley. However, since his family is

such a great part of the university’s history and his family’s legacy is so connected with

University X’s past and present, Benjamin may not understand or empathize with the needs of

the students of Color. He probably thinks all is great with University X and no change is

necessary in any area.

It had been a week since Dr. Lopez-Johnson had attended the executive staff and faculty

senate meetings, during which time she poured over the data from HR. From her executive staff

meeting notes, she already knew that the top 3 reasons faculty of Color left University X were: 1)

lack of support and professional development opportunities, 2) overwhelming amounts of

service, and 3) microaggressions from colleagues. Consequently, after closely reviewing the

data from the exit interviews she also noted multiple instances where faculty of Color reported a

lack of resources to support research and teaching, not feeling valued by colleagues, a lack of

trust, and feelings of alienation. Dr. Lopez-Johnson began to see the bigger picture. She knew

she needed to get input and insight from those who interacted more closely with the faculty of

Color and stakeholders who had a strong, positive connection to the university. Therefore, she

decided conduct focus groups. To begin, she invited two SGA representatives (students), two

tenured faculty members, two alumni, and the president of the faculty senate (Dr. Meredith

Nordstrom) to participate in a focus group. She wanted to learn more about the perceptions that

individuals affiliated with the university had towards faculty of Color. She had facilitated

countless numbers of these sessions and considered herself to be competent at the task. To start

the meeting, Dr. Lopez-Johnson introduced herself, expressed appreciation to the participants,

and reinforced why they were gathered. Additionally, she reminded them of the confidentiality

statement they signed at the outset and that their identities would remain anonymous. All

participants seemed pleased to participate in such an important discussion. The two alumni were

the first to speak up and shared that when they were students they did not have any faculty of

Color as professors. One White alumnus acknowledged he thinks he could have benefitted

tremendously if he had been taught by a faculty of Color because his first boss when he

graduated was a Black man that he greatly admires and respects. The alumnus further stated that

his first boss was his mentor for many years and that their friendship had ended a few years ago

due to his death.

Thirty minutes passed. Although the time lapsed was filled with rich discussion and

vivid memories, the alumni had done most of the talking. Dr. Lopez-Johnson knew she had to

engage the other participants. “Mr. Wellesley, as a current student, what are you perceptions of

faculty of Color,” asked Dr. Lopez-Johnson. Before Benjamin could respond, Dr. Meredith

Nordstrom chimed in, “Before he can answer that, it should probably be noted that Benjamin is a

political science major and there are no faculty of Color in that department for him to experience

being taught or advised by a faculty member of Color. Most of those people teach in the

criminology department.” “No estaba hablando contigo,” Dr. Lopez-Johnson said to herself.

However, instead of stating aloud what she said to herself, Dr. Lopez-Johnson smiled and said,

“Benjamin, if there are no faculty of Color in your department, how do you feel about that?

Additionally, after you respond, I’d still like you to respond to my original question. You don’t

have to be taught by a faculty member of Color in order to share your perception of them. Please

share your point of view. Thank you.” Benjamin wanted to make sure he answered in a way

that would best represent his family. After all, his great grandfather’s name was on the student

union building. Benjamin proceeded to say, “Actually, I love University X. I enjoy my classes

and my professors. I think it would be good to add more faculty of Color to the university but I

never really thought about it. Maybe it’s because I have really good relationships with my

current professors. I can talk with them whenever I need to and several of them treat me like I’m

their son. So maybe we should keep things like they are now, at least in my department.

Regarding my perception of faculty of Color, if the university hires them I just assume they are

qualified to teach here.” Kayla could not believe what she heard. Benjamin’s experience was so

different from the students who had voiced their concerns to her. In so many instances things

were quite opposite. The students of Color did not feel the same level of comfort and ease that

Benjamin experienced with the professors. Kayla knew she had to share her own experiences

and those who had voiced their concerns to her. She took a deep breath, pulled the notes she had

taken during all the discussions she had with the students out of her backpack, and voiced the

concerns of her fellow students. Many in the focus group were surprised to learn that many of the

students of Color felt disconnected to the university; were seriously contemplating leaving;

wanted more faculty of Color; and wanted access to more professional organizations for people

of Color (e.g., American Indian Science and Engineering Society, National Society of Black

Engineers, etc.).

After listening to the students, Dr. Nordstrom knew something needed to be done to

address the students’ issues. However, she still felt the gender divide and pay gap should be the

focus of the university’s strategic plan. The two tenured faculty members expressed that prior to

the meeting, they had loosely discussed mentoring and how it was growing in usage with regard

to helping universities retain and support tenure track faculty. Both faculty participants admitted

that colleges and universities typically implement mentoring programs to support students.

However, they did not see why it could not be used to support and retain faculty. Dr. Lopez-

Johnson knew the information from the focus group was useful; therefore, she decided to

conduct three additional focus groups with students, tenured faculty, and alumni.

After several weeks of conducting the focus groups, Dr. Lopez-Johnson reviewed her

detailed notes and the transcribed recordings in order to begin preparing a proposal for a faculty

mentoring program based on the relational mentoring model. She justified the need for the

program by sharing the exit interview data, accounts from the focus group participants, current

workforce data, and turnover data. It was clear to her that the program needed to address a

cultural shift that would foster a welcoming, inclusive academic community for faculty of Color.

Measurable outcomes would be a necessary component to provide evidence of the success of the

relational mentoring program. Therefore, she focused on retention of faculty of Color,

achievement of tenure, and their level of commitment to the institution as potential program

measures. She also thought it would be good to have the mentors and protégés report

information on their experience on a regular basis. Regular check-ins such as this could help

ensure that meetings were occurring regularly and that mentors and protégés were fully engaged.

Even though she realized student success was linked to the faculty, she needed to give more

thought as to how she could make the connection between the faculty relational mentoring

program and student success. Dr. Lopez-Johnson felt she was on the right track by proposing a

relational mentoring program for faculty. Likewise, she realized that President Buchanan would

think it was her magic that would turn things around for University X. Be that as it may, she

knew it was really relational mentoring, not magic, that would make the difference.

Summary

As a new administrator responsible for diversity and inclusion in higher education, Dr.

Lopez-Johnson is faced with high turnover of faculty of Color at a predominately White

institution. Student organizations, as well as esteemed alumni, are not satisfied with the current

number of faculty of Color at University X. The number of tenure-track faculty of Color is

dismal to say the least at the institution. The new administrator answers the charge to seek short-

term and long-term solutions to address the issue through mentoring. Dr. Lopez-Johnson

proposes to develop and implement a faculty mentoring program that aligns with the university’s

mission and goals by building a diverse, inclusive coalition to design and develop the program.

She expects her proposal to be met with speculation, resistance, and harsh criticism from Dr.

Meredith Nordstrom, faculty senate president, some faculty as well as a few administrators. Dr.

Lopez-Johnson realizes the difficulty of measuring a mentoring program’s success; however, she

is confident that building in measureable outcomes will ultimately help University X to reach its

strategic goal of having an inclusive campus community.

Discussion Questions

1. What is the role of university leaders in matters of diversity and inclusive excellence?

2. Why is it important for universities to focus on inclusive excellence, rather than only

diversity?

3. How do you handle conflict within a group to determine strategies to move forward with

a single focus?

4. Provided University X implements a relational mentoring program, what elements should

be included and how should the program be evaluated? In your answer, include whether

or not participation in the program should be mandatory for all new tenure track faculty

or for all faculty of Color at University X.

5. Who should be the mentors for the program and why? Include in your answer the

importance of having competent mentors. Also, establish the criteria for participation as

a mentor.

6. Aside from using a mentoring model, what other strategies could University X use to

retain faculty of Color?

References

Kram, K. E. (1980). Mentoring processes at work: Developmental relationships in managerial

careers (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. (Order

No. 8025206)

Kram, K. E. (1988). Mentoring at work: Developmental relationships in organizational life.

Lanham, MD, England: University Press of America.

Murray, M., & Owen, M. A. (1991). Beyond the myths and magic of mentoring. San Francisco,

CA: Jossey-Bass.

Ragins, B. R. (1997). Diversified mentoring relationships in organizations: A power perspective.

Academy of Management Review, 22(2), 482-521.

Ragins, B. R. (2016). From the ordinary to the extraordinary: High-quality mentoring

relationships at work. Organizational Dynamics, 45, 228-244. Retrieved from

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0090261616300687?via%3Dihub