NURAP is excited to announce the launch of the Pilot Mentoring Program. The goal of the program is to support and enhance research administration at Northwestern. One way to achieve this goal is through a structured mentoring program that pairs early career research administrators with senior level research administrators. The program provides a confidential space for discussion and inquiry around topics related to career growth, institutional knowledge and the development of soft skills.
NURAP sought out guidance from senior leaders in research administration across the University to find mentors and mentees. The five pairs from both campuses were selected in November and the program hosted a kickoff meeting in January to announce the pairs and elaborate on program specifics. NURAP plans to host check-ins throughout the course of the program to offer resources, guidance and to share successes. The pilot is scheduled to conclude in June with a meeting to discuss outcomes and strategies toward a full program.
For the duration of the program mentors and mentees will coordinate on a meeting schedule to build their relationship and then decide on a goal. There are purposefully no strict programmatic requirements other than time investment. Mentees can decide on what type of goal they would like to work toward and or accomplish during the program. Some mentees may decide to work toward a concrete short-term goal such as giving a presentation at a staff meeting. Other mentees may have a flexible, long-term goal like focusing on skills valuable to becoming a manager at Northwestern. This will be a collaborative pilot to determine what the best full program will look like for Northwestern research administrators.
We welcome suggestions from the NURAP community as we move forward on this effort. If you have questions or comments please reach out to Yael Mayer (yael.mayer@northwestern.edu), Maura Cleffi (m-cleffi@northwestern.edu), and Nathan Youngblood (nyoungblood@northwestern.edu).