Today's Update; Wednesday, April 6, 2022

April 6, 2022

Dear Student Life team, 

I hope you know by now that I take Student Life’s culture commitments very seriously and that we are always thinking of ways to advance appreciation, connection, support and care. I am happy to present another way we are building on these and making connections with colleagues across Student Life – the Student Life Staff Mentoring Program.

The Student Life Staff Mentoring Program was designed as a result of direct feedback from all of you. I heard about a need for more connections and formal mentoring during the Student Life listening sessions and through our strategic planning process. Staff expressed a desire for a way to be connected with mentors that could help guide them with their professional development, explore new areas of interest and be a system of support. 

The goal of the program is to foster an inclusive culture of professional networks and learning across Student Life. You can sign up to be a mentor, a mentee or both if you would like to serve as mentor as well as have a mentor. Each mentor, meaning one more experienced staff member (with six or more years of professional experience or a combination of education) will be matched with two newer professionals (with five or fewer years of experience.) Mentors will meet monthly with each mentee one-on-one, then quarterly as a group. The program will kick off in May and participants will commit to entering a mentoring relationship for one year. 

I highly encourage you to take part in this important program. I also ask that managers and supervisors encourage your staff members to participate and make clear that they can take part in this program as part of their work. We want to invest even more in our Student Life team, and I believe this program is another tangible way to do that.

You can find out more, and sign up, online: https://studentlife.osu.edu/academic-and-career/student-life-staff-mentoring-program 

I truly hope you consider this Scarlet and Great opportunity to engage in formal mentoring as a way to connect with each other and support our enter team in engaging, learning and thriving.

 

Melissa S. Shivers, PhD 

Senior Vice President for Student Life 
The Ohio State University