Mentoring

ORION [ORIentation & ONboarding]

ORION stands for Orientation and Onboarding. It is a program offered to all new faculty, regardless of appointment type. ORION begins with orientation to KATIE, our Moodle Learning Management System in mid-August. It continues with a one-day orientation session in late August.

The New Faculty Group will meet every other week to discuss teaching and learning at Luther College, to talk about how things are going, and to learn about how various college offices and processes operate. All new faculty are encouraged to participate, and new tenure-line faculty and all new faculty with contracts renewable for three or more years are required to do so. We also invite second and third-year faculty, so it is a chance to meet colleagues outside of your department.

Mentoring Trios

Luther provides a mentoring program for second-year faculty that has taken a variety of forms. In its current iteration, Mentoring Trios pair two more senior faculty members with a second-year faculty member.

Mentoring Trios are organized by the Associate Dean and Director of CELT in late August. The trios run the academic year.

During the academic year, the Mentoring Trio members are expected to:

• observe each other’s teaching and reflect together on teaching and learning
• discuss each other’s research and reflect together on scholarship
• discuss each other’s experiences of college citizenship and reflect together on service
• meet as a trio with the Associate Dean and Director of Faculty Development in the spring
• submit a brief plan for J-Term (if possible) and spring semester in December.
• submit a brief, joint year-end report and evaluation of the Mentoring Trio experience.

The Mentoring Trio structure is designed to benefit all three faculty members. Of course, the program will provide the second-year faculty member an opportunity to work on teaching, scholarship, and service statements in preparation for third-year review or for job applications. But it also provides the more senior faculty members an opportunity to reflect on who they want to be as a teacher, scholar, and college citizen as you enter into the next stages of your career.

CELT will provide a charge card for campus meals when meeting over lunch or coffee for circle discussions, as well as a stipend, payable in late May.