Mentoring New Professionals of Color – On-Demand Training

Intentional Initiatives for Support and Development

Professional mentors are essential components to ensure a successful transition of new professionals on your campus – especially for those of color. Intentional initiatives will help ensure an inclusive, supportive environment that not only attracts new professionals of color, but also retains them – ensuring the future leaders of your institution.

Unfortunately, there are not enough mentors in the field to help and guide new professionals of color, especially at Predominantly White Institutions. Challenges with navigating implicit bias and ignorance, poor leadership, an unwillingness to address negative behaviors, and a lack of training to prepare leaders to be effective within their roles can make a work environment unwelcoming – and even hostile – leaving new professionals questioning their belonging and their worth.

Our presenters share how to mentor new professionals as they navigate the political climate on your campus, teach them how to engage with campus partners, ensure they leverage those partnerships for personal and professional development, and ultimately cultivate a stronger sense of community and belonging.

Topics Covered

As a result of attending this online training, you will be able to:

• Help new professionals better navigate the political waters when first starting as a new professional – give them strategies for developing support systems that support their social, emotional, and professional needs.
• Encourage new professionals to engage more with campus partners – leverage those partnerships for resources and professional development so you can encourage success and foster a stronger sense of community.
• Explore the various ways formal and informal mentorship supports new professionals of color – review theories and trends of today that will serve as a framework for your mentor-mentee relationships, so you can better guide your staff toward engagement, connection and professional success.
• Identify the unique campus social and environmental challenges new professionals of color experience in higher education – empower faculty and staff to become an essential resource to these new professionals and foster an inclusive campus that helps them navigate successfully through institutional barriers.
• Develop institutionalized support systems for new professionals of color – recruit and train mentors to help them develop as professionals, engage outside of their functional areas, and develop confidence to work with potentially challenging supervisors or colleagues.

Presenters

Brandi Williams is currently the Director of Institutional Equity and Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Institutional Equity (OEI) at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. She has completed the UGA Fanning Institute training to become a certified general/civil mediator for the state of Georgia and is a certified life coach.
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Nigel Harris currently serves as the Director of Programs and Facilities for the Department of Sports and Recreation at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.  He is also co-chair to the Division of Student Affairs Professional Development Committee, and he established and launched a New Employee Orientation program.
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