UGA Libraries Mentorship Program

This UGA Libraries mentorship program is open to all UGA Libraries employees regardless of their faculty/staff status, time worked at UGA, etc. (The program includes the UGA Press and Georgia Review.)

The program facilitates 6-month mentor/mentee relationships. Each year, one cohort begins in January and another in July.  Twice a year a call for participation is made on the Libraries' Grapevine listserv that includes a link to an application form. There is no limit regarding how many times someone may request to participate in the program as a mentor or mentee.

Mentor pairs must ultimately define their own relationships, but checking in weekly is recommended, as is an in-person meeting every two weeks. Mentorship activities may happen outside of working hours, or during the workday. Participants in the program should discuss the time commitment with their supervisors to determine how absences can be accommodated without a negative departmental impact.

The program aims to accomplish the following:

• Get new faculty and staff acquainted with the Libraries and UGA as a whole
• Help faculty and staff learn about what happens across units or departments
• Provide a structure that can help faculty and staff make interpersonal connections with each other
• Provide support for figuring out next steps professionally for early (or late) career staff and faculty
• Help employees learn professional norms and develop strategies for coping with various professional challenges