GEMS, FACETS, and JEWELS: Shining a Bright Light on NCA’s Mentors & Leaders in Denver

Whether you’re a Ph.D. candidate on the job market, a new faculty member accepting the challenge of a first position, a mid-career scholar trying to reach a full professorship, or anyone looking to breathe new life into their classes while navigating the challenges of working in higher education, mentorship matters. Despite its ongoing importance in all phases of career development, mentorship looks different at many of our institutions. Too often, the importance of engaging in successful mentorship practices is lost as we go about our demanding academic lives. This year, NCA’s Mentorship and Leadership Council (MLC) seeks to shine a brighter light on our members’ mentoring practices and areas where they seek additional support.

Following last year’s charge to increase mentoring and leadership support for all NCA members, the MLC piloted programming in New Orleans. The MLC recognized the discipline’s top mentors (as voted by their peers), hosted conversations about mentoring with representatives across NCA’s Caucuses and Divisions, and held sessions to highlight best practices. Building on member interest in these topics, this year the MLC offers a robust slate of convention programming that will help support mentoring. Co-sponsored with many NCA caucuses and divisions, we invite members at any stage of their careers to join us for sessions that consider how to make mentorship more inclusive, share best practices and inspiration, and provide concrete takeaways to implement after the conference.

First, the MLC is excited to announce its partnership with NCA to create a new “Mentoring Meetup” space throughout the 2025 NCA Convention. This space will facilitate mentoring conversations for all levels of the NCA membership (e.g., peer-to-peer; mentoring pods; student groups with mentors; faculty meeting with each other or with graduate students). Designed to help NCA members to connect, collaborate, and cultivate strong mentoring practices, members may stop by on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 8:00 a.m. -5:15 p.m. in the Aurora Ballroom Corridor to hold informal conversations and learn from others. We hope members will drop in to recharge and enjoy this space, and the MLC hopes to continue to offer this opportunity at future conventions.

The MLC and its co-sponsors also offer three convention sessions devoted to different mentorship and leadership practices and concerns.

On Friday, November 21 from 9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. in Homestead 01, members will have the opportunity to learn about leading in precarious times, as a discipline and within our home institutions. Entitled “Leaders Who Elevate – Even in Precarious Times: A Discussion for Everyone,” attendees will learn how to respond to threats to core aspects of our work – including tenure, academic freedom, and DEI. Featuring Rachel Dubrofsky of Syracuse University, Srividya Ramasubramanian of Syracuse University, and Brenda Allen of the University of Colorado Denver, this session places threats to leadership into historical and theoretical contexts, discusses the shifting leadership landscape, and explores responsive strategies. Faculty, administrators, students, and professionals will explore facets of leadership in precarious times – both for leaders and the led.

Next, during a session titled “Facets: Revealing the Many Aspects of Mentoring Across Career Trajectories,” communication educators and scholars at various stages will highlight how mentorship evolves throughout the span of one’s career. This session will provide advice about how to work with a mentor or mentee to guide a career after graduate school and ways to support members as they explore a variety of career paths. Featuring Nancy Molina-Rogers, University of California, Santa Barbara; Lucy Miller, Assistant Professor, West Chester University of Pennsylvania; and Shantel Martinez, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research / National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR/NSF NCAR), this session will be held on Friday, November 21, 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m., in Willow Lake Ballroom 03.

To keep shining a light on mentorship, another panel session will provide mentoring best practices titled “GEMS: Guidelines for Effective Mentoring.” Held on Saturday, November 22, 4:00 to 5:15 p.m. in the Adams Ballroom (Salon B), the panel will bring together people to discuss great ideas, share helpful tips and resources, and highlight successful mentoring programs and practices. Structured similarly to NCA GIFTS sessions and NCA Scholars Office Hours sessions, the event is organized into a series of small group discussions led by facilitators at round tables. Attendees will be invited to sit at the tables for 15- to 20-minute discussions, when they will then be invited to move to a different table to engage in a different mentoring discussion. Table topics include tips on mentoring students, strategies for finding great mentors, how NCA divisions and caucuses support mentoring, how to mitigate harm in mentorships, and much more. Participating in this session will give facilitators and attendees opportunities to expand their professional networks and exchange great ideas about mentoring. Speakers include NCA “GEMS” from different institutions representing the NCA membership, and all are welcome to attend. If you have any questions about the GEMS session, please reach out to the session’s co-chairs, Lisa Hanasono (LisaKH@bgsu.edu), Rico Self (cself@ncsu.edu), and Laurie Lewis (laurie.lewis@utsa.edu).

Please look for our Mentor Buttons at the convention, share our detailed flyer, and join us for these exciting sessions. The MLC hopes to help support members in their efforts to make mentorship shine brighter in Denver and beyond.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Laurie Lewis, Chair, Mentorship and Leadership Council, laurie.lewis@utsa.edu.