A Mentor's Many Hats: TGS Explores Components of High-Quality Mentorship

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Ask a handful of Duke's faculty or students to describe what good mentorship looks like, and you’ll receive more than a handful of answers. You may hear of an adviser with career expertise; a tutor who provides feedback on performance; a cheerleader or supportive role model; a sponsor and networking coach.

As a cornerstone of graduate education, mentorship plays a vital role in shaping the professional and personal growth of aspiring leaders. When so broadly defined, though, quality mentorship is difficult to measure, and providing faculty the resources they need to effectively support their mentees poses a challenge.  

In 2024-2025, The Graduate School expanded its offerings for faculty interested in strengthening their mentorship muscles. Current mentoring resources from The Graduate School have included the Cultivating a Culture of Mentoring Toolkit, robust mentorship workshops during orientation week, and ongoing professional development training opportunities for graduate students.

These efforts have provided valuable support, and now new partnerships and training opportunities have allowed for additional exploration into what drives Duke Graduate School’s culture of mentorship, and what challenges it still faces.   

Widely Kaleidoscopic Opinions of Mentorship  

Maria Wisdom, Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement at Duke, has spent much of her career studying the art and science of mentorship. Since 2021, she has provided coaching services to Duke faculty to help them reach their full potential as professionals and mentors. Wisdom acknowledges that faculty are often expected to know how to be mentors with very little support or training.  

“The higher ed challenge that we are trying to address is that there’s a wide gap between what we know about effective mentorship graduate students and junior researchers, and what is actually happening on the ground,” Wisdom says. “It’s not just at Duke, but at different institutions. People’s experience of mentoring and being mentored is widely kaleidoscopic.”  

In summer 2024, Wisdom’s role as Assistant Vice Provost was formed as the first of its kind: a joint appointment between The Graduate School and the Office for Faculty Advancement. One of Wisdom's key efforts in this role is to identify ways to strengthen the mentorship culture within TGS. 

Faculty are expected to be many things and wear many hats, Wisdom adds: teachers, lab supervisors, institution directors. In many cases, little attention is given to proper training on institutional expectations for mentoring, or how to measure success.  

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The Myth of Charisma  

During the fall 2024 semester, The Graduate School offered a series of mentorship trainings to interested faculty from Duke and partnering institutions. The goal, Wisdom says, was to explore a set curriculum that offers a comprehensive, evidence-based toolbox for mentoring facilitators, and to bridge the gap between what is known about quality mentorship and how it is practiced at Duke and elsewhere. 

After discussions with Suzanne Barbour, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education, the team opted to host trainings from CIMER: the Center for The Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research. CIMER approaches mentorship with a scientific, evidence-based approach, eschewing the myth that good mentorship is based on only the chemistry between mentor and mentee, or the charisma of the mentor. 

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During the first two-day training session, 26 faculty members and staff, including from partner universities such as Virginia State University, participated in a series of mock scenarios where mentoring skills were practiced and discussed. Upon completing the training and practice facilitation, faculty were presented with a CIMER training certificate.  

Joel Collier, Theodore Kennedy Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke, has been a valuable thought-partner in improving graduate mentorship. After participating in the CIMER training, he emphasized that true mentorship is collaborative and community based, not a solitary, one-way stream of support   

"The training emphasized the value of collaborative learning among mentors, allowing us to share experiences and strategies," Collier said. “No one person can be everything for a trainee. Building a mentoring community ensures that students receive comprehensive support." 

A second CIMER training session provided additional development in supporting mentee wellness, emphasizing that true mentorship should approach the process holistically, focusing on the needs of the mentee and not just academic or professional ones.  

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Gentzon Hall, Assistant Professor of Medicine in Duke Nephrology, took part in the semester’s offerings. He shared that his own journey to Duke was influenced by his mentor, Michelle Wynn, whose dedication to teaching and research left a lasting impact on him. 

"Mentorship isn't just about imparting knowledge,” Hall said. “ It's about shaping the careers and lives of students. Michelle's mentorship extended beyond the lab. She instilled values of resilience and advocacy that I strive to pass on to my students.” 

One Size Doesn’t Fit All  

One of the greatest challenges in the theory that mentorship training can be approached scientifically is that people are the core component in the mentoring relationship—and as we know, every individual is unique.  

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Lauren Ginsberg, Associate Professor of Classical Studies and Theater Studies at Duke, has partnered with TGS since 2023 as the school’s first Graduate Faculty Fellow. The program offers opportunities for the faculty fellow to work on administrative projects and to offer feedback to graduate school leadership on processes and decision making.  

As a humanist scholar, Ginsberg notes that mentorship takes on a unique shape in the humanities, as the research and training environment outside of STEM are not necessarily as hierarchical as in the research laboratory. Mentorship training, such as that provided by CIMER, may provide a limited focus as it often focuses on the STEM fields.  

"Our training environments are different; humanities students often work independently, unlike the collaborative lab settings in STEM fields," Ginsberg notes. "Mentoring [in the humanities] sometimes has to be a bit more deliberate. The ways you can help others do their research or navigate life as a solo investigator are different than when you’re thinking of people in a group or laboratory setting.” 

In addition to the vast variety of research environments that require different mentorship approaches, the changing needs of a students, all with unique life experiences and backgrounds, requires a more personalized approach.  

Kimberly Lawrence, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Virginia State University, traveled to Duke for mentorship training and underscores the unique challenges faced by students at historically black colleges and universities. While all graduate students face stress and challenges, Lawrence notes that good mentorship requires an understanding of the unique stressors on students as individuals and as part of their respective communities.  

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"Our students often juggle unique responsibilities, from academics to work and family,” Lawrence said. “Mentorship here [at VSU] means supporting them holistically, understanding their life stressors, and helping them navigate through." 

Continued trainings tailored for student populations of unique populations would be a valuable tool, Lawrence says.  

Lawrence's approach to mentorship is shaped by her own experiences with both beneficial and detrimental mentors during her academic journey. As a psychologist, she is interested in exploring mentorship through a cultural lens, using it as an intervention tool for students facing unique life challenges.  

Moving Forward: A Collaborative Culture of Mentorship 

In addition to CIMER, The Graduate School is exploring other pathways to providing mentorship training and resources. Notably, offering a platform for faculty and students to share their mentorship success stories and challenges will underscore the importance of a collaborative learning approach in strengthening Duke’s culture of mentorship. 

The school’s existing Professional Development blog, organized by Assistant Dean of Professional Development Melissa Bostrom, PhD, has long included mentorship and teaching stories from students and may soon be expanded to include faculty perspectives and contributions. Telling these stories plays an important purpose, as mentorship's dynamic nature requires exposure to both broad perspectives and the nuances of individual mentor—mentee relationships.

Uplifting and recognizing quality mentors is also an essential component to building this collaborative culture. In April 2025, The Graduate School will celebrate its notable mentors during the Dean's Awards celebration, honoring faculty and graduate students who will receive the Dean's Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Stay tuned for a profile series and Q&As from this year's winners, to be published in March 2025. 

"As mentors, we have the power to shape not just careers but lives. It's a responsibility we must embrace with dedication and empathy." ~ Gentzon Hall

One thing is clear: providing quality mentoring requires a commitment to continuous learning and flexible approaches. Personalized mentorship, resilience building, and community support have emerged as key components of that will drive improvements to The Graduate School’s mentorship culture.

As Maria Wisdom aptly puts it, "Effective mentorship is about creating an ethic and culture that values and supports the development of every student." 

In Gentzon Hall's tribute to his mentor, Michelle Wynn, he encapsulates the essence of mentorship Duke strives to achieve. "Her legacy lives on through the students she influenced. As mentors, we have the power to shape not just careers but lives. It's a responsibility we must embrace with dedication and empathy." 

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