Latitude: Meet Brenda Allen and Ellen Stevens (video)

Duo, program enable faculty to achieve tenure

By Shayne Clark
Integrated University Communications

The first pairing in the Center for Faculty Development’s Tenure Track Mentorship Program was perhaps the most dynamic and important in the program’s success. With the support and assistance of Associate Vice Chancellor Laura Goodwin, Ellen Stevens, founding director of the CFD and associate professor of educational psychology, and Brenda J. Allen, associate dean for planning and initiatives and professor in the Department of Communications, paired up to initiate the Tenure Track Faculty Mentoring Program at UC Denver.

The program began three years ago as a mentoring program for faculty of color, but quickly evolved to encompass everyone. Beginning with 23 tenure track faculty, the program now involves 60 percent of the eligible faculty members.

The mentorship program joins mentees (tenure track faculty) with mentors (those who have already achieved tenure) in an effort to provide guidance, assistance and a friend in the arduous process. According to Allen, the Master Mentor, “one of the pressures that often happens when people enter the tenure track is this idea of ‘all I need to be living for right now is trying to earn tenure.’ And so what we appreciate is an opportunity for modeling, that you can have a rich balance between work and life.”

As UC Denver primarily is a commuter campus, it poses challenges to new faculty who might not know anyone else. “One of the basic things we try to create is a sense of community amongst the folks who participate in the program,” Stevens says. The mentorship program allows faculty to meet and interact across schools and disciplines in ways that wouldn’t happen without it.

Building a sense of community is important to Allen and Stevens. “It aligns nicely with the philosophy of the Center for Faculty Development, which is professional development, development of the whole person,” Allen says.

The relationships that many of the mentees build with their mentors do more than simply enable them achieve tenure, it’s a boon to their research, teaching ability and personal life. According to Allen, “We actually want to provide the mentees with experiences to help them have a sense of who they are and who they’d like to be.”

The mentorship program provides mentees with a sense of community, but also with many tools to enhance their dossier when up for comprehensive review. “I think that the people who participate in our program are really a leg up on the people who are not in the program, precisely because we do provide so many resources for them,” Stevens stresses.

As the leaders of the program, no one could want for a more energetic and dynamic duo. Allen and Stevens feed off of each other both in their comical demeanor, but also in their passion for professional development. “The best thing for me about this program is getting to work with Brenda,” Stevens says.

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