Siggy’s Success Story

At my previous institution, I was lucky enough to have access to a Psychology Department mentoring program during my pre-tenure years. I would describe the arrangement as semi-formal. My Chair and Dean asked me about my menteeship experiences during annual reviews and other informal meetings, and there was a clear expectation that I seek a mentor. My choice of mentor was, however, completely voluntary and I eventually gravitated towards two different mentors.

One mentor provided me with an incredible amount of feedback and guidance on my research. With his help, I was able to obtain federal research funding on my second application. I can say with absolute confidence that my grant applications would not even had made it to the review committees had I not been the beneficiary of his advice.

For mentorship for my teaching, I was fortunate to have the guidance of a clinical psychologist with over three decades of college teaching experience. He provided me with feedback on my syllabi, grading structures, and class activities. He also helped me navigate an extremely delicate situation that arose in my first semester when a student started posting inflammatory messages on my class discussion forums.

Based on these experiences, I would highly recommend the mentorship model for new faculty.

–Siggy Sigurdsson

Associate Professor in Applied Behavior Analysis