Good Mentors Are All Around Us: Seek Them Out!

Sastry Pantula is the director of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Mathematical Sciences. Past president of the American Statistical Association, he was elected as Fellow in 2002 “for contributions to research in time series analysis; for exemplary service in graduate education as a teacher, researcher, mentor, and recruiter of graduate students and industrial partners; and for contributions to the profession.”

It takes a village to raise a child. I believe many of us, in the big middle of a bell curve of achievements, can benefit from experienced and peer mentors. Mentors—whether it be your advisor, a colleague, a director of under/graduate studies, a department head, a division manager, or a dean—are all around us, so take advantage of them.

I am not an expert on mentoring, but I do care about the subject and will share some of my experiences. I spoke about mentoring on a panel at JSM 2006 and wrote about it in a 2010 ASA president’s column. Many articles about this topic exist on the Internet, and a number of ASA sections are taking an active role in mentoring. A source I found useful is a National Academies’ publication, titled Adviser, Teacher, Role Model, Friend: On Being a Mentor to Students in Science and Engineering. As the director of graduate programs at North Carolina State University in 1997, I was impressed with this publication and purchased many copies to give to my colleagues. My main goal was for our faculty to be approachable and available to the diverse set of students we worked hard to recruit.

Other useful sources include MentorNet, an a web based e-mentoring program connecting mentors with those looking for mentors and Statistical Mentoring web-based tutoring program for PhD students in statistics at universities in developing countries.

Who Is a Mentor?

Anyone can be a mentor. However, it takes hard work to be a good mentor. A mentor is an excellent listener. He or she listens with the intent to understand and share experiences that the person being mentored can use. Some define mentor as a “wise and trusted counselor” who provides advice, support, and encouragement. A mentor is also a good observer and trainer of problemsolving skills. Appropriate mentoring can help develop a career, enhance confidence, and provide a sense of belonging. A mentor is like the oil that lights your path to the future and lets you (not himself/herself) shine.

As “Mentoring: A Skill Professional Statisticians Can Develop” points out, a mentor is not necessarily a teacher, parent, role model, or supervisor. It is important to realize that the mentor is not trying to clone himself/herself in his/her mentee. The focus is on the professional and personal growth of the mentee. It is also important to recognize, however, that a mentor is not a professional/psychological counselor.

Mentors come at various levels and stages, and one may benefit from multiple mentors.

Peer Mentoring: Undergraduate and graduate students can benefit from peer mentors who are a few years senior to them. When I moved to the Indian Statistical Institute in Kolkata, I benefited from a peer mentor, Rao Chaganty, who helped me thrive during my undergraduate years. He was one year senior to me and spoke “my language.” He also mentored me through selecting graduate schools in the United States.

Peer mentors, or “stat buddies,” are regularly assigned at NC State as new graduate students arrive on campus. Some peer mentoring for undergraduates happens through a statistics club, where seniors and graduate students help fledgling freshmen and sophomores. Peer mentors can help students think about NSF Graduate Research Fellowships and other funding opportunities for graduate school and share their experiences as needed.

Junior faculty also benefit from peer mentoring from other junior faculty who have recently gone through a reappointment process or a tenure and promotion process. I benefited from Dave Dickey in my junior faculty years at NC State. Some of my mentoring happened in informal settings such as a racquetball court.

Such peer mentoring also is not uncommon in industry and government agencies. As we get ready to have nine new program officers in the Division of Mathematical Sciences at the National Science Foundation (NSF), colleagues are eager to be mentors and help acclimate them quickly to our division.

Professional Mentoring: Taking advantage of the abundance of statisticians in Research Triangle Park, NC State’s undergraduate program had professional mentoring for a few years. Students met with local statisticians on a regular basis for lunch to discuss career opportunities, communication skills, and professional development. Shadowing them on their jobs also gave the students a peek into life after graduation.

Mentors from industry and government also are important for career development. These mentors bring a different perspective and help guide students through their degree years. Such mentoring is also important as one advances along the administrative ladder. For example, I benefited from the mentoring I received from my former department head (Tom Gerig), current dean (Dan Solomon), and advisor (Wayne Fuller).

Professional mentors also may help open doors to various opportunities and assist students in developing a network of future contacts. NSF math sciences research institutes provide excellent mentoring opportunities for students and postdoctoral fellows. Inviting speakers from industry and government agencies for students to hear and meet on a regular basis has a long-term benefit.

A mentor also can provide help navigating professional meetings, especially for first-time attendees.

Teaching and Research Mentors in Academia: Mentoring does not happen by osmosis. Sink or swim and publish or perish attitudes do not provide a nurturing environment for someone fresh out of graduate school. NSF, for example, requires a mentoring plan for all postdoctoral fellows supported by NSF. Also, NSF proactively encourages mentoring through their Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), Mentoring through Critical Transition Points (MCTP), and Research Training Groups (RTG) grants. It is important that appropriate structured teaching and research mentors are in place to nurture new hires in any department. Mentoring needs to be proactive and regular.

Informal mentoring may not help junior faculty who may be shy or afraid to approach their senior faculty. The head of a department plays an important role in catalyzing mentoring relationships. A teaching mentor may be a sounding board for pedagogical issues, time management, and problemsolving. A research mentor may be helpful with pre-publications, grant writing, collaborative opportunities, and work-life balance. A mentor also may be able to help junior faculty use good judgment when responding to various service requests.

Why Mentor?

The future of the world depends on the work force we invest in now. Mentoring has long-term benefits for our future problemsolvers. There is also a sense of personal responsibility in wanting to help the next generation, just as our mentors did for us. Mentoring is also personally gratifying.

Of course, good mentoring takes time and energy. Demands are high on faculty and supervisors. Mentoring is one more job they need to do in addition to publishing, teaching, getting grants, and providing services. So, unless there are suitable rewards and recognition for it, mentoring will become something of a low priority. Therefore, mentoring should be recognized publicly and rewarded at various levels. Also, it is important to provide valuable resources, time for mentoring, and training and workshops on mentoring for faculty, managers, and administrators on a regular basis.

Your Turn

If you have not had an opportunity to mentor, I urge you to look around your organization or within the ASA to find a young statistician to mentor. A member seeking your mentoring is a positive step, and it does not mean he/she is deficient in any way. With a number of successful statisticians around the globe, no statistician needs to feel isolated. Someone you mentor can benefit from learning about your career and personal growth experiences, bumps you may have faced along the way, time management methods you use at work and home, and your networking skills. “He is not an honest captain who burns his mouth, but doesn’t tell the crew that the soup is hot.” Share your experiences. More importantly, he or she can benefit from your listening skills. If you are looking for a mentor, look around in your department or division. Go mentor someone today, and go make a change!