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Engaged Scholarship and Learning
Follow us at @engagedutrgv
ESTAC 3.106 and BINAB 1.105
Hours: M-F 8:00am-5:00pm
Email: engaged@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-3461 Edinburg
Phone Alt: (956) 882-4300 Brownsville
The Engaged Scholar & Artist Awards (ESAA) program funds undergraduate student-driven academic research, community engagement and creative works projects. When a student is accepted to the Engaged Scholar & Artist Awards program, their Faculty Mentor is required to oversee the project. The goal of a Faculty mentor is to maximize mentee growth and development – academically and professionally.
Serving as an Engaged Scholar Award Faculty Mentor
As an ESAA Faculty Mentor, you are agreeing to the following activities on behalf of the ESAA Recipient (your mentee) and their team (as applicable):
- Serving as a liaison between the student and administrative personnel.
- Initiating material purchases, travel requests, etc., which are submitted via iShop and iTravel. (Funding for wages will be processed by the Office of Engaged Scholarship and Learning)
- Approving ESAA Recipient's bi-weekly timecard(s) of wages earned from the ESAA program.
- Ensuring that your mentee(s) submit their ESAA Progress Report and Final Report surveys.
- Encouraging your mentee(s) to display and share their project in conferences, publications, or exhibitions such as the Engaged Scholar Symposium (ES2).
- Participating as a Faculty Reviewer for Engaged Scholar and Artist Award awarding periods, as needed.
Benefits for Future ESAA Faculty Mentors
Mentoring an ESAA recipient is a rewarding experience! Past UTRGV faculty mentors have benefited in several ways:
- Listing mentorship as a service experience on FTP for Annual reviews and/or Tenure and Promotion
- Publishing work in academic texts or journals centered on mentor-mentee experiences
- Watching their ESAA Mentee featured on the Office of Engaged Scholarship & Learning's Featured ESAA Students
- Connecting with others using ES&L’s Faculty Directory
- Establishing relations with future scholars
- Applying for faculty awards using this experience, such as the UTRGV Faculty Impact Awards
Guidelines for ESAA Faculty Mentors
- Communicate with the mentee, especially after providing direction on their project.
- Establish and create an atmosphere in which you are approachable to the ESAA mentee.
- Arrange to meet with the ESAA mentee at mutually agreeable times.
- Provide constructive feedback and guidance, especially if the ESAA mentee encounters challenges that they are unable to address.
- Listen to and consider the ESAA mentee’s opinion regarding the ESAA project
- Guide the ESAA mentee toward correct answers or other possibilities and options to meet project goals.
- Encourage your ESAA mentee to set and reach new goals.
Join our team!
A directory of UTRGV Faculty Mentors is shared on The Office of Engaged Scholarship & Learning’s Faculty Directory.
If you are interested in mentoring a student, please email ESAA@utrgv.edu.
Engaged Scholar Award Mentor FAQ
Resources
Undergraduate Funding Resources
Opportunities for Undergraduates to Showcase their Work
Other Resources for Faculty Mentors
- UTRGV Center for Teaching Excellence
- Five Effective Strategies for Mentoring Undergraduates: Students' Perspectives (Pita, Ramirez, Joacin, Prentice, & Clarke)
- Boice, Robert. "Lessons Learned About Mentoring." New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 50 (Summer 1992). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1992. 51-61.
- Martini, Kirk. "Usually Nice, Always Helpful: A Mentor's Approach."
- Smock, Pamela J. et al. "Giving and Getting Career Advice: A Guide for Junior and Senior Faculty." NSF Advance at the University of Michigan.