Professio Mentoring Program for Faculty
Professio is a one-year mentoring program designed to support associate professors as they move toward promotion to full professor and deeper flourishing in their academic vocation.
The program pairs associate professors with full professor mentors for sustained, vocation-attentive guidance in the context of Baylor’s mission as a Christian research university. Through one-on-one mentoring, cohort conversations, curated readings, and a capstone retreat, Professio invites participants to reflect on the integration of teaching, research, vocation, and community in their professional lives.
Program Purpose
Promotion to full professor marks not only an important professional milestone but also a deepening of institutional responsibility. Full professors help shape the intellectual, pedagogical, and mission-centered life of the university. Professio supports associate professors at this crucial stage by providing structured mentoring, clearer pathways toward promotion, and space for reflection on scholarly vocation in light of Baylor’s Christian mission.
Program Structure
Participants will be matched in mentor–mentee pairs across departments, while preserving broad disciplinary resonance. The program is designed to include both individualized mentoring and light-touch cohort formation.
Dates for 2026–2027 are still to be determined, but participants should plan to attend or participate in the following:
- Kickoff workshop and dinner
- Development of a brief Mentoring Covenant outlining goals for the year
- Monthly mentor–mentee meetings
- Four cohort lunches for mentees focused on teaching, research/scholarship, mission/vocation, and community/belonging
- Two-day capstone retreat in Summer 2027
Benefits of Participation
Associate professor participants in Professio will receive:
- Sustained one-on-one mentoring from a full professor
- Structured reflection on promotion, vocation, teaching, research, and service
- A clearer sense of goals and next steps toward promotion to full professor
- Peer connection with other associate professors across Baylor
- Curated resources on mentoring, Christian higher education, vocation, and faculty flourishing
- Opportunities for renewal, reflection, and community through cohort gatherings and retreat
- A formative space to consider how faith, scholarship, pedagogy, and institutional leadership belong together in the life of a Christian research university
Grant Support
Professio is supported in 2026–2027 by a Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities Mentoring Program Grant. The Lilly Network Mentoring Program supports new initiatives that nurture faculty, strengthen mentoring relationships, and deepen faculty engagement with the mission of church-related higher education.
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Responsibilities for Mentees and Mentors