Inequitable Rewards: Mentoring Students of Color

Abstract

Chapter 4 is a report on, and analysis of, how faculty of color (FOC) describe their mentorship relationships and experiences with students of color. First, based on the existing literature, the authors argue that mentorship of students of color by faculty of color extends well beyond formalized processes and traditional mentorship, and represents more personal, cultural, and political relationships that can be life-defining or transformational for students. Based on the data collected for this study, the authors show how mentorship experiences are profoundly consequential to faculty of color in several ways as demonstrated through three dominant themes: (1) a sense of social responsibility to their communities of color as they mentor students of color; (2) that this demanding and often specialized work comes at a cost to their professional careers; and (3) that shared marginalized identities create unique mentorship responsibilities and demands on FOC. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings on the academic reward systems for faculty of color in predominantly White institutions.