History and Purpose
Our program is a result of a perception in the early 1990s of a "chilly
climate" at Stanford University School of Medicine, which was not conducive
to hiring and retention of the best faculty. Problems of morale included
a sense of isolation and alienation, not only among women and minority
faculty members but also among white males. Basic scientists were hard
hit by the increasing difficulty of obtaining research support and clinical
faculty were severely affected by rapid changes in the health care system
that left little time for the academic side of their careers.
In an attempt to deal with these problems, a faculty mentoring program
began in the spring of 1994 with a Coordinator (Associate Dean Marian
Knox), two Co-Directors (Lars Vistnes, M.D. and Dora B. Goldstein, M.D.)
and a group of consultants (Drs. Ann Arvin, Stanley Falkow, Halstead
Holman, Kenneth Melmon, and Lucille Shapiro). The initial plan was presented
to the department chairs, won their approval, and got under way in the
1994-95 academic year. In June 2001, Dr. Goldstein stepped down from
the Program and, beginning October 1, 2001, Dr. Lucy Tompkins assumed
the role as Program Liaison to the Dean's Office in her capacity as an
Associate Dean.
Structure
The three-part structure of the Program includes:
- formation of mentor-mentee pairs
- social occasions for discussion of common problems
- workshops ("group mentoring") to present material that everyone needs to know
