Marginal Mentoring in the Contact Space: Diversified Mentoring Relationships at a Midsized Midwestern State University (MMSU).

This study is a collaborative investigation that melds traditional qualitative social scientific and contemporary autoethnographic methods to examine diversified mentoring relationships at a midsized midwestern state university (MMSU). The first author conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with MMSU faculty members and professional personnel who were members of underrepresented minority (URM) groups. A thematic analysis of the data, informed by the literature on developmental relationships and intergroup communication, reveals a number of problems with MMSU’s formal mentoring program and intergroup communication climate. Moreover, the findings indicate that the quality of mentoring relationships affects proteges’ cocultural communication practices. The second author, who is also a participant in the project, interjects her personal reflections about diversified mentoring relationships throughout the analysis. Together, the authors give voice to participants’ suggestions to improve the quality of mentoring that occurs in MMSU’s contact space and explore the implications of the findings for future research about diversified mentoring relationships. Keywords: Diversified Mentoring, Developmental Relationships, Intergroup Communication An Outsider Looking In Initially, my goal for this study was to explore the extent to which diversified mentoring relationships have helped underrepresented minority (URM) faculty members at a European American-dominated institution overcome barriers in order to become successful members of the university community. Idealistically, I thought that the findings could be used to promote positive social change at MMSU (e.g., enhancing the campus climate supporting diversity and promoting the retention of minority faculty members). I had conversations with the Associate Provost for Diversity about posting narratives on our university’s website. As I began to select my sample, I realized just how difficult it was to identify URM faculty: The university’s system for stratifying faculty and staff by race/ethnicity aggregates international faculty members and URM faculty members who come from the US. As I engaged in conversations with my respondents, I learned that most of the individuals with whom I spoke had not had positive mentoring relationships. I found that the majority of people would only tell their stories if I guaranteed them confidentiality. Although I still hope that the findings of this project will be used to effect positive social change in my community, I realize that this type of innovation can only occur if there is open dialogue about existing problems and an institutional commitment to address the issues that are raised. Thus, I have revised the primary goal for this study: to give voice to my participants as they describe the problems that they encountered with their mentors and offer suggestions to improve the quality of mentoring at MMSU. In order to accomplish this goal, I invited one of the participants to coauthor this paper with me. Given that she is a female African American assistant professor in a diversified mentoring relationship with a White male professor, her intragroup standpoint