The Graduate Inclusive Mentoring Community (GIMC) seeks to build educational opportunities and community support for those who strive to excel at mentoring graduate students. These educational and community support programs will center inclusivity through:
- Highlighting mentoring as a flexible practice that should adapt to the differing needs, goals and relational preferences of mentors and mentees, and
- Recognizing and addressing challenges specific to historically underrepresented groups in university settings.
The GIMC provides a sense of community for mentors through creating supportive, inclusive spaces where mentors can share mentoring challenges, collaborate on developing best practices to address these challenges, and celebrate mentoring successes. Members of the community will commit to mentor training and ongoing efforts to build and support a community of engaged mentors and will receive public recognition, in return, in the form of yearly plaques honoring their ongoing commitment to mentorship and they will get honored at a spring mentor awards ceremony.
As part of this initiative, the Graduate School developed mentoring trainings and GIMC meetings. Sessions are open to all faculty and staff and can be attended on a one-off basis based on interest and availability.