Abstract
Scholars examining how women and people of color advance in academia invariably cite mentorship as one of the most important factors in facilitating student and faculty success. Contributors to this volume underscore the importance of supporting one another, within and across differences, as critical to the development of a diverse professoriate. This volume emphasizes and highlights: the importance of mentorship; policies, processes, and practices that result in successful mentoring relationships; real life mentoring experiences to inform students, beginning faculty, and those who would be mentors; and lievidence for policy makers about what works in the development of supportive and nurturing higher education learning environments. The guiding principles underlying successful mentorships, interpersonally and programmatically, presented here can have the potential to transform higher education to better serve the needs of all its members. This is the 171st volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Higher Education. Addressed to presidents, vice presidents, deans, and other higher education decision makers on all kinds of campuses, it provides timely information and authoritative advice about major issues and administrative problems confronting every institution.