Faculty Mentorship and Research Productivity, Salary, and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Studies have shown that mentorship is critical to the career and professional development of workers, including postsecondary faculty. Evidence from the literature on faculty-to-faculty mentorship has generally come from the medical field and/or focused only on the academic institution where the study was conducted. This study extends the literature by examining data reported by faculty across multiple institutions and fields in the Early Career Doctorates Survey (ECDS). Guided by a theoretical framework adapted from Higgins and Kram (2001), multiple linear regression models are applied to investigate which factors are associated with faculty attainment of mentorship, and how mentorship of faculty is associated with faculty productivity, salary, and job satisfaction. In contrast to previous literature, results indicate that women and men have similar likelihood of reporting having a formal/informal mentor, and that Black/African American faculty are more likely to report having a formal/informal mentor compared to White faculty. Furthermore, receiving mentorship does not appear to be associated with increased productivity or job satisfaction, but is associated with a 10% higher salary among faculty who reported having a mentor. These results, however, are limited to observable outcomes in the ECDS, and the benefits to mentoring may extend beyond those, including well-being, sense of belonging, and other variables not measured in the dataset. Overall, research findings contribute to existing efforts and ongoing conversations on faculty mentorship by offering additional evidence from a nationally representative sample, providing a benchmark for academic institutions to evaluate their professional development programs for faculty.