Creating a Mentoring Community through Faculty Writing Retreats at a Teaching Intensive, Minority Serving University:...

Area of Science:

• Higher Education
• Faculty Development
• Scientific Communication

Background:

• Teaching-intensive institutions face unique challenges in faculty research engagement.
• The Hawai'i Pacific University's Undergraduate Infrastructure Student Research Center (HUI SRC) supports student research.
• Faculty often require specialized training to balance teaching and research demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a faculty mentorship training program on research capacity.
• To assess improvements in scientific writing, grantsmanship, and career progression.
• To understand the effectiveness of writing retreats within a faculty development program.

Main Methods:

• The HUI Scholars Program provided mentorship training focused on scientific writing and grantsmanship.
• Faculty participants attended writing retreats as a key program component.
• Surveys were administered to 15 faculty participants at three distinct time points to gather evaluative data.

Main Results:

• Faculty reported increased confidence in their research skills following program participation.
• Participants demonstrated improved abilities in scientific publication and grant proposal writing.
• A significant reduction in writing anxiety was observed among faculty members.

Conclusions:

• Mentorship training programs are crucial for fostering research at teaching-intensive universities.
• The HUI Scholars Program effectively enhanced faculty research competencies and confidence.
• Aligning mentorship training with faculty research needs is essential for successful outcomes.