Modeling Mentoring: Early Lessons from the W.K. Kellogg/ADEA Minority Dental Faculty Development Program

Abstract

In 2004, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) proposed several major strategies to improve the recruitment, retention, and development of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in the dental profession. One of the strategies was the establishment of the ADEA Minority Dental Faculty Development (ADEA MDFD) Program. This report presents key early lessons from the ADEA MDFD program. It also presents results from surveys of ADEA MDFD program directors, grantee mentors, and mentees on the dynamics of their mentoring programs and the important characteristics of successful mentors and mentees. In addition, the report provides a comprehensive program implementation logic model that other schools can use as a guide to establishing their own faculty mentoring programs.