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UofM Mentorship Network (UM²N)

 

SPRING 2026 EVENTS

We offer a variety of programming to allow faculty, staff, postdocs, and students across campus to network and support each other. 

Please RSVP for each event so that we plan accordingly and send you an Outlook calendar invite.

Promotion/Tenure Narrative Writing and Feedback Sessions (Ongoing in Spring 2026)

  • These events are focused on faculty at the assistant and associate level who will be going up for promotion and/or tenure or third-year review during the 2026-2027 academic year.
  • Open to tenure-track/tenured, teaching, clinical, professors of practice, and research faculty.
  • Two-session events will be held for each type of narrative. The first session for each narrative will include a presentation about what to include in your statement. Participants who don’t have a statement draft already will work on an outline or bullet point list. Those who do have a statement draft already will work with peer feedback partners. During the second session, everyone will work with a peer feedback partner.
  • Research Statement: Thursday December 4 (study day) & Friday January 23 10-11:30am  (UC Senate Chamber)
  • Service/Outreach/Advising/Mentoring/Administration Statement: Friday February 27 & Friday March 27 10-11:30am  (UC Senate Chamber)

 

Spring Podcast Discussion Event - Tuesday February 10, 11:30 - 1pm, Teams

  • Belonging in Academic Life: Identity, Doubt, and Resilience

    Across roles and career stages, many of us quietly wrestle with questions of belonging in academic spaces—whether through imposter feelings, rejection, or uncertainty about where we fit. This set of podcast episodes explores belonging from multiple perspectives: how environments shape inclusion, how self-doubt emerges, why imposter syndrome often accompanies growth, and how rejection can be reframed without internalizing failure. Together, these conversations invite reflection on how we understand our place in academia and how we can cultivate resilience, connection, and purpose along the way.

  • Optional podcasts 
  • Open to all faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students.
  • Please RSVP by February 6.

 

Spring Social - Friday March 20, 2026 12:15-1:30 UC Bluff Room

 

Discussing Academic Career "Chutes and Ladders": A Conversation with Dr. Kerry Crawford and Dr. Leah Windsor, Monday April 20, 2026m 12-1:30C, Teams

Have you ever wondered why some scholars seem to take a direct path to the top of the academic hierarchy, while other scholars navigate professional twists and turns along the way, and many exit academia altogether? Are you considering a career in academia and hoping to prepare for your next steps? Do you want to learn more about the book publishing process?
Join us for a conversation with Dr. Kerry F. Crawford (James Madison University) and Dr. Leah Windsor (University of Memphis), editors of Academic Chutes & Ladders: The Hidden Curriculum that Makes or Breaks Academic Careers (forthcoming spring 2026, Bloomsbury). The discussion will highlight the too-often unwritten rules that create opportunities for or obstacles to success in higher education. In Academic Chutes & Ladders, Crawford, Windsor, and their 75+ contributing authors examine how campus policies and practices help some scholars get ahead and hold others back. True to the book’s call for clear communication, transparency, equitably applied policies, and mentorship on campus, the editors will offer suggestions and best practices for supporting students, faculty, and staff. Crawford and Windsor will also discuss the ins and outs of collaborative writing and academic publishing. 
All are welcome! Bring your questions and ideas to this interactive discussion.
Please RSVP by April 15, 2026. 
 

 

 If you have other idea for programming this semester that you would like us to co-sponsor, please reach out to us.