As a faculty mentor, you have the opportunity to work directly with a student on a hands-on project and to enhance their learning at Ithaca College.
For summer 2025, faculty mentors participating in the program, regardless of the number of Scholars being supervised, are provided with an honorarium of $1200, in recognition of the key role they play in the program.
Responsibilities of ALL Faculty Mentors
To achieve the goals of the program and to facilitate the student outcomes, all Summer Scholar Program faculty mentors are expected to:
- Participate in faculty development opportunities to discuss best practices for effective mentoring of students;
- Be available to their Summer Scholar(s) throughout the summer project period, and have regular meetings with them;
- Encourage their Scholars to attend Summer Scholar activities;
- Attend at least one Summer Scholar activity with their students, schedule permitting;
- Design and give feedback on structured reflection to enhance Scholar learning and professional development;
- Provide guidance to Scholar(s) as they prepare their final reports (due to the Dean's office before the start of classes in fall semester).
Additional Responsibilities for Mentors in STEM Departments
Faculty mentors in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Studies & Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics/Astronomy provide information on the department’s website about the positions that they are offering for the summer, with a description of the projects and the qualifications students need to be eligible for those positions. Mentors do not have to provide any other materials as part of the application process.
The Summer Scholar Application asks students to identify the project or faculty member they would like to work on/with, based on the information provided on the website. Department faculty are then asked to review the Summer Scholar applications that have been submitted by the deadline for students seeking to work in their labs/departments, and to make recommendations for awards, regardless of funding source (i.e., supported by H&S, external grants, department-based awards, and Dana Internship Program).
Additional Responsibilities for Mentors of Independent Projects
Mentors of scholars with self-designed projects in creative arts, education, humanities, policy, and social sciences work closely with prospective scholars during the application process to develop strong project designs and effective proposals. Mentors of independent projects complete a separate Faculty Mentor Application (you will need to log in with your netpass to access this form). In the mentor application, we ask you to discuss explicitly your plans for active mentoring for the summer period (this year, 8 weeks between May 28 and July 25). Your application is combined with the Scholar's proposal and is considered by the Review Committee in evaluation of the project proposals. To view a PDF of an application template, please click here.
Before agreeing to serve as a mentor for a Scholar with an independent project, we ask you to consider the degree to which you will be fully available to them between May 28 and July 25. The Summer Scholars program is, by design, an intensive one, and Scholars require hands-on mentoring and support. Although the Summer Scholars Program recognizes the importance of time off for faculty during the summer, given the integral and crucial role of mentoring to the scholar’s experience, preference will be given to applicants whose mentors will be available to them on a regular, in-person, and as-needed basis for most weeks of the program (i.e., at least 6 out of 8 weeks). If you anticipate being unavailable due to personal or professional obligations for more than two weeks in this time period, we ask that you decline the student’s request to serve as a mentor this summer.
At the end of the summer, we also ask mentors to complete a Feedback Form assessing the Scholar's work and the project experience.