Global Health Nexus, Fall 2000

Mentoring Program Gets Underway

NYU Dentistry has instituted a mentoring program designed to provide guidance for students through the four years of the DDS program by faculty members who serve as mentors and role models — and conspicuous leaders — in the students’ professional development.
The project pairs small groups of students with individual faculty volunteers wh o serve as advisers, advocates, consultants, teachers, problem solvers, and friends.

The program is headed by Dr. Paul A. Rosenberg, associate dean for graduate programs and professor and chair of the Dr. Ignatius N. and Sally Quartararo Department of Endodontics. Dr. Rosenberg explains that a major objective is to create a "small town, family" atmosphere despite NYU Dentistry’s size. "We know this is possible," he says, "because over the years individual faculty members have successfully mentored students by creating a nurturing, supportive relationship that helps them fulfill their potential. Now, we have created a formal framework to help build lasting relationships among many more members of the faculty and their future colleagues."

The program is open to all predoctoral students and full-time faculty members. In addition to individual recognition and encouragement of students, mentors provide honest criticism and informal feedback, preemptive counseling for at-risk students, close monitoring of students in academic difficulty, and assistance with long-range career planning.