Faculty convene for presentation, workshop on mentoring

Leo Lambert, president emeritus of Elon College, visited Alfred University this week to lead faculty in a conference and workshop on mentorship.

Alfred University faculty gathered in the Knight Club Wednesday for a presentation on mentorship by Leo Lambert, president emeritus of Elon University, and a subsequent workshop focusing on mentoring relationships between faculty and students.

The event was part of a busy week of preparations for a new school year that will include university-wide efforts to encourage student mentorship both inside and outside classroom spaces.

In his presentation, Lambert noted Alfred University already has a strong sense of community, with a deep commitment to mentoring. Professor of English Susan Morehouse, an organizer of the event, said his presentation and the subsequent workshop "were designed to build on that tradition and nurture its further growth."

Lambert's presentation, "Relationship-Rich Alfred: Building Connections and Community With Intentionality," emphasized mentorship as a key component of student-faculty and student-student interactions. Those relationships contribute to undergraduate student learning, motivation, well-being, graduation rates, and post-graduation career and civic outcomes.

Citing recent scholarship on the impact of mentorship in students' lives, Lambert noted the effects of mentorship extend far beyond students' undergraduate years: "If graduates had a professor who cared about them as a person, made them excited about learning, and encouraged them to pursue their dreams, their odds of being engaged at work more than doubled, as did their odds of thriving in their well-being." (Gallup-Purdue, 2014, p. 4)

Lambert, the author of The Undergraduate Experience: Focusing Institutions on What Matters Most and Relationship Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College, served as president of Elon University from 1999 to 2018. During that period, he led two ten-year strategic plans for the campus that propelled Elon to a place of national distinction. Elon today is recognized. for its excellence in undergraduate teaching and experiential learning, including its programs in study abroad, undergraduate research, civic engagement and community service, and interfaith cooperation.