Mentoring for Wellbeing in Higher Education

Edited by:
Benjamin Kutsyuruba, Queen’s University
Frances K. Kochan, Auburn University

A volume in the series: Perspectives on Mentoring. Editor(s): Benjamin Kutsyuruba, Queen’s University.

In Press 2025

This volume of the Perspectives on Mentoring Series focuses on the connections between mentoring and wellbeing in organizational cultures within higher education institutions. Increasing competition, societal pressures, and the changing nature of the cultures within the United States and Canada, the countries represented in this volume’s chapters, have created complex personal, social, and institutional problems that have negatively affected the wellbeing of individuals, and subsequently institutional success. As a result, higher education institutions need to become more actively engaged in creating initiatives, programs, activities, and organizational cultures that support the wellbeing of students, faculty, staff, and administrators. The notion of wellbeing, in general, includes both hedonic aspects of feeling good (positive emotions) and eudemonic (conducive to happiness) aspects of living well that entail experiences of positive relationships, meaningfulness in life and work, senses of mastery and personal growth, autonomy, and achievement. This book proposes that one of the key avenues for fostering wellbeing in institutions of higher education is through mentoring. However, the research on the positive impact that mentoring can have on the mental health and wellbeing of both the mentor and mentee in higher education is fairly limited.

This edited volume expands and adds to the existing literature on mentoring in higher education, by offering a collection of works the examine the connection between mentorship and wellbeing in relation to potential students, undergraduate and graduate students, and faculty and leaders. Of particular interest for this edited volume is how mentoring can promote mental health, build resilience, and develop capacity to maintain and sustain emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing for all in the higher education settings. Chapters in this volume describe mentoring of emerging adults and students through positive relationships, illustrate the impact of peer mentoring, mindfulness, resilience-growing, capacity building, and leadership development initiatives on undergraduate students, detail positive and effective mentoring strategies to growing wellbeing and thriving of graduate students, and discuss studies and models for nurturing and promoting wellbeing among faculty and leaders in higher education institutions. Through their chapters, authors present stories and perspectives regarding higher education endeavors or research studies to foster a greater understanding of how mentoring can enhance the wellbeing of varied constituencies in higher education. In addition, there are common themes about fostering wellbeing in higher education institutions that permeate these hapters, provide ideas for reflection, and create a body of knowledge and new avenues for future research and study.

ENDORSEMENTS:
"The core of mentoring is learning to be wiser, with the help of the wisdom of others. When it comes to personal wellbeing, humans tend to become wiser too late. Self-care is not a priority in our early life stages. Mentors help mentees cultivate the habit of self-care alongside care for others. This book illustrates how that happens in practice with a focus on the environment and individuals in higher education." — David Clutterbuck, Clutterbuck Coaching and Mentoring International

"Through a collection of insightful research and analysis of existing programs, Kutsyuruba and Kochan provide an illuminating new perspective on the symbiotic relationship between mentoring and wellbeing and the profound impact human connection and guidance can have on our personal and professional development. Mentoring for Wellbeing in Higher Education is not just a seminal text on the transformative power of mentoring to improve the wellbeing of students, faculty, and leaders in higher education institutions but also a roadmap of evidence-based effective practices for those in charge of designing and implementing formal mentoring programs." — Nora Domínguez, University of New Mexico

CONTENTS
Endorsements for Mentoring for Wellbeing in Higher Education. Foreword: Wellbeing Matters in Higher Education Contexts, Carol A. Mullen. Introduction: Mentoring as a Facilitator of Wellbeing in Higher Education Settings, Benjamin Kutsyuruba and Frances K. Kochan. SECTION I: UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FOCUS. Developing through Relationships: Mentoring Emerging Adults in Higher Education, Michael Mascolo and Rebecca Legro. Exploring the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Peer Mentor Self-Efficacy and Wellbeing, Catherine Cordova and Benjamin Kutsyuruba. Mentoring to Cultivate Mindfulness and Support Wellbeing in a Community College Environment, Kerry Arnold. Wellbeing of Undergraduate Mentors Involved in a College Access Program, Abby F. Holland. Wellbeing Outcomes of Basketball Student Athletes in Peer Mentoring Groups, Jonathan Kroll and Kathleen McMillian-Roberts. Multimodal Mentoring to Support Student Resilience and Wellbeing in STEM Education, Roger Nasser and James Hutson. Minority Women in STEM Fields: Increasing Capacity Through Mentorship and Exploring STEM Identity, Imelda Nava, Marco Nava, and Sandy Chávez. The Frank McKenna Centre for Leadership: A Study in Student Leadership via Symbiotic Mentoring, David Young. SECTION II: GRADUATE STUDENTS FOCUS. Mentoring for Graduate Student Wellbeing: Human Flourishing Through Psychosocial Support and Reflection, Rachel Wlodarsky and Stacey Sinwald. The Power of Presence: How Effective Mentorship Can Promote Wellbeing in Doctoral Students, Jonathan Orsini. The Quality of Mentor-Doctoral Student Relations and Student Wellbeing in Engineering, Jennifer G. Cromley, Joseph Mirabelli, Karin Jensen, and Giovanina Kelly. Mentoring Doctoral Students to Thrive, Mariela A. Rodríguez. SECTION III: FACULTY AND LEADERS FOCUS. Mentorship and Wellbeing in Doctoral Programs: Exploring the Lived Experiences of Canadian Doctoral Supervisors, Maha Al Makhamreh. Woman-Woman Mentoring to Promote Professional and Personal Wellbeing: Application of PERMA Model, Suzhen Duan, Qijie Cai, and Liyan Song. Enhancing Wellbeing through Leadership Development in a University Setting: A Literature Review on the Role of Coaching and Mentoring, Aloysius Maduforo, Shelleyann Scott, and Donald Scott. Wellbeing and Mentoring in Higher Education: An Analysis of the Present and a Blueprint for the Future, Frances K. Kochan, and Benjamin Kutsyuruba. Contributors.