Mentoring: some ethical considerations.
To counter confusion about the term 'mentor', and address concerns about the scarcity of mentoring, I argue for an "honorific" definition, according to which a mentor is virtuous like a saint or hero. Given the unbounded commitment of mentors, mentoring relationships must be voluntary. In contrast, the role of advisor can be specified, mandated, and monitored. I argue that departments and research groups have a moral responsibility to devise a system of roles and structures to meet graduate students' and postdoctoral fellows' needs for information and advice.
Weil
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Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions, Illinois Institute of Technology, 3101 South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60616-3793, USA. weil@charlie.cns.iit.edu
D004500:Education, Graduate / Q000592:standards*; D004989:Ethics; D006801:Humans; D008611:Mentors; D012586:Science / Q000193:education*; D009626:Terminology as Topic