Many universities offer introductory sessions or even mentoring programs for new faculty across the various colleges. These are designed to acclimatize the newcomers and help them settle into the workings of the university both socially and professionally. Rarely is mentoring available at department level however. Where in some disciplines it is perhaps possible that the new instructor can take a more leisurely approach in finding his or her way at the beginning of Academic Year or semester, freshman composition classes run at high intensity from the onset. Aside from hands on teaching issues, many barriers related to cultural uniqueness of a geographical context, for which a new arrival may be ill-prepared, need to be overcome swiftly and instructors need to be classroom ready from the first day of instruction.
The paper discusses a mentoring program for new full-time and adjunct faculty in a Writing Department at a university in the Middle East. Objectives of the program are discussed, together with barriers that need to be overcome in order for it to be effective and beneficial to all parties. The paper also presents both a mentoring instructor’s perspective of the program as well as that of the faculty mentored. Recommendations for initiating similar programs elsewhere or enhancing the effectiveness of ones already in existence are given.