Faculty Mentor Program

Being a new faculty member is both exciting and stressful. 

The early years of an academic career involve getting oriented and integrated into the campus community; developing and enhancing teaching, research, and service skills; navigating the tenure track or non-tenure track position; creating work-life balance; and establishing professional networks. 

Elements of SUNY Brockport’s Faculty Mentorship Program One-on-one component. Each new full-time faculty member is matched with a more senior colleague who is committed to meeting regularly during the first year, serving as an important initial node of an on-campus network of mentors. New faculty will be contacted by the Director of CELT to express their interest in and preferences for the mentoring program. The Director of CELT recruits an appropriate mentor(s), and confidentiality is a key principle of the relationship. The formal mentoring relationship is anticipated to last for the first year of the new faculty member’s appointment, but may be extended or terminated at the request of either person. Each mentor-mentee pair schedules regular meetings, which typically range from biweekly to once per month. The Office of the Provost Center funds one lunch per term at a BASC location for each mentoring pair. Training and resources are provided for mentoring pairs, focusing on a one-year plan of strategic goals.

Cohort Component

CELT facilitates once-per-term gatherings of each new faculty class to stay connected and share experiences. These “near peers” are another powerful source of both social and practical support within a broader network of mentors.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. New faculty members may opt out of the program. We offer this “facilitated pairing” since it can take a while to identify various sources of expertise on campus. This program offers the assurance of having a vetted faculty colleague access immediately in the first weeks and months with questions and concerns and to help you expand your campus network. All mentors agree to the time commitment, which is another benefit of program participation.

Mentoring from inside the department is essential. Your department head will serve as an important mentor, but others are beneficial for particular questions and concerns. Many departments have a size and culture such that there will be plenty of informal mentoring from colleagues. In these cases, being paired with a mentor outside the department makes a lot of sense to get a broader perspective of the university. In other departments, it may help to be formally paired with an inside-department mentor through this program. Some departments have traditions or preferences for inside- or outside-department mentors. If you are unsure which the better choice is, please consult with your department head or Dean.

Free Institutional Membership - National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity As part of SUNY Brockport’s continued vision to build meaningful lives and vibrant communities, we have recently obtained an Institutional Membership to the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity.

The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) is a nationally recognized, independent organization that provides online career development and mentoring resources for faculty, post-docs, and graduate students.

They provide a variety of virtual programs and resources including:

Weekly Monday Motivator
Monthly Core Curriculum Webinars
Monthly Guest Expert Webinars
Access to Multi-Week Courses
Access to Dissertation Success Curriculum for graduate students
Private Discussion Forum for peer-mentoring, problem-solving, & moderated writing challenges
Monthly accountability buddy matches
Access to 14-Day Writing Challenges
Access to the Member Library that includes past webinar materials, referrals, and readings

Mentors

Lauren Lieberman

Department of Kinesiology, Sport Studies & Physical Education (KSSPE)
llieberman@brockport.edu

Lauren J. Lieberman Ph.D. is a Distinguished Service Professor in the Kinesiology Department at The College at Brockport, State University of New York (SUNY) in adapted physical education. Lauren has never had a mentor while at SUNY Brockport. She has been a mentor to several very successful faculty. She is very passionate about mentoring because when faculty use their potential and achieve their goals, SUNY Brockport will be stronger. Be a change agent and join the movement!

Lauren started her career teaching at The Perkins School for the Blind in the Deafblind program. She is co-director of The Institute on Movement Studies for Individuals with Visual Impairments or Deafblindness (IMSVI). She is the founder and director of Camp Abilities: An educational sports camp for children with visual impairments. Camp Abilities has been replicated in 20 states and eight countries. (www.campabilities.org and www.campabilitiesworld.com) She has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles and 25 books. She has been awarded a Global Fulbright Scholarship to promote Camp Abilities world-wide. She won the Lifetime Achievement Award for both the National Consortium of Physical Education for Individuals with Disabilities and for SHAPE America. Most recently she won the Lifetime Achievement Award from Division 19 of the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind in 2024. She is the co-chair for the Adapted Health and Physical Literacy Council for NAHPL.

Priya Banerjee

Department of Public Health & Health Education
pbanerjee@brockport.edu

I am excited to participate in the Faculty Mentor Program. I will be beginning my 26th year on campus and during this time, I have served our campus in different capacities, but primarily as a faculty member in the department of Public Health and Health Education. I am eager to share my experiences with colleagues. I live in the village of Brockport and for fun I enjoy entertaining and painting (oil).

Susan Orr

Department of Political Science & International Studies
sorr@brockport.edu

Welcome new colleagues, we are eager for you to join us. Originally from the UK, I have been on campus since 2007. I lived in Florida for a decade prior to moving to upstate NY and have just about adjusted to the climate! I have a nine-year-old daughter who loves swimming, lacrosse, and school and two older stepsons. My husband is on the faculty at University of Rochester and we live in Bushnell’s Basin. I have the pleasure of serving our campus as the Chapter President of UUP (United University Professions), our faculty staff union.

Kristen Proehl

Department of English
kproehl@brockport.edu

Welcome to SUNY Brockport, new faculty! My name is Kristen Proehl, and I am delighted to be joining the faculty mentor program. I am an associate professor in the English Department, where I teach courses in children’s, young adult, and American literature, among others. I have published Battling Girlhood: Sympathy, Social Justice, and the Tomboy Figure in American Literature (Routledge, 2018), which explores the rise of the tomboy in relation to nineteenth-century sentimental culture. I am also currently at work on two companion book projects, Queer Studies in YA Literature and Queer Friendship in YA Literature. Recently, I have served as an Honors College Faculty Fellow and currently serve as a subject co-advisor for the English Adolescence Education program. I am also the recipient of the Outstanding Academic Advising Award (2016); the Honors College Teaching Award (2022); and the Faculty-Student Engagement Award (2024). Born in Portland, Oregon, I have lived in California, Pennsylvania, Washington, Virginia, South Carolina, and now Brockport, NY (in that order) and am always happy to discuss transitions to new places!

Kristen Repa

(she/her/hers)
Department of Physics
krepa@brockport.edu

Greetings! This fall, I’m entering my fourth year as a tenure-track faculty member. I love teaching our students. Although I’m an experimental physicist, my research is very interdisciplinary, using techniques from chemistry & materials science. My main research focus is currently using magnetic nanoparticles for water purification (targeting E. coli). I am a mom of a kindergartener, I love to bake, weight lift, and sing. I moved here from Florida in 2017, so I’d be happy to chat about the transition to a cold weather climate. On campus, I’m involved with the Women in STEM group and am also the Physics Club advisor. I look forward to meeting you!

Adam Rich

Department of Biology
arich@brockport.edu

Hello, and welcome. I started at SUNY Brockport in 2003 after working at Bristol Myers Squibb in drug development, and the Mayo Foundation in Rochester, MN as a research associate. I have experience teaching large enrollment courses, as well as smaller courses including a CURE, or course-based undergraduate research. My scholarship is focused on gastrointestinal motility, and we use the zebrafish model system. I have experience in grantsmanship which is necessary to support a research laboratory. I serve the College as the Director for Undergraduate Research and am an advocate for faculty and students performing scholarship. I think that the single most important requirement for success at SUNY Brockport is the drive to help people to reach their potential. Last, I live in Brockport village and I have too many interests to list!

Sandeep Singh

Department of Accounting, Economics & Finance
ssingh@brockport.edu

I hope that the Fall 2023 semester will be the start of your long career at a wonderful and welcoming place, SUNY-Brockport. I am starting my 31 ^st year at the university. I have lived in Brockport for 31 years may be able to answer questions regarding relocation and communities in the area as well as things to do- so many options! As you get ready for teaching at Brockport, having taught a wide array of courses, I can assist you finding information, answer questions, or provide a different perspective. Welcome to SUNY Brockport. It is a wonderful place to work and grow.

Ning Yu

Department of Computing Sciences
nyu@brockport.edu

Dr. Ning Yu is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at SUNY Brockport, where he has been a faculty member since 2017. He was recently tenured and brings fresh experience navigating the tenure and promotion process, insights he is eager to share with new and early-career faculty. Dr. Yu earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Georgia State University and previously served as a tenure-track faculty member at the University of South Carolina Upstate.

His teaching and research focus on artificial intelligence, big data, and information security, with a strong interest in integrating AI into education. He leads multiple AI initiatives, including SUNY IITG projects and Faculty Learning Community in AI, to advance AI-powered learning tools and promote faculty-student collaboration in computing education. Dr. Yu is also the founding faculty advisor of the ACM SIGAI Student Chapter at Brockport, the first of its kind in Western New York.

As a CELT Faculty Mentor, Dr. Yu is committed to supporting faculty in their teaching, research, and service journeys. He values inclusive mentoring and is an active member of the International Faculty and Staff Association, where he has helped support the success of international colleagues on campus. His approach to mentoring emphasizes transparency, encouragement, and building supportive peer networks within the Brockport community.