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Statement on Mentorship in the UCSC Arts Division

UCSC Arts Division Mentorship is a Major Initiative of Dean of Arts Celine Parreñas Shimizu.

With her own expertise in establishing mentorship programs over the years and with Arts Division Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs Larry Andrews’s expert and extensive research on best practices in mentorship, the Arts Division will be initiating and/ or formalizing mentorship programs in each of its departments to clarify our commitment to student success and faculty development. 

The Arts Division as a whole will determine and enact what mentorship should look like beyond outmoded models. Instead, it will focus on a forward-thinking standard that centers on the mentee and mobilizes the best in the mentor, in a relationship that truly enables each other to grow. In particular, attention will be paid to the role of mentorship and establishing best practices within the institution as it diversifies the faculty, decolonizes the curriculum and continues to create pipelines of collaboration across and beyond the university.

In recognition of Dean Celine’s extensive work in mentorship and the great care she has given to the next generation of Asian American Studies scholars and filmmakers, the Association for Asian American Studies selected her for its 2022 Excellence in Mentorship Award. Shimizu has mentored countless undergraduates, graduate students, post-docs, and colleagues in the past two decades, from UC Santa Barbara as Professor of Asian American, Feminist, and Film and Media Studies to San Francisco State University as Director and Professor of the School of Cinema, and to her current position at UCSC as Dean of the Arts and Distinguished Professor of Film and Digital Media, and beyond.

Says Dean Celine, “It is because of the mentorship I received—the confidence-building, career-launching, field-breaking advice and the support of programs that enabled underrepresented people to enter the academy—that I am inspired to create mentorship programs wherever I am, whether as Chair of the Senior Women’s Council at UCSB, or developing the Equity and Leadership Program to diversify the leadership at SFSU, or the mentoring programs I am prioritizing now for the Arts Division at UCSC. I am so honored to continue this work with my own students and colleagues.”

The timeline for this plan began in 2022 Fall quarter when Dean Parreñas Shimizu and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs Larry Andrews met with the departments and program to discuss their proposed mentorship plans, and where they discussed ideas, suggested changes and identified divisional themes. Applications for funding will be submitted to support these programs. 

The mentorship plans are in process and are working documents.