Announcement: 

We are getting ready to send out the Mentor Matches for spring 2025. If you submitted a survey response, please keep a lookout for an email with the information about your mentor match. 

Purpose

The IWCA Mentor Match Program (MMP) provides mentorship opportunities for writing center professionals. In previous years, the program set up one-to-one mentor and mentee matches. The IWCA Mentor Match Program is diversifying our mentoring options to better meet the needs of our diverse members. 

Regardless of the ways in which members would like to participate in the IWCA MMP, our program encourages a non-dyadic approach: mentors/mentees are encouraged to share information and learn from one another in a collaborative space.

Participants can provide a range of support to one another. They may:

  • Refer one another to resources.
  • Connect one another with colleagues internationally, nationally, and in their region.
  • Consult on professional development, contract review, and promotion.
  • Provide feedback on assessment and scholarship.
  • Serve as an outside reviewer for writing center assessment.
  • Serve as a reference for promotion.
  • Serve as a chair on conference panels.
  • Answer curious questions.
  • Offer outside opinions about situations.

Spring 2026 Options & Opportunities

Traditional 1-1 Mentor-Mentee Match

This option requires the highest level of commitment from both the mentor and the mentee. Participants in this option should be prepared to meet a minimum of one hour once a month for one academic year or one calendar year. This option is ideal for a mentee who is new to the writing center field or who is entering their first professional position.

  • Match periods: January – June 

Small Group Mentor Mosaics

This option will group people based on availability. These groups are intended to be non-hierarchical, so members will rotate responsibilities, such as posing topics, sharing resources, inviting other participants into discussions. Mentor groups are expected to meet a minimum of once per month.

  • New groups starting in January 2026

Eligibility and Timeline

All IWCA members are eligible to participate in the IWCA Mentor Match Program.

Mentoring Matches & Mosaic Groups

  • Match periods: approximately January – June for spring cycle
  • Surveys for participation will be sent out in December. Matches and mosaic group members will be announced in January

Testimonials

“Being a mentor with the IWCA Mentor Match program helped me to critically reflect on my own experiences, led to a professional relationship with a valued colleague, and encouraged me to consider how professional mentoring leads to disciplinary identity.”

  • Maureen McBride, University Nevada-Reno, Mentor 2018-19

“For me, the chance to mentor someone else had a few benefits. I was able to pay forward some of the wonderful support I received informally over the years. My relationship with my mentee fosters a mutual learning space where we both feel supported for the work we do. Holding this space is really important for those of us who can feel isolated at our home institutions or in silo-ed departments.”

  • Jennifer Daniel, Queens University of Charlotte, Mentor 2018-19

Contact Information

If you have questions about the IWCA Mentor Match Program, please contact the IWCA Mentor Match Coordinator Maureen McBride at mmcbride @ unr.edu .