ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the terms race and racial minority to the broader terms culture and ethnicity. Some mentees, regardless of race, may express preference for a demographically similar mentor. Trust in a mentorship hinges on a series of positive, reliable, and mentee-promoting professional behaviors on the part of the mentor. Available research indicates that racial minority students are mentored at rates equivalent to White students, and that cross-race mentorships, once formed, are regarded as equally helpful and satisfying. In light of the lower rates of minority faculty at the upper levels of faculty rank in many institutions, it is imperative that majority mentors actively and deliberately mentor across race. Key strategies for cross-race mentorship include recognizing personal stereotypes, appreciating individual mentee differences, manifesting diversity-promoting attitudes and behaviors, establishing trust early in the mentor relationship, matching a strategy for addressing racial differences to individual mentees, and encouraging secondary same-race mentorships when appropriate.
