At Mentor Collective, we believe the secret to student and professional success is relationships. Connecting people to your network keeps it active and, most importantly, helps others gain access to the people, ideas, and opportunities that challenge old ways of thinking and make room for innovation.
Our work gives us the opportunity to interact with the academics, leaders, and administrators who work tirelessly to understand and improve student outcomes through mentorship. They go by many identities but have one thing in common – the desire to make an impact by challenging the way we think about higher education and the student experience.
We call them Mentorship Champions.
This month we’re pleased to announce our Mentorship Champion as Dr. Donald Outing.
Dr. Donald Outing is Lehigh University's first and current VP for Equity and Community and University Diversity and Inclusion Officer.
Prior to his appointment at Lehigh, Dr. Outing served as the Chief Diversity Officer and Director of the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity for the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point. He served as the academy’s senior leader in coordinating efforts to create a more diverse and inclusive environment, developed and implemented the USMA diversity and inclusion strategic plan, and created an integrated assessment process to measure effectiveness.
Dr. Outing was the founding director of the Center for Leadership and Diversity in STEM at WestPoint; he conceived and implemented an innovative STEM outreach strategy directed at middle school students that impacted more than 10,000 students nationwide.
Mentor Collective is honored to acknowledge these contributions and the many more that make Dr. Outing a true champion for mentorship and student success.
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Dr. Outing has helped expand Lehigh's commitment to equity and diversity by making sure that students of all identities have the academic and psychosocial support needed to thrive in college – including scalable mentorship strategies with Mentor Collective. His comprehensive understanding of how mentorship can show up within academic and career pathways makes him not only an advocate for the students he serves but also the countless staff, faculty, and leaders who dedicate themselves to helping make every student feel welcome in higher education.
In addition to discussing formative moments in his career, Dr. Outing and Mentor Collective’s Head of Partner Marketing Alexandria Glaize talk about the fluidity of mentorship, the importance of having a psychosocial mentor for identity-aligned guidance and being open to becoming a mentee well into your career.
Listen to Dr. Outing's Interview Below or Read the Transcript Below Each Question:
What Does Mentorship Mean to You? | What Advice Would You Give Someone Looking For a Mentor (or Looking to Make the Most of Mentorship)
How Has the Power of Mentorship Shown Up in Your Life? | Why Do You Champion Mentorship?
Press Play to Hear this Section of the Conversation
Dr. Donald Outing (DO): So I'll tell you when I think about mentorship, I think about it from three different perspectives. There's that formal versus informal mentorship. There's that, professional versus psychosocial mentorship. And then there's more sponsorship versus mentorship. So going beyond the mentorship and looking at, moving into sponsorship.
When I think about formal versus informal when I think about mentorship, I think about those formal structures that exist usually within organizational structures. And it might be within the workplace or it might be within a professional organization where you're offered the opportunity to be linked up to a potential mentor. Those serve a really good purpose to get you connected to a professional community of practice that you may be working in. I find those connections to be very important. Those are important because they provide a structure for someone who doesn't know how to find a mentor, and access to identify a potential mentor. Then the other part of this is the informal part of it.
With informal mentorship I think about it from the perspective of those are the things that last. Formal mentorship lasts in the short term, but then it needs to transition into this informal mentorship or you're connected to an informal mentor. That is really somebody who does serve to be that person who advises you, that person who guides you. That person who provides clarity helps you set goals and helps you develop knowledge skills. You know, all of these different things that I expect from mentorship when I'm thinking about it.
The other part of this is that professional versus psychosocial mentor. Those individuals who help you with professional development. Those people that are gonna help you establish goals. Those people who are going be able to provide accountability for your goals, who are gonna help you develop these leadership skills, who are gonna provide insider guidance and information, who's going to provide access to a broader network. I look at those as professional mentors.
Then there are psychosocial mentors. Sometimes I search them out. For example, coming to this area of Lehigh as a Black man in this community, I look for those to guide me on a psychological and social level. What's it like? Where are the best places to eat? Where do I get my haircut? You know? These are the psychological social mentors that I search out as well within communities.
And then finally, there's that role of mentorship that I like to try to assume once I establish a mentorship relationship with an individual. Once I decide to mentor someone and that person has decided to have me as a mentor, oftentimes that relationship, continues to grow in an informal way, then I often find myself serving more as a sponsor. That is a person who is now helping to shepherd access into areas that the potential that this person is potentially interested in moving into. It might be upper management. It might be in a whole different career field altogether. But, when I think about mentorship, those are all the things that are on my mind.
Alexandria Glaize (AG): No. I think you said something that's really important, and what you're pointing out is that mentorship shows up in many forms. There are many ways in which we enter into relationships with people, and I think mentorship is a reflection of that. And so I really appreciated the different ways in which you define mentorship, especially psycho-emotional and social support.
Because I don't know if we think about mentorship in that way. And it is a form of mentorship like the informal kind of like assurance. That doesn't have to look like a friendship. That can mirror more of a mentorship kind of relationship. And I think the last part of you distinguishes the difference between mentorship and sponsorship, but even more so the transition that mentorship can become sponsorship...I don't know if we hear that conversation a lot...the importance of sponsorship and how mentorship can turn into that.
DO: Absolutely. Sometimes it does turn into this relationship where I'm no longer guiding an individual. Actually, I might be in the room championing for this person or advocating for this individual, and that individual is not necessarily present at that time.
AG: That's so critical when you're talking about access. This is exactly what you mentioned...the importance of creating access, which is probably a whole other different conversation.
We can talk about sponsorship so deeply and how it's needed, especially when you think about it through an equity lens if you think about it through a representation lens if you think about it through a lot of things. I think it's important, but I think mentorship is a soft form of not necessarily breaking down barriers of access...maybe in some ways it does, but mentorship is that first step of broadening someone's landscape, creating space for much more, or even just a space for acceptance and awareness.
Press Play to Hear this Section of the Conversation
Donald Outing (DO): That's a good question. Advice.
Too many times when we think about mentorship, we just look at our specific "chain of command". And I'll call it the chain of command just because of my military background. But many times we only look in our chain of command exclusively for some sort of mentor, and we expect that mentor to somehow produce themselves. I always like to tell folks, to look out of that chain of command. Many of my mentors weren't necessarily individuals who worked within my particular unit. Sometimes there were mentors that didn't work within my organization period, but these were people who were able to provide professional and technical guidance and help me articulate my goals and set goals for myself. So, they proved to be invaluable.
Also, I mentioned this before...don't just think of mentorship from the perspective of that professional mentor. Don't be afraid to seek out another individual with a shared identity to ask those questions that you would not necessarily ask your professional mentor. Sometimes it's it's better to keep those two separate as well.
I've had first-generation students, for example, who feel more comfortable talking to someone who has come from a similar background because they're afraid to ask a question that may appear dumb to the average person. There's a reluctance or lack of understanding that it's just as important to go find that person who has some sort of shared identity, shared experience, or shared background that you can ask some of those social, psychological, and emotional questions as well.
Also, you know, join professional organizations. Find mentorship within professional organizations. I belong to the National Association of Mathematicians, and the Association of Mathematicians of Color, and I have found mentors there. I belong to the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, where I found mentors as a part of my role as a diversity practitioner in higher education.
The other thing I always like to tell folks is that good mentorship can be transformative. I mean, it was a mentor who helped me realize that this role that I currently have – serving as an executive in higher education, creating opportunities, opening doors, creating inclusive environments. That this was my passion and that I should pursue it. I still consider myself an academic. However, at that time, I was thinking very narrowly about my contributions to higher education and how I was going to contribute to the development of others in higher education...until I ran across a person named Ted Childs who is one of the godfathers of diversity practitioners in the corporate space...who really founded a lot of this work when he was at IBM.
It was from him, that I learned how I could contribute to higher education in a very different way by creating access and opportunity for those who didn't have a seat at the table and whose voice wasn't being represented in certain decisions and policies as they were being made. So, again, it was transformative. Mentorship can be transformative, professionally transformative.
And then finally, I'd say within your organization, look to see if there's a formal mentorship structure or program and sign up for it. It is a great way to get your foot in the door to meet others who are looking to mentor up-and-coming talent. Sometimes it can be difficult, if you will, and also daunting to be new in an organization and then trying to figure out where am I going to find a mentor. But oftentimes, many organizations do have formal mentorship structures. Sign up for them and get involved within your organization.
Alex Glaize (AG): I think you hit on quite a few things that I think are really important that I wanna just point out for folks if they missed it. The first point is that mentors can help support articulating and setting goals. Right? And I think that, especially when you're thinking about folks who are students, right? It could show up in many ways. It could be personal. It could be professional. It could be connected to a career. It could be connected to financial goals. But I think that's a really important thing when you have someone who can help put language to what you're trying to accomplish, and having that person to be in conversation with is important.
The second piece of it, which really stuck out for me...that I'm actually going to take personally...is looking outside of your network to identify and expand the ways in which you can be in relationship with folks. Folks that I am somewhat adjacent to. Your career path doesn't necessarily reflect mine, but that doesn't mean I don't get value out of it.
When we're talking about mentorship at its most basic level and form, it's being in a relationship with people who have similar backgrounds, same experiences. I think about it from a student perspective. I think about the importance of those hallway conversations that often happen with peers. The informal things. If I was in college, I'd want to know where I can get my hair cut. Who do I know in the neighborhood? Who knows how to do natural hair that not gonna burn my hair up?
Those things where you're recognizing this person may have had a similar experience. That barrier to having that conversation doesn't exist. How you were saying that having a psychosocial mentor actually brought you closer to what you were passionate about I think is really important.
DO: Yeah. Absolutely, important. Oftentimes when you read about or when people talk about mentorship, you can hear this transactional approach to mentorship, and so that's why I use the word transformative. Because I truly believe that good mentorship is transformative. Less about, I mean, it's transactional in some ways, but it's less about the transactional aspects of it. It's the transformational part that proves to be long-lasting and has the greatest impact.
Press Play to Hear this Section of the Conversation
Donald Outing (DO): Wow. That's a that's a deep question there, because you know, I really didn't fully appreciate the role and the power of having a mentor. I think it was around 1997 when I arrived at the US Military Academy West Point.
At that time, I was a young major in the army, and up to that point there were those who had attempted to mentor me, but I didn't see the need for it at the time or didn't appreciate the need for it. I thought all of my achievements needed to be acquired through some sort of God-given talent. That's the way you succeed. No one ever really talked to me about mentorship or anything like that, but when I showed up at the US Military Academy at West Point in 97', I formed informal relationships with individuals who saw something in me and decided to take the extra time to mentor me toward my full potential.
I don't think I would have gotten there without their intervention, and that's why I talk about this idea of mentorship being transformative.
Chris Arney was one of my first department heads and Gary Krahn, succeeded him later. I was a young instructor there, who just came there to teach mathematics and then just went on and "do other stuff". Hadn't had that plan figured out, but to do the "other stuff," but they stepped into my life, and had a conversation with me about having the talent and an identity that's underrepresented in our particular space. They also mentioned that I had a personality that resonated with others, and they believed that I could make a contribution to mathematics in a number of different ways.
They're the ones who began talking to me about using my talent to go back and get a Ph.D., to deepen my understanding of the practice of mathematics, but then also encourage me. They encouraged me to use that to attract others who looked like me, who came from communities that I came from, that had similar identities as me, and to shepherd them into the field of mathematics.
They were very subtle in the way that they guided and mentored me, but it was through their initial mentorship that I really started connecting the pieces of developing the ideas that eventually formulated into the creation of the Center for Leadership and Diversity and STEM.
So I went off, got a Ph.D., came back, and was empowered to lead others and to help establish pathways for others to appreciate and participate in the discipline of the mathematical sciences.
And that was, Gary Krohn and, Chris Arney.
Andre Sayles was one of the first psychosocial mentors I ran into and would say things like – Hey, Don. You know, you're not doing these types of things, and you need to watch out for these types of things. And these are the things that you need to be focusing on.
You know, telling me from his experience as a Black person who is a uniformed officer. His perspective on if I wanted to remain at West Point and continue to move up the ladder of success within the military.
So people like that entered my life. Moving on from there, as I was leading, I found myself in the middle of leading diversity and inclusion efforts, not realizing I was just doing what came naturally and following my passions. That's when I came into contact with people like Ted Childs and other practitioners out there who began to mentor me about establishing best practices and strategies and helping to lead change. You know, how do you lead organizational change? How do you go about that? It's a process that has to be shared learned and imparted in order for you to be successful. So mentorship for me has, again, I can't use another word other than it's been transformative, and it's been very important to success in my life, my career, and all that I've been able to accomplish.
Alex Glaize (AG): It's important that you had folks be able to shepherd you to be able to just realize your passion in a way that turned into a career. That resonated with me. I'm having like a moment of self-reflection as I'm talking out loud.
DO: You know, Alex, if I can add to that. I love that you're working through your stream of consciousness because I do the same thing.
I would be neglectful or remiss if I didn't mention the other part of this mentor-mentee relationship...and that's the part where sometimes the mentee becomes the mentor. I like your word "relationship" because it really is a relationship, and I think of a student I had named Michael Barlow.
Michael Barlow was a cadet at West Point. Michael's probably gonna be a national leader at some point. So you remember that day, and I'm gonna say his name. But I remember serving as his mentor and having this mentor-mentee relationship with him. Then I remember the day when Michael became my mentor.
I was preparing to give a presentation about removing the Confederate memorials and monuments that existed at West Point. At the time, the Army was thinking about standing up a blue ribbon panel, and another former mentee Ty Sedgeley (who was the head of the history department at the time, and also the author of the book, Robert Lee and Me, Southerners Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause) and I were on it. Ty introduced me to Michael, and I began mentoring him. I was rehearsing my presentation with Michael, and at the end, he said, "Well, you hit all the selling points, but what I didn't hear was passion. There was no passion there, and so while what you said was technically correct, it did not resonate with me."
And that was the point, I'll say when Michael began to mentor me. But had it not been for that strong mentor-mentee relationship that we had already formed, I don't think he would have felt comfortable sharing that critique with me in such an honest way.
So you asked for advice to potential mentees searching for a mentor, but here's something for mentors. We need to realize that we're mentoring individuals for a reason. They have talent. They possess talent. Sometimes we have to stop and listen and accept the role of mentee ourselves with those that we're mentoring.
AG: For me, it is a reciprocal relationship. Right? It's not just a one-sided power structure, but the idea is that because we're in a relationship, we both have something to offer. I think that's also what you were saying you created a space for him to feel psychologically safe. I think that psychological safety is such a critical component.
Press Play to Hear this Section of the Conversation
Donald Outing (DO): I think I shared it through my own personal journey. For me, I felt I was late to the game as far as understanding the importance of, and the role of, mentorship in one's professional development, but also personal development as well.
For that reason, I want to ensure that others don't make that same mistake. Don't wait so late in life to not only seek out a mentor but also recognize when a potential mentor-mentee relationship is evolving. I missed out on those because again, I didn't think about those things. No one ever told me about finding a mentor. I always believe that everyone pretty much got where they got in life or achieved what they have achieved in life, because of their talent and merit. That it was identified, and then they were rewarded or promoted or something like that. I did not recognize or fully appreciate and understand the true power of mentorship.
That's why I'm a fervent champion of mentorship and also a person who is passionate about looking for opportunities to mentor others. Establishing that initial relationship, and then, hopefully (if that relationship flourishes) being able to become an advocate, a sponsor...to be that person that guides this individual on their journey to wherever they're trying to get to. It's the joy I get from that, that satisfaction when it works out.
When I think about people like Michael Barlow, when I think about those that I have had the privilege to mentor, it fills me. It overwhelms me with such joy that I can't help but want to be a champion for broader mentorship...not just within my own personal network, but encouraging others to mentor or to seek out a mentor.
Alex Glaize (AG): That's powerful. It resonates deeply because I too didn't appreciate or didn't recognize the mentorship opportunities in my life. I wasn't someone who leaned into having a mentor, which is actually the reason why I came to Mentor Collective.
In grad school, I was getting my degree in sustainable international development. I got my degree, graduated, all of those things. Then I changed my career trajectory because I distinctly remember not being in relationship with someone who looked like me, and who had a similar experience to me in international development. So you have to create opportunities for mentorship because this cannot be the experiences of Black and Brown kids. We have to create opportunities for mentorship because it is so critical. So I appreciate that you said that there is a sense of deep urgency. There's a sense of deep importance and value for mentorship, and that really does shape a lot of our experiences.
Do you know someone who should be highlighted as one of our next Mentorship Champions? We'd love to know them, too!
Reach out to Alexandria Glaize at alexandria@mentorcollective.org to submit your nomination and help us uplift the work of extraordinary individuals.
Want to learn about previous Mentorship Champions? Check out our previous honorees below!
Mentorship Champion: Dr. Norris "EJ" Edney
Inaugural Mentorship Champion on Speaking Boldly About Your Goals and the Impact of Relationships
Mentorship Champion: Dr. Charmaine Troy
Using Mentorship to Provide Access & Representation
Mentorship Champion: Dr. Lanze Thompson
Growing Beyond Sense of Belonging with Intentional Mentorship
Mentorship Champion: Dr. Lynn Breyfogle
Bringing Intentional Mentorship to All Facets of Life for Growth