Race, Communication and Mentoring Provisions: Does the Mentor Race Play a Role in the Type of Provision-Related Messages that Black and Latino College Students Report that They Receive in Academe?

Author:

• Wilfredo Alvarez (Univ of Colorado, Boulder)

Abstract:

The benefits that mentoring relationships provide in different organizational contexts are firmly established. This paper examines the relationship between mentors' race and the type provision-related messages that they send their protégés in higher education settings. This study employs a survey questionnaire as a method of data collection. The literature reviewed found that mentors have two key functions that they should fulfill in a mentoring relationship: vocational/career support and psychosocial support. But there are also several issues associated with cross-racial mentoring relationships. According to the research, protégés of color do not enjoy the same mentoring benefits of their White counterparts. The research also shows that protégés of color do not get socialized equally, do not have the same access to mentoring, do not exchange power with their mentors, and do not receive the same outcomes as do their White colleagues. This study attempts to further our understanding of the role of race and communication in cross-racial mentoring relationships in the context of higher education.