Mentoring has long been a defining practice in higher education and student affairs, shaping how students, faculty, and staff navigate complex institutions, develop professionally, and find belonging within our communities. Yet, as the field continues to grapple with persistent inequities, shifting sociopolitical climates, and the disproportionate burdens placed on historically marginalized professionals, it has become increasingly clear that traditional approaches to mentoring are no longer sufficient. We are called not simply to mentor more, but to mentor differently—with intention, humility, and a deep commitment to equity and justice.
In alignment with ACPA’s Strategic Imperative for Racial Justice and Decolonization, the Presidential Task Force on Equity-Minded Mentoring in Student Affairs was convened to examine how mentoring can serve as a transformative practice rather than a neutral one. Charged with developing a research-informed and practice-oriented framework, the task force sought to center identity-conscious, intersectional, and culturally responsive approaches that acknowledge the realities of power, positionality, and systemic oppression within mentoring relationships and organizational structures. A listing of Task Force members (in alphabetical order by last name):
- Sonja Ardoin, D., Clemson University
- Lorraine D. Acker, D., SUNY Brockport
- Cameron C. Beatty, Ph.D., Florida State University
- Ravi Bhatt, M.Ed., Florida State University
- Robert Brown, Ph.D., Northwestern University
- Marc Johnston Guerrero, Ph.D., University of Denver
- Cristóbal Salinas Jr., Ph.D., Florida Atlantic University
This report, Mentoring with Purpose: A Framework for Equity-Minded and Identity-Conscious Practice in Student Affairs, is intended as both a resource and a call to action for mentors, supervisors, faculty, association leaders, and practitioners at all levels. It invites us to reflect on how mentoring can function as an act of care, advocacy, and decolonization, and challenges us to move beyond individual relationships toward mentoring cultures and systems that are equitable, sustainable, and liberatory. Our hope is that this framework will support individuals and institutions in building mentoring practices that affirm wholeness, disrupt inequity, and strengthen networks of support across the profession.
To read the full report, please visit the ACPA Member Portal and select “Resources.” To further engage with this work, we also encourage you to explore the following related opportunities:
- A Student Affairs Now episode, “Rethinking Mentoring: From Personal Care to Collective Change,” featuring ACPA President Jonathan A. McElderry, Johnnie Allen, Jr., Aja Holmes, and Judy Marquez Kiyama.
- A forthcoming About Campus special issue on Identity-Conscious Mentoring, guest edited by Stephanie Hernandez Rivera and Emily Kreschel.
Finally, I invite you to join me for a live podcast taping of “Round About Campus Presents: A Live Episode on Equity-Minded Mentoring,” featuring co-hosts Z Nicolazzo and Alex Lange alongside the Task Force Co-Chairs and About Campus guest editors at the ACPA26 Convention in Baltimore, Maryland, March 30–April 2.
Sincerely,
Jonathan A. McElderry, Ph.D.
ACPA President 2025–2026