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Abstract:
The benefits of informal mentorship have been robustly documented. This article makes an argument for formalizing mentorship as professional development in the adult education space so as to capture the advantages of informal mentorship for the success of classrooms, programs, organizations, or institutions. It offers examples of two types of mentorship programming that could prove especially beneficial in the adult education space—integration- focused mentoring and trajectory-focused mentoring, with the former best suited to new instructor orientation and development and the latter best suited to emerging and/or prospective leaders. In the first case, the focus is on a new instructor mentoring program; in the second case, the focus falls on a job shadow program. In both cases, formalized mentorship in adult education proves exceedingly valuable; it offers opportunities for connection and mutually beneficial relationships, assists institutions in the integration and support of new educators, and helps both educators and administrators build and maintain more diverse leadership pipelines. Finally, potential challenges and barriers in the implementation of formalized mentorship programming are addressed, and key takeaways— including how mentorship might be used strategically for inclusivity and leadership capacity building—are offered.