Mentoring is an important activity within the music theory community. To encourage effective and responsible mentoring by committees of the Society for Music Theory and by groups affiliated with it, the Society has established the following guidelines.

(1) To oversee the suitability of mentoring programs and to avoid the duplication of mentoring services, the Executive Board of the SMT will serve as a “clearing house” for the Society’s mentoring programs. The chair of a committee wishing to develop a new mentoring program or to revive a dormant one must submit a proposal to the Executive Board for review.

(2) Members of the SMT who serve as mentors, whether as members of the SMT’s committees or of groups affiliated with the Society (e.g., interest groups), must state at the beginning of each advising relationship and activity that the opinions expressed and advice given are solely those of the individual mentor and do not represent the views or actions of the SMT. Chairs of such committees or groups participating in mentoring programs must ensure that this disclaimer is included in any descriptions of the programs that appear in print or online.

(3) Mentors should recommend to their advisees that they seek advice about the issues in question from the appropriate colleagues, teachers, administrators, or offices at the advisees’ institutions. Mentors should stress that this recommendation is especially important when advice is sought pertaining to reappointment and tenure. Similarly, mentors should be particularly cautious when giving advice about these matters.

April 2011