The Mentor Professor Initiative was launched in 2012, and has resulted in the recruitment and retention of stellar scientists recruited for their demonstrated commitment to, and success, in mentoring students from underrepresented groups. Nine Mentor Professors have been hired through Divisional Searches, and one Professor was hired through a Psychology Department Mentor Professor Search.

The Mentor Professor Search has since been adopted as a hiring mechanism in the DGSOM and is being examined as a model on other campuses and units in the UC system.