This article contrasts perceptions among 58 under-represented minority (URM) faculty employed at U.S. research-extensive universities who reported an absence of mentoring or experienced informal or formal mentoring modalities. Key findings reveal a mentoring glass ceiling that affects URM faculty career paths: an absence of mentoring can lead to significant career miscalculations; well-intentioned mentors can devalue faculty scholarship; lack of senior faculty accountability for observed disengagement from faculty career development; and inadequate mentorship often limits access to social networks and collaborative research opportunities. Recommendations are offered for developing effective formal mentoring initiatives that reflect an institutional investment in early-career URM faculty.