New Faculty Institute

The goals of the New Faculty Institute are not only to introduce new faculty to important issues such as contract renewal files and annual reviews, but to engage faculty in an active, rigorous teaching and scholarship program.  The New Faculty Institute provides:

An introductory mailing and orientation day prior to the start of Fall classes.  This mailing and one-day orientation introduces faculty to practical issues: email; library services; expectations regarding office hours, syllabi, and classes; what UMass Dartmouth students are like; and other issues regarding the day-to-day expectations for teaching. 

The New Faculty Institute meets on Wednesdays from 3:00-5:00pm throughout the year.  All new tenure track faculty receive a course load release from the Provost's office for their first two semesters in support of their commitment to the NFI.  During these meetings, new faculty engage in the following issues:

§         developing and maintaining your dossier for annual reviews and contract renewals

§         engaging in reflective practices in the classroom; all new tenure track faculty are required to attend two Center for Teaching Excellence workshops each semester 

§         requesting and reflecting upon teaching reviews, which includes class visits, review of syllabi, and review of grading practices

§         using online technology to enhance your face-to-face classrooms

§         creating a plan for tenure (sessions will be devoted to helping new faculty consider how they plan to develop their teaching and research agenda as they move toward tenure).

Other workshops and campus colloquia will be presented during the year, and new faculty will be asked to attend some of them. A detailed schedule will be provided to you at the one-day orientation prior to the start of classes. 

New Faculty Institute Web Site

Please explore our web site further for help in all sorts of areas: Starting Up, Getting Connected, Teaching and Advising, and Planning for Tenure. Refer frequently to our Announcements page for upcoming events and other news.

New Faculty Listserv

In order to help with questions and concerns that may arise in the coming months as you transition to UMass Dartmouth, as well as throughout your first year, we will be establishing a listserv for new faculty and librarians. Once everyone has set up the UMass Dartmouth email accounts, we will send out a message welcoming you to this listserv. 

Please send an email to the listserv introducing yourself.  We have approximately 22 new faculty and librarians joining the campus community this year, and we’d like the listserv to help people start forming a community.  Let us know your name, where you are coming from, your new department and areas of specialty, and anything else you’d like to share with us. 

Jen Riley, the 2006-07 NFI Coordinator, will be responding to listserv questions and concerns, and the listserv will also be used to send updated information to you throughout the summer.  Any time you have a question, send it along to the listserv (nfi2006-07@umassd.edu) and an answer will be sent back as soon as possible.  If you have a question you would prefer to send privately, you can email Jen directly at j1riley@umassd.edu.