NFI Schedule & Materials
2023-2024 New Faculty Institute
Leader: Dr. Jay Zysk, Director, Office of Faculty Development
Email: jzysk@umassd.edu
Offices: LIB 215 (in the OFD suite) and LARTS 343
Phone: x8864
Office hours: individual meetings available by appointment (please email)
All NFI meetings take place on Wednesdays from 3.00-5.00 p.m. in the Office of Faculty Development (Library 212) unless noted otherwise. The OFD will provide coffee, tea, soft drinks, and snacks at all sessions!
Many sessions will include interactive trainings and tutorials, so please bring your laptops.
Additional information and materials can be found at https://www.umassd.edu/nfi/
SEPTEMBER
Wednesday, 9/13: Getting Things Started & Welcome Reception
Join us as we begin the 2023-2024 New Faculty Institute! Reacquaint yourself with your new faculty cohort and bring any questions from your first week of classes. We’ll have a brief conversation and overview of the OFD.
At 4:00 p.m., we will proceed downstairs to the Grand Reading Room for our annual New Faculty Welcome Reception. We will be joined by Interim Provost Ram Bala, Associate Provost Thomas Boone, members of the Office of Faculty Development, and the college deans. All new faculty members will be formally welcomed to the university and introduced by their respective deans—all over wine and cheese!
Wednesday, 9/20: Overview of Student Support Services
As faculty members, we have our students’ best interests in mind and we want to help them achieve success in concrete and meaningful ways. In this session join Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Dr. Kimberly Scott, and members of the Division of Student Affairs as they share information and referral contacts pertaining to the services that faculty are likely to utilize in their efforts to support students in and out of the classroom.
Wednesday, 9/27: CITS Instructional Development / Online Teaching and Learning
Join members of the CITS Instructional Development Team to discuss the services, resources, and workshops they provide. This presentation will provide an overview of MyCourses (our learning management system) as well as review strategies and best practices for teaching blended and fully online courses.
OCTOBER
Wednesday, 10/4: Library Resources & Writing and Multiliteracy Center
Dr. Elisabeth Buck, Director of the Writing and Multiliteracy Center (WMC) will discuss the services the WMC offers to students, including peer tutoring and classroom visitations. Then, Dean Nancy Godleski, along with Kari Mofford, Jo-Ann Cooley, Sonia Pacheco, Emma Wood, and Lorraine Heffernan from the Claire T. Carney Library will survey library resources for students and faculty across the disciplines as well as provide an overview of open educational resources (OER) initiatives at UMass Dartmouth.
Wednesday, 10/11: COIN and Academic Advising
Audra Callahan, Ben Baumann, Stephanie LeBlanc and Keith Coutu from the Registrar’s Office will conduct a COIN tutorial with a focus on academic advising. Then advising coordinators and professional advisors from different colleges will discuss strategies for effective student advising.
Wednesday, 10/18: An Introduction to Curricular Processes and Academic Policies
How do you develop and propose a new course in your department? How can you propose one of your existing courses for inclusion in University Studies? What is a roster verification request and why is it important? What action should you take when a student contests a grade or asks for an incomplete? How do you handle a case of plagiarism or academic dishonesty? Members of this panel will discuss these and other curricular processes and academic policies.
Wednesday, 10/25: No NFI Meeting / No Classes
NOVEMBER
Wednesday, 11/1: Sponsored Research and Research Compliance: Processes, Opportunities, and Supports
Join Interim Provost Ramprasad Balasubramanian, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Megan Hennessey-Greene, Research Development Manager Jennifer Glass, Intellectual Property Consultant Catherine Ives, and Director of Institutional Ethics and Compliance Stephanie Pena to discuss external and internal research grant opportunities, ethics, and research compliance.
Wednesday, 11/8: Coffee with the Chancellor.
As the semester winds down, join Chancellor Mark Fuller for a unique opportunity to hear about some recent campus updates, his vision for UMass Dartmouth, and what he sees as top priorities for the campus’s success. Chancellor Fuller also welcomes the opportunity to hear about your experiences at UMassD thus far and discuss any questions you might have.
Wednesday, 11/15: Meeting with Provosts and Deans
Interim Provost Ramprasad Balasubramanian, Associate Provost Thomas Boone, and the deans of your respective colleges will discuss topics related to teaching, scholarship and professional activity, and service as well as specific personnel actions including the annual faculty activities report (FAR), contract renewal, tenure, and promotion.
Wednesday, 11/22: No NFI Meeting
Wednesday, 11/29: Contract Renewals and Personnel Actions
Building on our earlier meeting with the Provost and Deans, this session will describe the process of annual reviews, contract renewals, and tenure and promotion applications. Join members of the OFD staff to discuss strategies for shaping effective teaching, research, and service narratives as well as gathering and documenting supporting evidence.
DECEMBER
Wednesday, 12/6: A Conversation about Teaching and Learning: Looking Back, Looking Ahead
Join OFD Assistant Directors Michael Sheriff, Tom Hertweck and Katie Krafft for a session introducing a variety of best practices for teaching and learning. Topics will include course design and development, strategies for active learning, “small teaching,” and anti-oppressive pedagogy. We’ll use this session to reflect on our approaches to teaching and learning this semester and think about some innovations and improvements we might consider for the semester ahead. As this is the last NFI meeting of the semester, pizza will be served!
Spring 2024 Schedule
All meetings will take place in the OFD Seminar Room (Library 213). Refreshments will be served at each session.
JANUARY
Wednesday, January 31: Coffee with the Chancellor
We kickoff the spring NFI agenda with an opportunity to dialogue with Chancellor Mark Fuller. As you enter your second semester at UMassD, take this unique opportunity to hear about some recent campus updates, his vision for UMass Dartmouth, and what he sees as top priorities for the campus’s success. Chancellor Fuller also welcomes the opportunity to hear about your experiences at UMassD thus far and discuss any questions you might have.
FEBRUARY
Wednesday, February 7: Service Learning / Writing and Multiliteracy Center
Dr. Matthew Roy, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Civic Engagement, will discuss opportunities for service learning at UMass Dartmouth, including an overview of the Service Learning Fellowship, a two-year, cohort-based opportunity to develop and implement service learning courses at the university.
Wednesday, February 14: College Now and Academic Resource Center
How can faculty help students meet academic challenges? In this session, join representatives from College Now, the Academic Resource Center, the STEM Learning Lab, and the PAL (Peer Assisted Learning) Program for a discussion about academic support resources available to faculty and students.
Wednesday, February 21: Faculty Federation and Faculty Senate
Dr. Brian Ayotte, President of the Faculty Senate, and Dr. Grant O’Rielly, President of the Faculty Federation, will discuss the role of shared governance generally as well as the function of the Faculty Federation and Faculty Senate in particular. The session will also provide information about opportunities for faculty involvement in each.
Wednesday, February 28: Office of Undergraduate Research / Honors College
In the first hour, Dr. Lamya Karim, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR), and Dr. Anupama Arora, Assistant Director of the OUR, will discuss opportunities and support for undergraduate research, including faculty/student research mentorship and collaboration, at UMass Dartmouth.
In the second hour, Dr. Amy Shapiro, Dean of the Honors College, and Dr. Brian Ayotte, Faculty Director of the Honors College, will discuss the Honors College at UMass Dartmouth, including opportunities to teach honors courses, serve as honors faculty, and mentor undergraduate research projects.
MARCH
Wednesday, March 6: International Education, International Programs, and Study Abroad
Daniel Pirbudagov, Executive Director of International Education, and Gina Reis from International Programs Office will discuss faculty and student opportunities for international education and study abroad, as well as resources for international students and scholars.
Wednesday, March 13: No NFI Meeting – Spring Break
Wednesday, March 20: Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality (CWGS) and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Dr. Juli Parker will discuss the Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality and Mary Beckwith, David Gomes, and Andre Silva will share important information regarding Title IX and DEI initiatives on our campus.
Wednesday, March 27: Coffee with the Provost
Join Provost Ram Bala and Associate Provost Tom Boone to talk about new approaches to faculty affairs, different facets of faculty development, and working to build smoother processes to support faculty at UMass Dartmouth.
Wednesday, April 3: Electronic Dossier for Personnel Actions
In this session, Kristen Kupiec, Executive Director for Operations and Communications, Office of the Provost, will review the university’s electronic dossier template used for applications for contract renewals, promotion, and tenure. We will review the template, discuss how to organize and place materials, and provide an overview of the process by which dossiers are reviewed (i.e. department FEC, department chair, council, Dean’s Office, Provost, et al.).
APRIL
Wednesday, April 10: Writing about Teaching, Scholarship, and Service
In this session, we’ll discuss how to write about your teaching and advising; your research agenda, scholarship, and professional activity; and your service activities as you prepare dossiers for personnel actions (contract renewals, promotion, and/or tenure). We’ll explore models for documenting instructional innovation and assessment, the trajectory and impact of your scholarship, and your service at department, college, and university levels.
Wednesday, April 17: No NFI Meeting
Wednesday, April 24: Faculty Activities Reports (FAR)
In this session, we will work through the process of preparing your annual faculty activities report (FAR), including ways to document and provide evidence for your scholarship and professional activity; teaching and advising; and service.