Monday, Apr. 27

Tuesday, Apr. 28 – Wednesday, Apr. 29 

Monday, May 4 – Thursday, May 7 

The provost's Faculty Affairs team (in collaboration with The University Writing Center) is offering two targeted writing workshops designed to help faculty preparing promotion dossiers develop clear, reflective and compelling candidate statements:  

 Workshop 1: Teaching Statement  
Thursday, Mar. 12 | 9 – 10:30 a.m. | PCL Learning Lab 1 | Register
This interactive session is open to all faculty preparing dossiers for promotion review in Fall 2026. We will review the purpose and audience for the teaching statement, provide tools for structuring your narrative and offer time for guided writing and peer feedback. Faculty attendees will leave with a solid outline and a clearer sense of direction for their teaching statement. The workshop is intended for faculty members who have started drafting their statement or are further along in the process.

 Workshop 2: Additional Contributions Statement  
Wednesday, Mar. 25 | 2:30 – 4 p.m. | PCL Learning Lab 1 | Register
This interactive session is open to all professional-track faculty preparing dossiers for promotion review in fall 2026 all of whom are required to submit an Additional Contributions to the Academic Enterprise statement as part of their promotion materials. The session will focus on how to narrate broader impact beyond faculty’s primary area of responsibility, which may include contributions in service, mentoring, teaching, curriculum development, research and scholarship, depending on their primary area.

UT Pathways: A Professional-Track Faculty Conference
Save the Date: Tuesday, Apr. 28 | 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Join professional‑track faculty from across campus for UT Pathways, an in‑person conference designed to spark collaboration, share experiences and elevate the impact of professional‑track roles at UT. This year’s breakout sessions explore interdisciplinary health practice communities, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and the expanding contributions of professional‑track faculty in research and leadership. Formal invitations 
and RSVP information will be distributed in early March. 

The 5×5 Incubator Grants encourage interdisciplinary groups of faculty and research specialists to organize around a theme or topic of shared interest, an approach to work in the humanities, an experimental form of dissemination or simply a productive common ground for future research explorations. Five faculty will meet five times over a period of a few months. Each group must include a minimum of three tenure-track faculty and can also include lecturers, research scientists, librarians, curators, archivists, postdocs and other University scholars. (This grant is not intended for graduate students.) Preference will be given to teams with representatives from at least two departments or schools. The team organizer must be tenure-track faculty. While five is the ideal participant number for each group, the Collaboratory will consider proposals from teams comprising four to six members. $500 will be awarded per team member. Submit your application before the deadline of  Wendnesday, Apr. 1. 

Research Working Groups (one year, $5,000)

The Humanities Institute invites faculty teams working on collaborative projects in any area of the humanities or humanistic social sciences to apply. Research Working Groups (RWGs) will convene for Summer 2026 –Spring 2027. The group should have at least three faculty members from two or more UT departments. The Humanities Institute will support funding for food, travel, books, supplies, event materials, honoraria and student stipends. Additional funding and support available (in consultation with HI staff) for hosting a visiting speaker. $5,000 will be awarded per team. Apply for the Research Working Groups grant before Wednesday, Apr. 1. 

Humanities Research Awards

The Humanities Research Awards (HRA) are designed for faculty in the College of Liberal Arts who are working on humanities-focused research projects. The Humanities Institute will provide funding and support to enhance the likelihood of successful project outcomes, such as publications, dissemination and engagement. Preference will be given to junior faculty. All awards must be spent within a two-year timeframe (Summer 2026 – Spring 2028). $5,000 will be awarded to each approved project. Apply for the Humanities Research Awards before it closes on Wednesday, Apr. 1. 

Texas Global Spring Grant Competition Now Open
Texas Global invites faculty to apply by Monday, Mar. 23 for funding to support international teaching, research and collaboration. Opportunities include Global Virtual Exchange Grants (up to $5,000), Faculty Research Seed Grants (up to $10,000) and Faculty Travel Planning Grants (up to $2,500). 

Join Texas Global for a hands-on workshop designed to support faculty in preparing competitive proposals on Tuesday, Mar. 17 from 
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Register here. 

Texas Global is also accepting proposals through Friday, May 1 for the Global Career Launch program and the President's Award for Global Learning to support faculty-driven internships and global experiential learning. 

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award Competition is now open, offering more than 380 opportunities for U.S. citizens to go abroad in Fall 2027 - Spring 2028. The competition closes on Tuesday, Sept. 15 . Interested faculty may contact txglobal-grants@austin.utexas.edu for guidance. 

Extended Education Ventures Innovation Fund: Course Development Seed Grants
The Innovation Fund is a newly established seed grant supporting UT Austin faculty interested in developing courses for continuing and professional education. Our workforce is facing critical challenges and is eager to enhance their skills. Faculty can use their expertise to design online courses that deepen the knowledge of working professionals, help them learn new skills and take their careers to the next level. All faculty are invited to apply. Intent forms are due Monday, Mar. 23, 2026. 

Faculty Travel Grants
2025–26 Policy and Application  
Eligible faculty may receive up to $1,400 per academic year for travel expenses to support their presenting original papers at scholarly and professional meetings.   

Carrie Mae Weems: Something Grander Still Exhibition 
Convening Dates: Thursday, Mar. 5 – Friday, Mar. 6 | Exhibition Dates: Through Saturday, May 9 | Location: AGBS’ Christian-Green Gallery 
This exhibition tracks the creation of Family Pictures and Stories, focusing on Weems’s ongoing re-use of her family pictures and stories from the early 1980s to today. A study room in AGBS’ Idea Lab unfolds Weems’s participation in dialogues about the politics of photography in the 1980s and early 1990s. 

Crip Tenderness: A Poetry Reading with Travis Chi Wing Lau  
Thursday, Mar. 12 | 5 p.m. | Location: Carothers Residence Hall, Joynes Reading Room | RSVP  
Dr. Travis Chi Wing Lau holds a B.A. in English/Classics from UCLA and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania. He teaches eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British literature and culture, health humanities and disability studies at Kenyon College. He is the author of the full-length poetry collection What’s Left Is Tender (Harbor Editions, 2025) and three chapbooks: The Bone Setter (Damaged Goods Press, 2019), Paring (Finishing Line Press, 2020) and Vagaries (Fork Tine Press, 2022). He is the co-editor of an anthology of disability poetry, Every Place on the Map Is Disabled (Northwestern University Press, 2026).  

Eldercare Support Group: Sign Up for Pre-Group Meeting
Wednesday, Mar. 24 | 12 – 1 p.m.  
This support group is for those who provide care for other adults such parents or partners. Members will be able to share their experiences, receive support and learn about community resources. Current employees and retirees are welcome to join. The group will meet Tuesday, Mar. 24 through Tuesday, Apr. 21, virtually. Email eap@austin.utexas.edu to schedule a pre-group meeting. 

UT Austin Empower Your Research Pitch Competition Finale
Wednesday, Apr. 15, | 5 – 8 p.m. | Etter-Harbin Alumni Center 
The UT Austin Graduate School hosts the Empower Your Research Pitch competition finale — where grad students and postdoctoral scholars from across campus showcase their research and creative works in dynamic, three-minute presentations for general audiences. UT Austin faculty and staff members are invited to learn about the exciting research conducted by advanced scholars at the University. The event features finalists competing for one of three $1,000 prizes, judged by government and industry leaders. Heavy appetizers, beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks will be served. 

"Every Summer Needs a Plan" Workshop
Wednesday, Apr. 29| 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. | Register
The provost’s Faculty Affairs team will be sponsoring an all-day, in-person "Every Summer Needs a Plan" workshop. This workshop is intentionally timed as the spring semester ends and faculty are preparing for the summer. The interactive workshop goals are to facilitate faculty crafting a strategic plan outlining professional (and personal) goals for what they hope to accomplish over the summer, and helping faculty to identify types and sources of community, support and accountability that might be needed to meet their goals. 

Harrington Faculty Fellows Symposium 2026
Thursday, Apr. 30 | 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Register
The Harrington Faculty Fellows Program is pleased to invite you to this year’s Harrington Faculty Fellows Symposium, Large Language Models: Advances and Applications. This day-long symposium will bring together experts from around the country and across campus to discuss advances in Large Language Models (LLMs), with a particular focus on their applications to scientific workflows, robotics and linguistics.

Share your feedback
The Faculty Update is a bi-weekly newsletter. Please contact provost.office@utexas.edu for more information.