Greetings faculty colleagues,

With the spring semester in full swing, the Office of Faculty Affairs has several important policy initiatives underway. In this role, I have grown to truly appreciate and value policy that is well written and clearly defined, most importantly because it helps clarify processes and expectations and at its best fosters equity. When policy is executed well it helps us all do our work more efficiently and effectively, leaving little room for unclear interpretation or questions. However, I know the key words in that sentence are “executed well.” With that in mind, we have created several key policy-related resources that we are making available to all faculty, and wanted to share with you additional resources that will be focused on supporting effective policy processes beginning this spring.  

Last week, I had the pleasure of presenting a policy-focused education session with the Office of Policy Administration director, Abby Ropes, at our Spring Associate Deans, Chairs & Directors Essentials workshop. The Office of Policy Administration is responsible for the University Policy Program, which provides guidelines and expectations for developing and enacting policy at KU. During our presentation, Abby shared helpful policy resources and I outlined six strategies for creating and reviewing policy. We have posted these policy strategies and resources on our website and invite you to consider these when you are updating, reviewing, and/or creating policy in your unit.  

This spring, we plan to not only share policy resources and best practices, but to also evaluate our own university policies that overlap with the faculty role. Faculty Affairs is excited to announce that Dr. Meagan Patterson, professor in educational psychology, has joined us as a Provost Fellow for Faculty Affairs to aid in these policy initiatives. Meagan currently serves on the University Committee on Promotion & Tenure, bringing a wealth of knowledge to the intersections of P&T, annual evaluations, and policy work. She will be focusing her knowledge of policy and its application to policy development in the areas of faculty annual evaluations and P&T. I appreciate Meagan’s approach to policy development and review: ensuring diverse perspectives and voices are brought into the policy review process and making sure finalized policies are inclusive, while clearly accomplishing their intended outcomes. 

Please reference our policy resource link any time your unit needs to create, implement, or update a policy and feel free to reach out to Policy Administration or Faculty Affairs with any faculty-related policy questions. 

Amy Mendenhall
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs 
Professor, School of Social Welfare 

Meagan Patterson, Provost Fellow for Faculty Affairs

This month unit leaders will be receiving notices from HRM about annual appointments and renewals for multi-term faculty. Your unit should have its own policy on multi-term faculty contracts which outline the expectations for multi-term faculty. In addition to your unit’s guidelines, the Office of Faculty Affairs website links to the university’s review and submission documents required for renewal of an appointment or promotion. Please review these documents and make sure they are referenced in your own unit’s policy. 

The Office of Faculty Affairs is in the process of building out our Faculty in Conversation Series to include Faculty Learning Circles, Writing Circles, and Faculty Book Circles. See below for our current offerings, as well as our website and monthly newsletter for programming updates.

February 29 from noon - 1:30 p.m.
March 21 from noon - 1:30 p.m.
April 4 from noon - 1:30 p.m.

Are you currently an associate professor planning to go up for promotion to full within the next 1-2 years? If you would like to learn more about the process, connect with colleagues who have similar goals, and receive feedback on a draft of your research statement, RSVP to participate in our Spring 2024 Faculty Learning Circle co-facilitated by Drs. Lisa Wolf-Wendel and Megan Greene.

February 1 from 1 - 2:30 p.m.
March 28 from 1 - 2:30 p.m.
April 18 from 1 - 2:30 p.m

The goal of this FLC is to enhance support for KU’s international faculty, providing access to resources that facilitate both academic and family support within our local communities. Through this series faculty will establish sustainable connections with other international faculty members on campus, learn about and share resources offered by the university and the community, and generate discussions to support research, teaching, and service in order to enhance their experience as a KU faculty member.

This series focuses on supporting international faculty connections and is facilitated by Drs. Hyesun Cho and Haiying Long.

We are still accepting RSVPs to this conversation for the remaining two dates in the series.

February 13
3 - 4 p.m.
Watson Library, 3 West Event Space

The session will feature librarian-faculty pairings to discuss the projects they have worked on together and we invite you to bring your own ideas and questions to make a librarian connection!

March 7
3 - 4 p.m.
Beren Petroleum Conference Center, Slawson Hall

This session will feature leadership from Student Affairs to talk about the successes and challenges our students are facing, as well as provide information about key resources faculty can use to encourage student engagement and belonging.

April 9
2 - 3 p.m.
KS Memorial Union, Divine Nine Rm

This workshop will feature recently new and experienced faculty to talk about time management best practices and how to plan for a productive summer.

February 15
5:30 p.m.
KS Memorial Union, Alderson Room

The Office of Faculty Affairs invites you to, “The Age of the Borderlands: The Limits of American ‘Manifest Destiny,’ 1790-1845,” a Distinguished Professor inaugural lecture presented by Hall Distinguished Professor of American History, Dr. Andrew Isenberg.

This lecture, drawn from Andrew Isenberg’s forthcoming book, The Age of the Borderlands: Indians and Slaves on North American Frontiers, 1790-1840, challenges one of the most enduring interpretations of U.S. history: that, during the nineteenth century, Americans acted on the belief they had a “manifest destiny” to overspread the continent. 

The Center for Learning and Writing Support is providing faculty consultations regarding writing in the classroom. If you are looking to develop writing assignments. Learn more and book a consultation on the Center for Learning and Writing Support's website. 

The Center for Teaching Excellence offers teaching sessions that touch on a range of topics. Sessions will be held in-person at CTE in 135 Budig Hall, unless noted otherwise. Lunch will be offered at 11:45 a.m.; each session will begin at noon. All faculty are welcome. 

Upcoming sessions include:

Register for CTE sessions at this link.

This month, NCFDD spotlights putting a proactive stance on your professional relationships 

In their latest Monday Motivator (if you haven’t signed up yet, it is free... and a great way to start the week!), the NCFDD team put a spotlight on developing professional relationships. How can that be done? Their strategies include connecting with a colleague by... phone!...as it can be a refreshing way to organically connect and take a break from zoom; and, making it a practice to more regularly engage with your colleagues about your research and/or your current focus for instructional development ...this creates space to connect and build community around resources and ideas, and opens the door for your colleague to share as well. Visit the NCFDD website for more information this month’s programming, which includes topics such as “How to align your time with your priorities,” “Peer reviewing as ‘reflexive mentorship,’” and “How to develop a daily writing practice.” Oh... and don’t forget... you can still register for their 14-day Writing Challenge! The deadline to register is February 16th! 

KU Libraries Sprints Week

Sprints Week is a five-day intensive collaboration that supports KU faculty and academic staff's research and teaching projects to produce a tangible outcome during the spring-summer intersession. Sprinters are awarded a $1,000 stipend. Applications are now open at this link.

Read more about KU Libraries Sprints Week. 

Diversity Pathway Intervention Grant Program

The central goal of the Diversity Pathway Intervention Grant Program is to increase the knowledge base around effective methods for increasing the enrollment and success of law students from historically underrepresented racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Find all grant details on KU Research's Pivot site.

New Faculty Research Development Funding

The New Faculty Research Development Awards awards are designed to help new faculty accelerate their scholarship and start building a sustainable research program soon after their arrival on campus. 

Learn more about the New Faculty Research Development Award and apply at this link.

International Affairs Faculty Travel Funding Opportunities

Several faculty travel grants are now available through KU International Affairs, including the International Travel Fund for Humanistic Research; the Latin America Fund; and the South, Southeast, and East Asia fund.

For more information, criteria, and proposal deadlines, please see the recent international travel grants news release.

CONNECT WITH US:

The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression, and genetic information in the university's programs and activities. Retaliation is also prohibited by university policy. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies and are the Title IX coordinators for their respective campuses: Associate Vice Chancellor for the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX, civilrights@ku.edu, Room 1082, Dole Human Development Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-6414, 711 TTY (for the Lawrence, Edwards, Parsons, Yoder, and Topeka campuses); Director, Equal Opportunity Office, Mail Stop 7004, 4330 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Fairway, KS 66205, 913-588-8011, 711 TTY (for the Wichita, Salina, and Kansas City, Kansas medical center campuses).

The University of Kansas is a public institution governed by the Kansas Board of Regents.