Faculty Affairs Newsletter
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Interested in increasing your public engagement and the impact of your research? Here’s how.
The Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence is hosting a three-part workshop that will guide participants through the process of producing and submitting an academic blog post relating to their research. This is a great way to promote new publications, raise your profile as a researcher, and increase the visibility of your department. The workshop is open to any faculty member and begins February 25 at 3:00 pm. Please contact Dr. Rebecca Best, facilitator, with questions: bestrh@umkc.edu.
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Art of Grantsmanship: Insights Speaker Series
CAFE Research and Creativity Pillar is offering a speaker series focused on the fundamental aspects of grantsmanship and scholarship. Attend one of all, as fits your needs and interest. Each session will last no longer than one hour and will be offered on Zoom.
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Summer Faculty Success Program
UMKC has an institutional membership to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD). Information about the organization and how to register on their website can be found on the UM System page for NCFDD. This summer, the NCFDD will host a virtual bootcamp for faculty in which faculty work directly with a coach and a small group of other faculty to implement skills and strategies to maximize their success. The program is for tenure-track and tenured faculty looking for coaching and peer support to propel both research productivity and work-life balance to new levels.
UMKC will provide three scholarships to cover the cost of the program. This year priority consideration will be given to mid-career faculty. For application information, please visit the NCFDD Faculty Success Program page on the Provost’s website.
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Graduate Writing Initiative
I wish something like this was around when I was a grad student.
I’ve heard this sentiment many times in reference to the services the Graduate Writing Initiative (GWI) offers UMKC graduate students. And, honestly, it’s one I share.
If you don’t know, the GWI is a program designed to help graduate students learn from and find success in the new contexts they meet as graduate writers. Making the transition into graduate study is difficult; part of that difficulty lies in the demand to write in new and complicated genres like dissertations, theses, grant proposals, and teaching philosophies. The GWI is here to help make that transition as smooth and productive as possible.
The GWI offers a range of programming options, including online resources, writing retreats, workshops, write-ins, writing groups, and a grant writing working group. All this is designed to help graduate students develop the knowledge, skills, and habits necessary for writing success.
To learn more about the GWI, you can email the Graduate Writing Specialist, Marcus Meade, at marcusmeade@umkc.edu or visit the GWI website at https://www.umkc.edu/asm/writing-studio/graduate-writing-initiative.html. We rely heavily on faculty to spread the word about our services and encourage students to use
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Upcoming Award Opportunities for UMKC Faculty
Faculty are invited to apply for the following awards. For a complete list of award opportunities and accompanying links, visit the CAFE website awards’ calendar.
March
Curators’ Distinguished Professorships and Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professorships
A Curators’ Distinguished Professorship is the highest and most prestigious academic rank awarded by the Board of Curators of the University of Missouri. It is awarded to a select few “outstanding scholars with established reputations.” Each Curators’ Distinguished Professor becomes a “resource of the entire University and should be expected to contribute to the entire University through such activities as giving lectures on other campuses and engaging in teaching and research across divisional lines.” April
Early Career Faculty Award
The Early Career Faculty Award program is funded by the Emeritus College endowment. Awards of $1000 are granted to faculty early in their careers, typically but not exclusively tenure-track assistant professors.
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Part Time Faculty Focus Groups
Part-time faculty play a critical role on our campus and we are grateful for all you do to make the student experience at UMKC the best that it can be. We are in the process of reviewing and updating our resources for part-time faculty and would like to hear from you! We’d like to thank those of you who participated in our online survey in the fall semester and are now following up with a series of focus groups to learn more about your experiences at UMKC and to get more feedback and suggestions that will help in our updating and development of resources.
The Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFE) is hosting several 90-minute Zoom conversations open to part time faculty in particular. In a collaborative focus group setting facilitated by a CAFE fellow, participants will share insights and offer ideas about exactly what types of faculty support and development resources would prove most meaningful to their work at UMKC. Ultimately, focus group participants' responses will contribute to the development of resources and supports which fulfill the CAFE mission of supporting part time faculty. Please consider signing up for one of the three focus groups scheduled:
- Feb 28, 5:30PM - 7:00PM
- Mar 1, 12:00PM - 1:30 PM
- Mar 4, 3:30PM - 5:00PM
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Roos Rock!
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of our talented faculty
Please visit our Faculty Awards page on the CAFE website for complete details.
In December 2021, UMKC faculty, researchers and staff were awarded more than$2 million in grants. That’s more than $20 million in grants since August 2021!
Congratulations to the following grant recipients…
Randi Gray (rgray@umkc.edu), Institute for Human Development, was awarded a grant by Self Advocates Becoming Empowered for the project Self Advocacy and Technical Assistance Center (SARTAC).
Dr. Holly Hagle (hagleh@umkc.edu), Nursing and Health Studies, was awarded a grant by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for the project Prevention Technology Transfer Centers (PTTC) Network Coordinating Center (NCC).
Laurie Jean Krom (kroml@umkc.edu), Director of the Collaborative to Advance Health Services in the School of Nursing, was awarded two grants by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for:
- National Peer-Run Training and TA Center (APR-CoE); and
- National Peer-Run Training and TA Center-2 (APR-CoE).
Martha Brook McCabe (mccabemb@kcstem.org) Executive Director at KC STEM Alliance in the School of Computing and Engineering, was awarded a grant by Grantmakers of Western Pennsylvania for the project Remake Learning Days Across America (RLDAA) 2022.
Dr. Paul Rulis (rulisp@umkc.edu), Department of Physics and Astronomy, was awarded two grants by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies for the projects:
- Microstructure and Materials Properties; and
- First-principles Modeling of MAX Phase Electronic and Optical Properties.
Dr. Mostafizur Rahman (rahmanmo@umkc.edu) was awarded two grants by Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies for the projects:
- Data Acquisition System to Enhance Vehicle Testing Capabilities; and
- RF Sniffing of Light Communication (EE-RF).
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Faculty, do you have more good news to share? Your FAN Team wants to know! Email news of your recent (since August 2021) awards, grants, major publications, and promotions to: meadmo@umkc.edu.
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A column where we talk about disability and share our thoughts on what we need access to as professors, researchers and colleagues. If you have an idea or topic that you would like us to talk about, please send and email to edwardsmatt@umkc.edu.
In Accessible America: History of Disability and Design (2019), Bess Williamson situates the origins of contemporary notions of accessibility in national eugenic projects of the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries. The often intentional invisibility of disabled peoples continues, Williamson explains, until the 1980s and 1990s when human rights activism on a broad scale motivated the disabled community to rethink accessibility altogether and in such a way that prioritizes disabled experiences. As a disabled person, I see the historical trajectory Williamson introduces within my own lived experiences. There is a clear moment in my own memory when I recognize, as a young person, that I cannot see like others, followed by quite a long period of shame, silence and insistence in proving myself “able-bodied”. Today, I feel much more comfortable claiming my disabled experiences.
Williamson explains that whereas Accessible Design may focus on the construction of ramps, the installation of automatic doors and “beeping” streetlights in order to bring disabled folks into the public domain, she describes more radical initiatives that focus on the use of already existing spaces and, in particular, on the knowledge developed by disabled peoples as we “make accessible” the places and things we need, when we need them. In previous editions of AccessRoo, we have read about how our colleagues have worked to make their classrooms “accessible” by using tools and resources differently in order to bridge the gap between individual needs and institutional-university support.
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Interview with CAFE Fellow Henrietta Rix Wood
1) Why did you want to be a CAFE fellow? What are you excited about?
I wanted to be a CAFE fellow for teaching writing because helping students develop the strong writing skills they need to succeed in their studies and future work is one of our most important and challenging goals as UMKC faculty. I am excited that CAFE recognized the significance of teaching writing by creating this position. I also am excited that many colleagues share my commitment: nearly 30% of the UMKC faculty who responded to the recent CAFE survey reported that they teach writing in their classes and want to participate in activities to enhance their pedagogy.
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Interview with CAFE Fellow Dr. Billie Anderson
1) Why did you want to be a CAFE fellow? What are you excited about?
What interested me was the call for someone to work with student outcome data with Chairs and Deans across campus. Data is a powerful instrument, and when used appropriately, can allow us to obtain a closer look at our students. We can understand their interests, strengths and weaknesses, the elements that attract them to UMKC and the elements that retain students at UMKC. This in-depth view of our students allows UMKC to be proactive on many different levels in how we can engage our students: their educational needs, activities and programs that UMKC offers, program reform needs and future directions necessary to be more student-centric.
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Have something to share in the Faculty Affairs Newsletter? Email Molly Mead with your brief text and an (optional) photo.
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University of Missouri-Kansas City | Kansas City, MO 64110 | (816) 235-1107
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