Welcome to OFA Engage: A quarterly newsletter from the Office of Faculty Affairs, designed to help you identify opportunities to thrive in your faculty role. 

Our engagement opportunities are divided into three categories, helping you identify and navigate to the best programs for you, based on where you are in your career journey.

We hope to see you this spring, as we engage and learn together!

Small-group, interactive learning experiences, meant to foster interpersonal connections and collective wisdom around specific topics of interest or shared circumstances. 

"Deep dives" into topics that support faculty and faculty leadership in growing their knowledge, skills and capacities to be successful in their roles. 

Developing leadership at all levels, with core programs include Senior Administrative Fellows and programming to support Associate Dean's, Chairs & Directors.

Wednesdays, February 11, March 11, April 15  |  3:00 to 5:00 pm
Watson Library, 4th Floor
Audience: All faculty

The OFA invites you to join together with your colleagues for our spring 2026 Faculty Writing Circle. Whether you want to make progress on a longstanding writing project, conceptualize and plan out a new idea, design materials for a course, or finish a manuscript, our Faculty Writing Circle can help you commit time this spring!

Thursdays, February 12, March 12, April 16  |  3:30 to 5:00 pm
Strong Hall, Rm 36
Who should attend? Associate professors planning on going up to full in the next few years

This series is designed as a supportive, practical space for faculty to prepare for their promotion review.  Across three 90-minute sessions, facilitated by Dr. Lisa Wolf-Wendel and Dr. Megan Greene, you will get acquainted with the process, develop strategies for building a strong and compelling dossier, and workshop and refine your research statement.

Monday, March 9  |  3:00 to 4:00 pm
Online
Audience: All faculty who have a grant funded by a U.S. federal research agency and faculty interested in learning about recent changes impacting current and future federal research agency grant requirements

Do you have a grant from a U.S. federal research funding agency? Or, are you planning to apply for one? KU Libraries and the KU Office of Research want you to know about important changes happening with public access requirements for both publications and project data in order to help set you up for success. From requiring immediate public access to eliminating a previously allowed embargo period, there will be numerous changes impacting researchers, institutions, and publishers. Join experts from both KU Libraries and KUOR to learn more in this "Faculty How To" as they provide a current overview, share resources, and answer your questions.

Monday, March 30  |  3:30 to 4:30 pm
Online
Audience: Any faculty member who would like to better optimize faculty insight for their needs

The Office of Faculty Affairs is partnering with AIRE experts to explain how you can utilize Faculty Insight to make research connections, create accurate activity reports, and apply for awards. Faculty Insight offers several ways to keep your scholarship information tidy and accurate, allowing you to create annual reports quickly and expedite submission processes to save you time.

Friday, February 20  |  9:00 am to 3:30 pm
Kansas Union
Audience: All faculty who are in years one through five of their career

Ready for a conversation about upcoming early career faculty milestones? Looking for strategies to help you teach [more] efficiently? Wishing you had support in moving your scholarship forward? Thinking about how to maintain momentum as an early career faculty member? Oh… and curious about all things AI and its impact on higher ed? Great! Then join us for our upcoming Early Career Foundations workshop on February 20th.

We invite all early career faculty to join us for a day designed specifically for you, to support your career development and professional growth! This day is designed with all early career faculty in mind, regardless of your role, and as an opportunity to invest in your development.

Friday, March 6  |  11:00 am to 4:30 pm
Kansas Union, Jayhawk Room
Audience: Any faculty member who mentors graduate students

The Graduate Mentoring Workshop is presented by the Office of Graduate Studies and the Office of Faculty Affairs. It is informed by the foundational elements of the Entering Mentoring Training provided by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) and tailored to support our KU community. This training focuses on four key areas: setting and aligning expectations, effective communication with mentees, using Individual Development Plans (IDPs) in your mentoring practice, and supporting your mentees in developing resilience, self-efficacy, and independence.

Deadline: April 6
Who should apply? Any tenured faculty member who would like to challenge themselves next academic year to learn from KU leadership and grow in their own leadership development

KU is dedicated to the development of administrative leadership at all levels. Each year, the Senior Administrative Fellows program allows a small group of competitively selected tenured faculty to explore administration. Each year's cohort, selected from applications and nominations, works together for approximately five hours per month. Senior Administrative Fellows have the opportunity to meet face-to-face and learn from those with administrative roles at KU, develop their personal leadership skills and understanding, engage with challenges that leaders face in academia, and consider possible pathways of leadership in higher ed. Interested? If you are a tenured faculty member, we invite you to apply by April 6th.

Looking for leadership development opportunities for associate deans, chairs, and directors? 

Strong Hall, 145
1450 Jayhawk Blvd.
facultyaffairs@ku.edu
785-764-6489

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