Greetings faculty colleagues,

September is here and campus is buzzing with students once again! Whether you teach, mentor future researchers, or do both, we all play a crucial role in ensuring our students' success. Student success is one of KU's institutional priorities, and the Office of Faculty Affairs is partnering across various units to support our priorities of increasing enrollment, assuring retention and completion, supporting student long-term success, and assuring quality of academic programs. 

As we engage with students, it's a great time to revisit KU’s Institutional Learning goals: Creative Inquiry & Discovery, Effective Communication, Analytical Reasoning, Social Awareness & Cultural Understanding, Ethical & Professional Responsibility, and Leadership & Collaboration. These goals showcase our efforts within the classroom and externalize the university’s values around student learning. As we prepare for our Higher Learning Commission site visit and reaccreditation this spring, having this language and framework in place, allows us to easily demonstrate our positive student impact. 

In line with our focus on teaching and student success, a Student Survey of Teaching task force will launch this fall. Our office, in partnership with Analytics, Institutional Research, & Effectiveness (AIRE) and the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), is charged with completing a comprehensive review of all aspects of the current University Student Survey of Teaching, including questions, response options/scales, process and modality of administration, reporting for instructors and unit leaders, and student experience and response rates. Though KU policy notes multiple sources of evidence should be utilized in assessing instructors’ teaching, student surveys of teaching are a required component per KBOR and KU Policy. As such, it is critical for KU to have a student survey of teaching that provides students with an opportunity to share their perspectives, while also providing instructors and chairs with relevant data that is informative and ultimately supports continuous improvement in teaching and learning.  

Lastly, we cannot celebrate student success without recognizing some of our top instructors. This summer, we recognized this year’s five William T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Awardees. Five more University Teaching Award recipients will be announced soon in KU Today, and we will be spotlighting each awardee on our social media in the coming weeks. Be sure to follow along to join in celebrating their achievements. Congratulate your colleagues and join us in celebration during the University Teaching Awards ceremony, which takes place on Tuesday Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. 

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

Photos from New Faculty Orientation, which took place Aug. 19. See more in our featured Facebook post.

The Office of Faculty Affairs is excited to announce an internal search for an Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Policy & Recognition. The AVP for Faculty Policy & Recognition will work on policy and recognition-related projects and initiatives that intersect with the roles and responsibilities of faculty at KU. This position will take a leadership role in developing policy, policy review processes, and educational programming on faculty policy. The person in this role will also develop and promote faculty recognition initiatives, as well as coordinate university-level faculty award committees. 

The AVP for Faculty Policy & Recognition is an academic year (9-month) appointment with .75 FTE in the Office of Faculty Affairs and .25 FTE in the home academic unit. This appointment will also come with an administrative supplement and 8 weeks of summer salary.

We invite interested faculty to review the position description, and submit a letter of interest, CV, and list of 3 professional references through the job posting page by the end of day on Friday, September 13th. The letter should address why you are interested in the position and how you meet the listed qualifications. 

Please reach out to facultyaffairs@ku.edu if you have any questions about this opportunity.

The Office of Faculty Affairs would like to share a new resource related to the University Senate Rules and Regulations (USSR) University Excused Absences policy. This resource was developed to provide instructors with consistent and ready information in response to common questions they may have about the policy. Additionally, Academic Success is conducting a communication campaign to promote student attendance and engagement in the classroom.    

If you have questions on the Excused Absences policy and how to apply it for situations you may encounter, please refer to our Excused Absences Policy FAQs page. 

Andrew W. Torrance: Innovation Hypercycles: The Rise and Fall of Technology Hotspots

Monday, Sept. 9
5:30 p.m.
Beren Petroleum Conference Center, G192 Slawson Hall

The Office of Faculty Affairs invites you to, “Innovation Hypercycles: The Rise and Fall of Technology Hotspots,” presented by Paul E. Wilson Distinguished Professor of Law, Andrew W. Torrance.

Torrance will explore the concept of innovation hypercycles, also known as “technology hotspots” an examine historical instances of innovation hypercycles factors that foster and hinder such cycles. Read more at this link.

New Faculty Foundations 1.0 are designed with first-year faculty in mind, but are open to all faculty within their first several years at KU, with relevant topics geared towards all New Faculty experiences.

HR: Benefits: What you Need to Know to Get Started
Wednesday, Sept. 11 from 2:30-2:45 p.m.
Kansas Memorial Union, Pine Room

 "How to at KU": A Walkthrough of your Faculty Insight Profile
Monday, Sept. 23 from 3-4 p.m.
Online

On the Front Lines: Connecting Students with Resources and Support at KU
Tuesday, Oct. 10 from 3-4:15 p.m.
Sabatini Multicultural Resource Center Classroom 

New Faculty Foundations 2.0 are designed with second-year faculty in mind, but are open to all faculty within their first several years, with relevant topics geared towards all New Faculty experiences.

Mentoring 101: Developing your own Mentor Network
Thursday, Sept. 26 from 3-4:15 p.m.
Watson Library, 3 West Event Space


Mentoring 101: Best Practices in Graduate Student Mentoring
Wednesday, Oct. 30 from 2:30-3:45 p.m.
Kansas Memorial Union, English Room

CTE is offering serval working group programs for faculty during the fall semester with topics ranging from alternative grading to AI and Online Teaching. 

See a list of working groups on the CTE Programs webpage.

Reintroducing NCFDD

You may already be a member of NCFDD, but are you taking advantage of all the resources? Or perhaps you are new to KU and NCFDD, and ready to learn more? Let's hit the refresh button on what NCFDD is what it can bring to you in your career. 

KU has an institutional membership to NCFDD, meaning you may join at no cost to you! To join the NCFDD community, be sure to sign up here. NCFDD provides faculty resources at your fingertips - a good place to start is with their Core Curriculum, which is designed to teach you the 10 key skills necessary to thrive in the Academy. Learn more about the NCFDD Core curriculum here. NCFDD also provides a vast webinar library, equipped with topics from writing to well-being to leadership - something for every stage in your career. And, if you want to get an external accountability partner when it comes to your writing, try out their 14-day writing challenge. Writing challenges offer the opportunity for you to experiment with daily writing, benefit from an online community, and track your progress with supportive accountability. Sign up today and get started!

KU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. As a part of this accreditation, reaffirmation of accreditation review conducted by HLC takes place every 10 years, providing us an opportunity to demonstrate all the ways that commitment brings us closer to achieving our shared vision as an exceptional learning community. 

Please save the date for Sept. 9-10, when our HLC Mock Site Review takes place, familiarize yourself with the HLC 2025 website and what sets us apart as Jayhawks: 

And please mark your calendars now for the HLC site visit: March 3-4, 2025.

Faculty Seminar on Course Internalization

CTE’s Faculty Seminar gives faculty members an opportunity to develop teaching innovations and new models of teaching practice in a collegial setting that offers peer review and support. In Fall 2024, participants will explore ideas for internationalizing their classes.

Become part of an intellectual community of colleagues from across campus who are interested in embedding meaningful international engagement in their students’ learning experiences. and receive a $1500 stipend/professional fund.

Full program details and application information are on the Faculty Seminar on Course Internationalization webpage.

Course Transformation Grants

CTE offers Course Transformation Grants of up to $3000 to faculty to support the implementation of student-centered, evidence-based, and inclusive teaching practices that improve the learning experiences of KU students. 

Full program details and application information are on the Course Transformation Grant webpage.

Shulenburger Award for Innovation & Advocacy in Scholarly Communication

KU Libraries’ Shulenburger Office of Scholarly Communication & Copyright is now accepting nominations for the annual David Shulenburger Award for Innovation & Advocacy in Scholarly Communication through Sept. 20. 

Established in 2014 through a gift by David Shulenburger, former KU provost and executive vice chancellor, the award recognizes KU faculty, staff, students and aca

Read more about the award and how to apply at this link.

AI-related Course Grants

The Center for Teaching Excellence will offer grants of $500 to support student-centered, equity-oriented integration of generative artificial intelligence tools and assignments into courses this fall or in Spring 2025.

Full program details and application information are on the AI-related course grants webpage.

AAI Arts & Humanities Grant

The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) is pleased to announce our Arts & Humanities Grant, now in its fourth year, is accepting proposals. The purpose of the grant program is to foster deeper ties between the arts and humanities and the education and social sciences within which most of AAI’s work is focused.

Any tenure track faculty, teaching professor, or multiterm lecturer in a department considered by KU to be in the arts or humanities is eligible. Certain unclassified academic staff (library or museum, for example) may also be eligible. Learn more about the grant and apply at this link.

International Faculty Awards

KU International Affairs has opened nominations for two competitive awards that recognize faculty who engage in internationalization across campus.

Visit the  International Affairs website for more information, criteria and nomination deadlines. Nominations and supporting materials should be submitted via email to whitneydenning@ku.edu no later than Oct. 3.

KU faculty can now find information about external achievement awards on the newly published Office of Faculty Recognition & Awards website. The site offers general advice about why awards matter, ways in which the office can assist with support for nominations, and a table that lists KU faculty who have been acknowledged by various outside organizations with recognitions designated as “prestigious” or “highly prestigious” by the National Research Council. 

The Wingspan: Center for Learning and Writing Support is here to assist your students in a variety of ways. The Wingspan, a combination of the previous KU Writing Center and Academic Learning Center, provides subject tutoring, writing support, Supplemental Instruction, peer academic coaching, workshops, and online resources. Services include class visits, workshops, graduate programming, and faculty consultations. Learn more about these services on the Wingspan website.

The Office of Faculty Affairs has partnered with the KU Campus Cupboard in collecting food items to donate at several events. You can help too, by donating non-perishable items to Level 4 of the Kansas Union. The Campus Cupboard is a food pantry for KU students, faculty, staff, and affiliates. It was created to address and reduce food insecurity among our campus community. 

The First-Year and Transfer Student Seminar program is now accepting course proposals for Spring 2025 and Fall 2025. FYS/TS instructors have a unique opportunity to introduce KU’s newest students to their discipline through innovative, relationship-based teaching practices, as well as participate in a learning community with fellow FYS/TS instructors. As we continue to grow the program, we are accepting both new courses and previously taught, upper-division courses adapted for a first-year/transfer student audience that meet KU Core 34 goals in US Culture and Global Cultures. Click here to submit your proposal.

As the semester kicks off, now is a good time to check your personal information in KU HR/Pay. Ensuring your contact information is up-to-date allows all Human Resources process to run much smoother. Find out where to access your personal and pay information here. 

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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.