Effectively onboarding and supporting first-year faculty — both tenure-track and non-tenure-track — is challenging to get right even under the best of circumstances, and the events of 2020 have made this even more difficult. Between moving orientation programs online, reworking faculty mentorship programs, building community and connection to the university virtually, and helping new faculty manage stress and burnout during the pandemic, academic leaders have accomplished no small feat. Join us for this webcast recording to reflect on what you got right, what lessons you learned, and what takeaways you’ll carry forward into the next semester when it comes to supporting your first-year faculty. Through a facilitated dialogue with Andrea Romero, Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs at the University for Arizona, and Gary Meyer, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at Marquette University, you will have the opportunity to gain ideas from other institutions across higher education as to how you might support your first-year faculty more effectively in the new year.
To ensure a fair and contextual evaluation around faculty promotion and tenure during COVID, many colleges and universities adjusted their P&T processes this past year. In many cases — compelled by the ongoing pandemic and the inequities it has brought to light — conversations about further revisions to promotion and tenure criteria are ongoing, centering around questions like: If you are an academic leader who is leading or involved in such conversations at your institution, we invite you to join us for a free recorded webcast to examine these and other related questions. Through a facilitated dialogue with Matt Kinservik, Vice Provost of Faculty Affairs at the University of Delaware and Gabe Paquette, Vice Provost of Academic Affairs at the University of Oregon, you will gain valuable ideas and learn how other institutions across higher education are approaching this process.
To assess physical health, medical professionals mind vital signs such as body temperature or pulse rate to help you course-correct and become healthier. Similarly, what if a fundraising operation could assess its philanthropic health through philanthropic vital signs to cultivate more giving from donors and prospects? Join us online for this free webcast recording to get an overview of the four cornerstones of philanthropic health: appreciation, affiliation, agency, and accountability. You will learn more about Jim Langley’s Vital Signs Philanthropic Health Assessment offered through Academic Impressions and how you can use this for your own philanthropic check-up. You will leave the webcast with sample questions from the assessment that offer a preview of your shop’s overall health.
Today’s higher education environment demands more equitable and inclusive practices, so it is more important than ever that leaders are attentive to their overall campus climate. As a campus leader, you may be asking yourself questions like “How can I change or improve faculty culture?” or “How do we, as a campus community, handle the inequities that show up in our policies and procedures?” These are difficult yet critical questions to consider if you are trying to raise awareness, institute a strategy, or make lasting change to create a more inclusive campus environment. Join us online for a recorded discussion that will help you take a more intentional and anticipatory approach to managing and improving your campus climate. Through practical guidance from our speakers, you will leave this webcast better able to: Our experts, Dr. Myron Anderson and Dr. Kathryn Young recently published their book, Fix Your Climate: A Practical Guide to Reducing Microaggressions, Microbullying, and Bullying in the Academic Workplace. You can purchase it here.
Universities invest considerable funds into recruiting new faculty. For research faculty, the startup package can frequently be in the range of $500,000 to $1,000,000. In addition, new faculty require additional time, mentoring, and support. While rates for achieving tenure vary depending upon disciplines and institutions, success rates for this investment in new faculty can be as low as 10% at some schools and on average about 50% overall. Despite the investment, thousands of higher education faculty members begin a job every year with little or no training. In fact, in most disciplines, Ph.D. training programs provide minimal preparation for academic careers. This disconnect between the training provided and the skills necessary to thrive in most academic careers can lead to frustration and job dissatisfaction. Given the large initial investment and the lack of previous skills training, it is prudent for academic leaders to support first-year faculty beyond orientations, especially when it comes to balancing teaching and research workload. Expert faculty coaches with extensive experience in higher education can provide a safe, supportive environment for faculty to explore challenges and development opportunities that are necessary for their career advancement.
In this free webcast, we’ll share findings from a multi-year, longitudinal study specific to higher education—find out what really matters to employees in terms of career growth and development. Discover: In our study, we found that even in environments with very limited funding for professional development, intentional and structured conversations between supervisors and staff about their development made a significant difference. Today, with an increasingly distributed, disconnected, and diversified workforce, HR leaders in higher education must approach employee satisfaction and engagement differently than in the past.
In this free webcast, we’ll share findings from a multi-year, longitudinal study specific to higher education—find out what really matters to employees in terms of career growth and development. Discover: In our study, we found that even in environments with very limited funding for professional development, intentional and structured conversations between supervisors and staff about their development made a significant difference. Today, with an increasingly distributed, disconnected, and diversified workforce, HR leaders in higher education must approach employee satisfaction and engagement differently than in the past.
The financial impact to higher education due to the current crisis has been significant, with many colleges and universities announcing cost-cutting measures in recent weeks. It is imperative that institutions pivot and adjust in order to remain financially viable, but with so much uncertainty surrounding fall semester and the course of the pandemic, the way forward is unclear. What creative strategies are other university leaders employing? How are other institutions managing through? Watch the recording of this lively conversation with Audra Kahr, Chief Financial Officer at Cedar Crest College. You will hear from our expert and your fellow attendees as they describe their current practices and approaches to four key areas that are critical to institutional financial viability moving forward:
Access to academic program data is more crucial than ever before. With information changing daily and emotions running high, academic and finance leaders must have all the actionable data available—and know how to apply it—so you can quickly make informed decisions and create more sustainable outcomes. This free and timely webcast will reveal how to unpack and understand the economics of your programs and courses to boost curricular efficiency and optimize your program portfolio. Bob Atkins and Bill Massey will use data to reveal myths about program profitability and help you avoid all-too-common pitfalls in program analysis. Finally, they will demonstrate how to find the unique opportunities that are emerging in this turbulent time and prepare you for your rebound.
Decision-making around academic programs is too often driven by gut feelings or internal interests. While institutional judgment is important, program decisions ultimately need to be anchored in data to ensure the program is viable and competitive in today’s market. Join us for a webcast that will help you make more data-informed decisions around your academic programs. Whether you are looking to launch new programs or grow or cut existing ones, our expert presenters from Gray Associates will help you:
Most colleges and universities are either not using virtual reality (VR) or are using it in more token ways. Yet, according to the Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies 2018 report, these technologies are rapidly reaching a much more mature stage – holding more promise for higher education and student learning than ever before. For most institutions, however, this promise of VR in student learning is still unrealized. That’s why we’ve designed a collection of webcasts and resources to help you explore how VR might fuel better learning outcomes. See below which of our webcasts and resources you and your team qualify for based on your membership status.
The Chief of Staff role is a relatively new and evolving entity on college campuses. The role is often vaguely defined and consequently, locating resources and support systems to be successful in your position can be a challenge. Join us for this free recorded discussion as we explore tactics and resources to help grow your skillset, create a support system, and utilize your unique position to advocate for change. This discussion was led by Max Allen from Clemson University and Brittany Williams-Goldstein from Ramapo College, two accomplished Chiefs of Staff who shared what they have learned from their experiences.
As the COVID-19 situation evolves rapidly, institutions are turning to social media—which is ideal for up-to-the-minute information—as a critical means of communication. With this channel comes a host of decisions around things like tone, content, and response times that social media managers, who may already be overtaxed, must figure out on the fly. Join us for this webcast recording where we facilitate a discussion with Tony Dobies, Senior Director of Marketing at West Virginia University. You’ll hear from our expert, as well as your fellow attendees, on questions such as:
Continuing to support student mental health needs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is critical. Stress and anxiety are high, and current circumstances are causing hardship for many. Student affairs leaders and counseling center directors are operating as best they can in this environment, while simultaneously navigating rapidly-evolving institutional responses and balancing their own well-being. Join us for this webcast recording where we facilitate a conversation with Kelly Wesener-Michael, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs & Dean of Students at Northern Illinois University, and Kristen Gray, Director of Counseling & Psychological Services at Hope College. In this open discussion space with our experts and your peers, we shared strategies, current approaches, and decision points related to the following items:
Supporting first-generation students in this turbulent time is more challenging than ever before. There are no established best practices for addressing the diverse needs of first-generation students as institutions make decisions related to the pandemic. Understanding their unique needs and creating awareness of potential technology access gaps, among other issues, is crucial to maintaining equality for your student body. Watch this webcast recording where we facilitate a conversation with La’Tonya Rease Miles, Director of the First Year Experience & Strategic Initiatives at UCLA and Cynthia Mosqueda, Faculty Coordinator of First Year Experience Programs at El Camino College. You’ll hear from our experts as well as your fellow attendees on questions such as:
Supporting faculty through the transition to remote learning has been a tall order for academic leaders in recent weeks. While most courses have now transitioned successfully online, the need for ongoing training—both on the technology side and the pedagogical side—persists. Join us for this webcast recording to hear a discussion between your peers and our experts about how they are accounting for ongoing training and support for faculty regarding remote instruction. Erik Nelson, Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Beth Semaya, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Columbia University will share their approaches to:
The COVID-19 crisis and the rapid transition to online learning have forced student success professionals to think about student retention on a day-by-day basis rather than semester-by-semester. Systems of outreach and support that were previously in place have had to be adapted for the online environment, and in some cases, completely overhauled. Watch this webcast recording of a facilitated discussion with Julie Nash, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Studies and Student Success at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. You will hear from our expert and your fellow attendees as they describe their approaches to:
Amid the rapid shift to remote learning, faculty are seeking to acquire tools and knowledge to ensure an engaging experience for their students. This is a steep learning curve for many who have little to no experience with remote instruction. Watch this webcast recording of a facilitated discussion around how best to foster student engagement in an online setting with Amber Dailey-Hebert, Director of the Faculty Center for Innovation at Park University. Our expert and your fellow attendees have shared ideas and current practices around things like:
Annual giving teams have needed to adapt to unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances caused by COVID-19. This has forced many shops to make big decisions on short notice, upending the long-term planning that is typically required for a successful annual giving year. This unprecedented situation calls for action now, not later, in order to salvage a critical component of your advancement operation. Watch a recorded discussion between your peers and our expert about how annual giving strategies are being managed amid the crisis. Dan Frezza, Associate Vice President for Strategic Operations and Annual Giving at the College of William & Mary will share his approaches and perspectives on:
As the pandemic unfolds, the challenges of serving as a mid-level leader in advancement are unique. You are accountable to both your direct reports and your leadership team — meanwhile, the conditions and processes you have come to rely on need to be adapted. Watch this webcast recording of a facilitated discussion with Zack Smith, Executive Director of Development at the Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego. You’ll hear from our expert as well as your fellow attendees on questions like:
