Cultivate a workplace that centers on faculty and staff equity, health, and wellness.
Overview
Academic leaders spent most of 2020 pivoting and responding to emergent needs. As the dust settles, with reopening on the horizon, it is now time to stop pivoting and start building for a more sustainable future. Instead of reacting to issues surrounding wellness and equity, we can now rebuild a workplace community that deliberately centers faculty and staff equity, health, and wellness.
In this workshop you will learn how the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work conducted a wellness check with their faculty and staff to reimagine their operations, academic affairs, and external engagements to foster equity, health, and wellness. Using their case study, you will consider what is unique to your context, discipline, and divisional structure and then begin to draft steps for a ground-up evaluation to learn more about your team’s needs. We will explore the scaffolding needed to reach your aspirational state, and our expert Dr. Amanda McBride, Dean of the Graduate School of Social Work at University of Denver will share some of the possibilities and best practices from her experience.
Who Should Attend
This training is best suited for Deans and Chairs who want to envision a more sustainable work environment grounded in equity, health, and wellness for their faculty and staff. Provosts, faculty affairs, and other senior leaders in academic affairs will also benefit.
The Academic Impressions Online Learning Experience
Intentionally Designed
Online Learning
Our virtual trainings go far beyond just replicating PowerPoint presentations online: these experiences are intentionally designed to give you the kind of robust and dynamic learning experience you’ve come to expect from Academic Impressions. These trainings provide you with an active learning environment and an online space where you can explore ideas, get inspired by what your peers are doing, and understand the range of possibilities around a certain topic. You will leave these sessions with practical solutions that you can take back to your team or task force.
What you will get:
- A dynamic, interactive, and high-touch virtual learning experience designed to engage and set you up for growth
- Seamless online face-time, networking, group work, and Q&A opportunities from the comfort of your own workspace
- Practical takeaways and hands-on knowledge
- Guidance from vetted subject matter experts
- Unlimited access to all recorded online sessions
AGENDA
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Part I: Research and Envisioning
You will learn how to perform a wellness check and gather the data you need to envision a more sustainable work culture. While reflecting on the context of your own discipline and unit, we will explore the following questions:
- What is the value of ground-up data from your faculty and staff?
- What are the right questions? Who is the right audience?
- What if we ask for their input and cannot deliver?
Part II: Building a Work Environment That Centers Equity, Health, and Wellness
You will learn how Dr. McBride used the data to lead cultural shifts in three key areas:
- Operations: Meetings, formats, and flexible schedules.
- Academic affairs: Curriculum, internships, and course work.
- External engagements: Speaker events, continuing education, and alumni engagement.
SPEAKER

Amanda Moore McBride, Ph.D.
Morris Endowed Dean and Professor, Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW), University of Denver (DU)
Amanda is a transformative leader in higher education with over 20 years of administrative expertise. She is also an internationally recognized expert in civic and community engagement. Her scholarship focuses on ways to promote engagement through education, programs, and policy, addressing issues of inclusion. Prior research has focused on national service, service learning, and international volunteering across nearly 100 publications.