Faculty Affairs Update – Sept 19

Dear faculty colleagues,

I hope everyone’s Fall term is going well. This newsletter starts by sharing information and important reminders for faculty and ends by sharing faculty-related Stories and News. The Updates section includes the following:

Please share relevant information with fellow colleagues and those you mentor. If you have any faculty-related questions, concerns, and solutions please contact the Faculty Affairs team. We’re here to support you in any way we can.

Stay well,

Tasha Beretvas

Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

Faculty Updates

Faculty Development Award for Professional-Track Faculty

The Faculty Development Award Program (FDA) is for professional-track faculty members and provides up to $10,000 to support the recipient’s professional development opportunities and activities. The FDA application system is open until 5 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, October 1.

Learn More about Faculty Development Award

Faculty Development Leave Program

The Faculty Development Leave Program (FDL) provides tenured faculty members with paid leave from teaching and service responsibilities and allows them to focus on developing their research, scholarship, and creative endeavors. (At other universities, this type of leave is commonly called a sabbatical.) The FDL application system is open until 5 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, October 1.

Learn More About Faculty Development Leave

Reminder: Important Changes to Faculty Awards

Important changes to the nomination process for Faculty Awards have been made to better accommodate the breadth of opportunities for faculty.

  • Awards specific to teaching will be administered by Academic Affairs. Inquiries can be sent to teachingawards@utexas.edu
  • Awards pertaining to university service and leadership will be administered by Faculty Affairs. Inquiries can be sent to facultyaffairs@utexas.edu

All faculty awards information is available on the Faculty Awards webpage. Deadlines and contact details have been updated to reflect the process changes.

Learn More

Texas Global Faculty Grant Opportunities

Texas Global supports faculty pursuing global research, teaching, publishing, and event collaborations. Since 2020, more than $1.36M has been awarded for activities across 17 colleges. Faculty are invited to apply for the following funding opportunities by November 1:

  • Faculty Research Seed Grants: Up to $10,000 to conduct research that addresses global challenges with a peer collaborator at an institution abroad
  • Global Virtual Exchange: Up to $5,000 to co-develop and co-teach courses or course modules with a faculty collaborator at an international institution
  • Faculty Travel Planning Grants: Up to $2,500 in travel funds to explore possibilities, develop connections and prepare to seek subsequent Texas Global funding opportunities
  • Internationalization Event Fund: Accepts applications on a rolling basis and awards up to $10,000 to support high-impact global engagement events on campus involving multiple colleges and schools.

Additionally, Texas Global is also accepting bids for the Spring 2025 Diplomacy Lab projects where students and faculty work together on real-world challenges related to foreign policy identified by the U.S. Department of State. Please contact txglobal-grants@austin.utexas.edu with any questions.

Learn More

Teaching During Times of Crisis: Two-Part Workshop

This series is hosted by the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Employee Assistance Program, the Counseling and Mental Health Center, and Office of the Dean of Students.

Part 1 (September 19, 1–3 p.m.): This virtual session will include discussion on how to identify and regulate stress responses and how to navigate unexpected circumstances on campus. Participants will learn strategies for designing and facilitating courses with instructor and student wellbeing in mind. Finally, Office of the Dean of Students will review available resources to instructors.

Register Here

Part 2 (October 10, 1–3 p.m.): During this in-person follow-up, participants will apply techniques to current and future course design. There will be discussion, proactive preventative planning, and community-building over light refreshments.

Register Here

Reminder: New Undergraduate Academic Q-drop Request System and Deadline Changes

Effective Fall 2024 the academic Q-drop, pass/fail, and withdrawal deadline is now nine class days prior to the last class day of the semester (fall and spring only). For Fall 2024, the deadline will be November 20, and for Spring 2025, the deadline will be April 16. The Academic Calendar, Course Schedule, and General Information Catalog (GIC) will be updated to reflect these changes.

This fall, undergraduate students will now be able to submit academic Q-drop requests online via a new academic Q-drop request system. Advisors and students will receive email notifications along the Q-drop request process. Faculty will also receive an email notification once a student’s academic Q-drop has been approved. Additionally, undergraduate academic advisors can review and approve academic Q-drop requests (including OTE) in the new system, as well as run reports and download spreadsheets for tracking.

Learn More about Academic Q-Drops

Fall 2024 Flu Vaccination Clinics

Students, faculty, and staff can receive flu vaccines at these clinics, along with a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccines available on a first-come, first-served basis. Appointments for both are encouraged through the MyUHS/CMHC portal. Limited walk-ins available for flu shots. Insurance is recommended but not required. Vaccination clinics will be held from Tuesday, September 17 – Thursday, October 17, from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., at various campus locations.

Learn More & Schedule an Appointment

Student Resources

The Provost’s Office partnered with the Office of the Dean of Students to share University resources to help faculty continue to support students who may be struggling with mental health, emergencies, or other difficult situations. Some of these resources include the CARE program, Texas Well-being, TimelyCare, the Student Outreach and Support office, and UT Outpost, among several other services and units on campus.

Access the List of Resources

Eureka Research Database

The Office of Undergraduate Research supports faculty in connecting with undergraduate researchers. With hundreds of active projects and profiles for research-active faculty, our Eureka research database is students’ first destination when seeking faculty research opportunities.

We encourage research-active faculty to make use of Eureka’s listing of current projects and to provide information about the sorts of students they’re able to mentor. An updated Eureka profile can help you recruit students who can contribute to your research, while also reducing inquiries from students who aren’t a good match.

Update Your Eureka Profile

Fall 2024 Data & Donuts Workshop Series

The University of Texas Libraries’ Research Data Services team announced the schedule for its Fall 2024 Data & Donuts workshop series covering four unique topics specifically selected because of their importance to research data management in a wide range of disciplines.

All members of UT community are welcome to join from 12–1:15 p.m. on the Fridays listed below. Three installments will entail hybrid presentations with the in-person component taking place in the Scholars Lab at the Perry-Castañeda Library. Registration is required for virtual (Zoom) sessions.

  • September 13  – Tabular Data In Spreadsheets: OpenRefine & Python. Hybrid. Zoom Registration.
  • September 27 – Research Data Management Best Practices. Hybrid. Zoom Registration.
  • October 11 – Managing Research Code with Git and GitHub. Co-hosted with the university’s Open Source Program Office (UT-OSPO). Virtual. Zoom Registration.
  • October 25 – Intro to R for Data Management. Hybrid. Zoom Registration.

Learn More

CTL Updates: September 2024

Please see below for several updates from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Explore more opportunities in the September newsletter and 2024–25 programming flyer:

Writing to Learn: Teaching Writing to Enhance Engagement
September 24 | 9:30 – 11 a.m. | Online | Part I RSVP
October 1 | 9:30 – 11 a.m. | Online | Part II RSVP
This two-part workshop is designed to help instructors use writing assignments as a way to improve student learning and engagement with the topics of instruction.

International Learning with Global Virtual Exchange
September  25 | 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. | PCL Learning Lab 4 | RSVP
The CTL and Texas Global are thrilled to co-host a session on globally engaged learning and how you can use virtual exchange to provide an on-campus international experience for your students.

Featured News & Stories

President’s Award for Global Learning Launches Faculty Programs for 2025

Three faculty teams at UT Austin, partnering with international universities and nonprofit organizations in India, Japan, Sweden and Denmark, have been selected to receive the 2024-2025 award.

AI in Education Is Here

An interview with Julie Schell, Assistant Vice Provost and Director of the Office of Academic Technology, on how AI is being used now and why higher education will continue to matter.

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