Faculty Affairs Update – Dec. 6

Dear faculty colleagues,

I hope you enjoyed a restful Thanksgiving break (now already long ago). We are very thankful for your continued hard work and flexibility this semester and throughout this difficult year. Below are a few reminders, announcements and updates to keep in mind as we wind down for the semester.

Course Instructor Survey Participation

Electronic Course instructor Surveys (CIS) are again being offered to students to capture their feedback about their learning and their instructors’ teaching. It is critical for faculty to gather constructive and detailed feedback from students although it can be challenging to obtain good response rates when using online CIS. Even though electronic surveys are available only until Wednesday, December 8th, there is still time to encourage responses from students.

  1. Faculty can make the CIS link (https://utdirect.utexas.edu/ctl/ecis/results/mycis.WBX) easily accessible to students by posting it on their course’s Canvas webpage
  2. Faculty can look at their students’ current response rates during the active survey period using the MyCIS link (See this My CIS Guide to learn how to track response rates).
  3. If response rates look low, faculty might send a gentle reminder to students encouraging their participation. In the reminder(s), faculty might emphasize the importance of this feedback to both the instructor and to the learning of future cohorts of students taking their class.

Call for Applications – Provost’s Authors Fellowship

The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost is pleased to announce the call for the third cohort of the Provost’s Authors Fellowship program. This program provides faculty development support for tenured associate professors who are engaged in the development and publication of scholarly books as they pursue promotion to full professor.  Faculty members accepted into this program are awarded summer support, access to a community of dedicated writers, and course release time so that they can focus on their scholarly activities and writing.

Provost’s Authors Guidelines and Application webpage

Accepting Nominations & Applications – Provost’s Distinguished Service Academy (DSA)

The call for nominations and applications for the second cohort of the Provost’s Distinguished Service Academy (DSA) is now open. The DSA represents a formal organization of distinguished tenured and senior professional-track faculty members with extraordinary achievements, particularly in terms of their excellence in mentorship and service to their college or school, the university, the state and the nation. The application deadline is February 1, 2022. To learn more, please visit the website, attend one of the information sessions, or email facultyawards@utexas.edu.

Apply or Nominate Today

To learn more about the academy and their work on campus, all faculty are invited to register for Zoom information sessions on Tuesday, December 7 or Thursday, January 20 at noon.

Register for an information session here.

Accepting Submissions – Faculty Authors Recognition

The Faculty Authors Recognition (formerly Faculty Authors Reception) was created to highlight the breadth of scholarship and creative activity taking place across the university. We are now accepting submissions for this year’s Faculty Authors Recognition. There will also be an in-person event this spring to celebrate published works from both 2020 and 2021. The event date will be announced soon.

Eligibility

  • Published works including scholarly monographs, published creative works (e.g., novels and anthologies of poetry), exhibition catalogs, and edited collections.
  • Books must have been published between Jan. 1, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2021. Note: Don’t remember if you submitted your 2020 published work already? Check out this link.
  • Current UT Austin faculty member.
  • Deadline: January 3, 2022

Submit Your Book

Inclusive Facilities

Earlier this year, President Hartzell approved funding to convert 45 restrooms on UT’s campus to be gender inclusive. Construction on those projects was begun over the summer, and to date 27 have been completed. 18 are still underway, however, 43 total buildings still lack inclusive restrooms. A plan is in progress to prioritize proximity and access among remaining buildings. The Council for LGBTQ+ Access, Equity, and Inclusion (Q+AEI) continues to advocate for assured access to gender inclusive bathrooms for faculty, staff, and students at UT. Efforts to standardize, document, and publicize inclusive facilities (including bathroom, locker room, and dressing room options) encourage a wide range of community members to participate in campus life on the Forty Acres. The Gender and Sexuality Center (GSC) maintains a navigable campus map of gender inclusive restrooms featuring locations and descriptions of each facility, and faculty members are encouraged to share this resource.

Faculty Search Committee Workshop Updates

Over the last two months, more than 500 faculty members have completed the Faculty Search Committee workshop! If you’d like to learn more about this program, check out the inclusive recruiting newsletter from the Diversity team. If you’d like to sign up for a workshop, you can learn more here.

Return to Campus Restorative Circles

The Restorative Justice working group is offering a Return to Campus Circle Series where colleagues can support one another and discuss community needs around the transition back to working in-person. There are several open workshops available for registration now in UTLearn, or you can request a workshop for your department or unit. 

Wishing each of you a restorative holiday season and break once it is finally here.

Please reach out with any faculty-related questions to the Faculty Affairs team. For COVID-related questions, please continue to check the Protect Texas Together website for the latest information and guidance.

Stay well,

Tasha Beretvas

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