Dear faculty colleagues,
I hope each of you were able to enjoy some relaxation time during spring break.
This newsletter starts below by sharing faculty-related Stories and News. The Updates section includes information and important reminders for faculty about the following:
- Faculty Responsibilities During April 8th Solar Eclipse
- New Academic Appointments: Summer Insurance Pre-Payment Changes
- Accepting Nominations: UT Austin Sidney E. Mezes Award
- Applications Open: President’s Award for Global Learning
- Reminder: Deadline Approaching for Texas Global Grant Opportunities
- Call for Proposals: Texas Health Catalyst
- UT Launching SERU Survey to Undergraduates
- CTL Updates: March 2024
Please share what might be relevant with fellow colleagues and those you mentor. If you have any faculty-related questions, concerns, and solutions please feel free to 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
Featured News & Stories
Justin Dyer Appointed Dean of School of Civic Leadership
UT Austin has named Justin Dyer as the inaugural dean of the School of Civic Leadership. His appointment as dean is effective March 25.
A Once-in-Many-Centuries Event
Many of us are eagerly awaiting the April 8 total solar eclipse, the last of its kind to cross our paths (at least in the contiguous U.S.) until the year 2045. Austin, Texas is right in the path of
UT Faculty, Staff and Students Bring Expertise, Projects to SXSW 2024
UT Austin highlighted research and expertise at SXSW conference, covering everything from space junk, to robotics, to artificial intelligence.
Faculty Central is the new online hub for faculty resources. As you use the site, please ask questions and offer suggestions through the site’s feedback form, located in the footer.
Faculty Updates
Faculty Responsibilities During the April 8 Solar Eclipse
The University will be hosting a campus-wide experience to take advantage of the April 8 solar eclipse, and it is important that all students, faculty, and staff are able to participate. UT will be observing a community-wide opportunity for viewing from 1-2 p.m. on Monday, April 8. Provost Wood in her message to the community detailed the responsibilities for all faculty to ensure campus-wide consistency for students.
New Academic Appointments: Summer Insurance Pre-Payment Changes
Beginning in AY 2024-25, faculty will pre-pay one month of summer insurance premium on each of their March 1, April 1 and May 1 paychecks. This “double deduction” will replace the “quadruple deduction” that used to be taken from the June 1 paycheck. This change will impact all benefits-eligible faculty whose primary job is a nine-month faculty appointment, regardless of whether you are appointed in the summer. More details about this change can be found here.
Additionally, faculty can attend one of two virtual information sessions hosted by Central HR and Payroll Services to learn more. These sessions will be held on March 27 from 12– 1 p.m. and April 2 from 4– 5 p.m. virtually via MS Teams. Registration links can be found in the email sent earlier this week.
Accepting Nominations: UT Austin Sidney E. Mezes Award
Each year, the Sidney E. Mezes Faculty Donation Committee recommends monetary awards to support faculty members in need of assistance due to unexpected circumstances, such as an illness, accident, or other calamity. To find out more about the award, apply for yourself, or nominate a colleague experiencing hardship, please visit the faculty awards website or email facultyaffairs@utexas.edu. Nominations are due by March 22 and can be submitted here.
Applications Open: Presidents Award for Global Learning
Apply for the President’s Award for Global Learning! It offers faculty unparalleled opportunities to create teams of undergraduate students and collaborate with international partners to address the world’s most pressing challenges. Faculty teams receive $5,000 to support student projects and class activities as well as $10,000 to support a graduate assistant. Individual faculty members each receive a $14,000 honorarium. Faculty, graduate assistants, and students also receive fully-funded travel as part of the award. We encourage you to attend a faculty information session and join the Canvas page to facilitate connections.
Email presidentsaward@austin.utexas.edu with any questions. The deadline to apply is May 1.
Reminder: Deadline Approaching for Texas Global Grant Opportunities
Texas Global supports faculty pursuing global research, teaching, publishing, and event collaborations. Since 2020, more than $850,000 has been awarded for activities across 17 colleges.
Texas Global invites you to apply for the following funding opportunities by April 7:
- 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
- Texas Global Publication Fund: Up to $10,000 to support the development and dissemination of linguistically diverse knowledge to a global audience
Additionally, the Internationalization Event Fund accepts applications on a rolling basis and awards up to $10,000 to provide support for the development of high-impact global engagement events involving multiple colleges and schools. Please contact txglobal-grants@austin.utexas.edu with any questions.
Call for Proposals: Texas Health Catalyst
Texas Health Catalyst is a University-wide program designed to propel your health and life sciences innovations from concept toward impact. This spring, in collaboration with the Cockrell School of Engineering, College of Pharmacy, College of Natural Sciences, the Institute for Foundations of Machine Learning, the Center for Rare Diseases, and Discovery to Impact, we present our general call for proposals alongside two targeted challenges: AI in Health and Rare Diseases. The application closes April 30.
UT Launching SERU Survey to Undergraduates
Starting February 26, undergraduate students will be invited via email to voice their opinions using the 2024 Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Survey. The Survey is confidential and offers students the chance to share their opinion on critical issues. Insights gained from past surveys have helped shape student mental health support, campus security, and measures against food scarcity, as well as refine the University’s approach to calculating the Cost of Attendance (COA). Please encourage students to participate (students completing the survey are entered into a drawing for 1 of 10 Big Tickets from Texas Athletics). The survey closes April 30.
More Information on the SERU Survey
CTL Updates: March 2024
Please see below for several updates from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) from their March newsletter:
Graduate Teaching ShowcaseWe are honored to work with the Graduate School and UT Libraries to host the eighth annual Graduate Teaching Showcase to highlight the instructional contributions of graduate students at UT Austin. Join us on March 29 from 9-11 a.m. in the PCL Learning Lab to mingle with fellow graduate students, esteemed faculty, and dedicated staff as we delve into the realm of exceptional teaching at UT Austin.
Collaborative Learning Community Grants
We are honored to work with the Graduate School and UT Libraries to host the eighth annual Graduate Teaching Showcase to highlight the instructional contributions of graduate students at UT Austin. Join us on March 29 from 9-11 a.m. in the PCL Learning Lab to mingle with fellow graduate students, esteemed faculty, and dedicated staff as we delve into the realm of exceptional teaching at UT Austin.
Sustainability Across the Curriculum
Join us on April 10 and 17 for a two-day workshop designed to help instructors add sustainability-related outcomes and assignments to their courses. We will reference various frameworks, including UNESCO’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to explore how UT classroom experiences can be connected to a wider community.
Transformative Teaching and Learning Symposium
Please join us on April 18-19 to collaboratively share, generate, and implement strategies to better engage all students – and especially neurodivergent learners – in the many different learning spaces we co-create across campus.
Access past issues here.