Dear faculty colleagues,
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 8 Solar Eclipse
- Updates on Salary Spread and Summer Premium Payments
- NCFDD Mentorship Workshop Registration
- 2024 UT Faculty Women’s Organization P&T Panels
- UT Federal Credit Union Faculty Benefits
- Now Available: Course Evaluation Tools
- Reminder: SERU Survey to Undergraduates
- CTL Updates: April 2024
- Reminder: President’s Award for Global Learning
- Texas Global Awards and Opportunities
- Call for Proposals: Texas Health Catalyst
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
Academic Affairs presents at Innovating Teaching and Learning in the Era of Generative AI conference
Four members of the Academic Affairs community presented at a recent The University of Texas System conference hosted at UT San Antonio.
Grants from Texas Global Awarded Across 14 Colleges and Schools
For Fall 2023, $99,620 was awarded to 14 faculty members across seven colleges and schools.
Governor Abbott Launches Texas Space Commission
VPR Dan Jaffe has been appointed to the Texas Aerospace Research and Space Economy Consortium, in conjunction with the launch of the Texas Space Commission.
Researchers Reveal Roadmap for AI Innovation in Brain and Language Learning
One of the hallmarks of humanity is language, but now, powerful new artificial intelligence tools also compose poetry, write songs, and have extensive conversations with human users.
Texas Engineers Inducted into AIMBE
A pair of Texas Engineering faculty members have been inducted into the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering’s (AIMBE) College of Fellows.
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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 to 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.
Updates on Salary Spread and Summer Premium Payments
Faculty with nine-month academic appointments can view a recorded info session or review a PDF of the presentation materials provided by Payroll Services and Human Resources. Topics covered include split payment elections (salary spread alternative) and pre-payment of summer insurance premiums for summer 2025 and beyond.
- Recorded Information Session for Faculty with Nine-Month Academic Appointments (Video)
- Information Session for Faculty with Nine-Month Academic Appointments Presentation (PDF)
NCFDD Mentorship Workshop Registration
The Provost’s Faculty Development team is offering an all-day workshop focused on implementing best practices for faculty mentorship across campus. During this train-the-mentors workshop, participants will learn strategies for building strong and productive mentorship relationships, how to create a culture of collaboration and support, and how to navigate common challenges and leverage opportunities for faculty mentoring. The workshop will take place in person from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8.
Register Here
2024 UT Faculty Women’s Organization P&T Panels
UT’s Faculty Women’s Organization, in collaboration with the Provost’s Office, is hosting two promotion and tenure review panel sessions. These two panel sessions (one dedicated to professional-track and the other to tenured/tenure-track faculty) include recently promoted individuals as well as representatives who are a part of the President’s promotion review committee. All faculty and supervisors are welcome. Registration is requested although not required and the links below invite in-advance questions for panelists. Light refreshments will be served.
Professional-Track Faculty
Date: Tuesday, April 16, 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Location: RRH 4.408
Panelists:
Chikako Cooke, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Asian Studies
Madeleine Holland, Assistant Professor of Instruction, Communication Studies
Sharon Wood, Executive Vice President and Provost
Richard Flores, Deputy to the President for Academic Priorities
Tasha Beretvas, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
Tenured/Tenure Track Faculty
Date: Thursday, April 18, 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Location: RRH 4.416
Panelists:
Joseph Dunsmoor, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Adrianne Rosales, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering
Sarah Woulfin, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership & Policy
Sharon Wood, Executive Vice President and Provost
Dan Jaffe, Vice President for Research
Tasha Beretvas, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
Learn more about the FWO
UT Federal Credit Union Faculty Benefits
The University Federal Credit Union (UFCU) has built out their Mortgage Benefits for Faculty (and staff) as an extension of our partnership to provide increased value and affordability to current and prospective faculty members. Please share this website and flyer in your recruitment of faculty. These resources highlight a broader range of products and services. For any questions about the products offered, faculty may contact a UFCU representative.
Learn More
Now Available: Course Evaluation Tools
With the help of the Office of Academic Technology and other units, course evaluation tools are now available. This tool enables faculty to see course evaluation schedules and select optional questions. Most evaluations are open for students from April 17 through May 1. Be sure to check your evaluation start and end dates, and contact your Course Evaluation Liaison if you encounter any issues.
Access Your Course Evaluations
Reminder: SERU Survey to Undergraduates
Undergraduate students are invited 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: April 2024
Please see below for several updates from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) from their April newsletter:
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 and 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.
Upcoming Association of College and School Educators Opportunity
The next ACUE course will be Designing Learner-Centered Courses. The application deadline is May 6 and the course will begin on May 13.
Teaching During Times of Crisis: Course Design
We are pleased to announce Teaching During Times of Crisis: Course Design is now available. This resource focuses on preparing for unpredictability during the planning phase. This follows the previously released Teaching During Times of Crisis: Course Facilitation which centers on the need for sudden changes after courses have launched.
Generative AI Events and Grant Opportunities
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- Prompt Design for Teaching and Learning: Planning Interactions with GenAI
Held on April 15 from 12 to 1 p.m., this virtual workshop will introduce participants to approaches to designing prompts for interactions with various generative AI tools in teaching, learning, and research contexts. RSVP here. - Image/Text/Code: Exploring the Role of ChatGPT in Research Proposals
On April 17 from 10 to 11 a.m., this session will explore the results of an archival desk-study that analyzed worksheets produced by four students using ChatGPT as a coach. RSVP Here. - 2024 Technology-Enhanced Learning Symposium: “Just Technology”
This annual event on May 9 will highlight innovation and advances in educational technology at UT Austin. Proposals are due April 7 and can be submitted here. You can learn more and RSVP here. - Students as Partners Grant Submissions for 2024-25
Proposals are due on May 3 with an area focus on: Exploring Teaching PAIRs (Partnership in AI Research). Learn More and Submit.
- Prompt Design for Teaching and Learning: Planning Interactions with GenAI
Reminder: Presidents Award for Global Learning
Apply for the President’s Award for Global Learning! This award 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.
Learn More
Final Call: 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.
Learn More
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.
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