Sessions offer faculty mentorship and professional development

The next Faculty Organizing for Success session — part of a yearlong faculty mentorship and professional development program for faculty members in their first three years at the UO — is noon to 1:45 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Knight Library Browsing Room.

This second session for the academic year will include faculty panelists Michelle McKinley, law; Scott Fitzpatrick, anthropology; Elizabeth Skowron, counseling psychology; and Jessica Vasquez-Tokos, sociology, who will lead a discussion around effective strategies for establishing a consistent publication record and provide behind-the-scene tips and tricks for navigating the world of academia.

The deadline to register for the luncheon is Wednesday, Nov. 3.

Now in its third year, Faculty Organizing for Success is a two-tiered program that offers regular lunch sessions and a mentorship program that matches new and senior faculty members based on areas of interest and experiences. It is organized by the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs and the faculty union, United Academics.

“The sessions were organized with the arc of a new faculty member’s career in mind,” said Sierra Dawson, co-coordinator of this year’s series of workshops. “We try to balance our panelists and discussions to offer a good range of experiences and insight for session attendees.”

Tenure-related and non-tenure-track faculty members are welcome to participate in the monthly meetings and workshops and to drop in to sessions that relate to their areas of interest. Future topics include stress reduction, teaching in context, third-year review, grant writing, service and summer research plans.

“It is our hope that the mentorship program will help faculty members establish key connections that make them feel a little more at home here at the university,” said Michael Dreiling, United Academics president and professor of sociology.

A full program calendar is accessible on the United Academics website, as is information about the mentorship program and an online survey for mentor matches.

Co-organizers for this year’s series of workshops are Dawson, assistant vice provost for academic affairs, and Josh Snodgrass, associate vice provost for undergraduate studies.