Dear Colleagues,

The Faculty Standards Committee of the University Senate will hold two distinct forums on faculty promotion, tenure, and reappointment on Friday, April 8, 2022, via WebEx.  The purpose of the forums is to ensure that all faculty are aware of PTR and PR procedures and expectations at the university and have the opportunity to have their questions answered by the administration.

The Promotion, Tenure & Reappointment (PTR) program for tenure-track faculty will be held from 9:00-11:00 AM.  The program will begin in a group session with the Provost’s Office outlining PTR procedures at the University of Connecticut. This large group meeting will be followed by breakout sessions for participating schools/colleges led by Deans or their designees outlining the nuances of the PTR process specific to each school/college.

The Promotion and Reappointment (PR) program will be held from 1:00-2:30 PM and is for faculty who are eligible to use the non-tenure-track promotion and reappointment form (this covers clinical, in-residence, and extension [CIRE] faculty members and lecturers, as well as research professors).

Faculty and staff who plan to attend must register by April 6^th to attend by completing the appropriate survey.  Reservations can also be made via the Senate website.

Register for the PTR Forum (tenure-track) here.

Register for the PR Forum (non-tenure track) here.

CHERYL GALLI
OFFICE OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE

Dear Colleagues,

The coming month is one of significance for many members of our community in their religious practices, including the observances of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr, Passover, and Easter. As these holidays approach, we are sharing resources and reminders with the community to promote awareness of these observances and their potential effects on the academic activities of our students.

We believe that meaningful inclusion plays a critical role in the well-being of all members of the UConn community. In accordance with this mission, we advise faculty and staff to take dates of religious holidays into consideration when planning events or setting academic deadlines. The Provost’s Office, in partnership with the Office for Institutional Equity, Office for Diversity and Inclusion, and the Dean of Students Office, has created a webpage that includes information on key religious observances this semester. It also includes links to UConn’s policy on religious accommodations for students, faculty and staff, as well as resources to learn more about individual holidays. Please click here to visit the Religious Observances webpage.

As a reminder, faculty and instructors are expected reasonably to accommodate individual religious practices unless doing so would result in fundamental alteration of class objectives or undue hardship to the University’s legitimate business purposes. Such accommodations may include rescheduling an exam or giving a make-up exam, allowing a presentation to be made on a different date or assigning the student appropriate make-up work that is intrinsically no more difficult than the original assignment.

Students are responsible for making arrangements in advance to make up missed work. Students are also responsible for identifying potential conflicts with final examinations and must contact the Dean of Students Office for accommodations for final examinations.

Your attention to these observances and accommodations is an important part of supporting our University’s commitment to building and maintaining a welcoming and inclusive learning and work environment.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey

Jeffrey Shoulson
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Dear Waterbury Campus Colleagues,

We are following up with updates on the next series of steps in the search for a new director of the UConn Waterbury Campus.

Many of you shared feedback over the past several weeks, including important qualities of the next permanent director, the most appropriate structure of the search, and potential search committee members.

As the Provost’s Office has previously shared, this will be a national search, and we have engaged Parker Executive Search to assist in this process. I have also named Indrajeet Chaubey, dean of the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, to chair the search committee. I am grateful for his leadership in this important search.

We have also assembled our search committee, listed below. This will also include student representation, which will be added as we confirm invitations with students.

• Indrajeet Chaubey (Search Chair), Dean and Director of the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources
• Kelly Bartlett, Director, UConn Waterbury Office of Student Services
• Kimberly Cuevas, Associate Professor, Department of Psychological Sciences
• Vern Granger, Director of Undergraduate Admissions
• Tamara Kaliszewski, Assistant Professor In-Residence, Department of Allied Health Sciences
• Daniel Mercier, Director of Academic Services, UConn Avery Point
• Neil O’Leary, Mayor, City of Waterbury
• Claudia Pina, Clinical Case Manager, Waterbury Campus Mental Health Resource Center
• Letissa Reid, Associate Vice President, Office of Institutional Equity
• Melissa Rembish, Assistant Clinical Professor, School of Nursing
• Verna Ruffin, Superintendent of Schools, Waterbury Public Schools
• John Zack, Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction

Feedback Opportunities

The Provost’s Office is hosting several listening sessions next week to seek your feedback on the search and the directorship. Additionally, you may submit your feedback via an anonymous survey and nominate candidates directly to Parker Executive Search.

Listening Sessions

• Tuesday, March 29, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. (Students)
• Tuesday, March 29, 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. (Faculty)
• Wednesday, March 30, 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. (Open: Faculty, staff, students, community members)
• Wednesday, March 30, 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (Staff)

If you wish to attend a listening session, please click on the link for your desired session above to register. You will then receive a registration confirmation email including the WebEx link for the session you select.

Feedback Survey

You may provide feedback on the position using the survey below.

• Feedback Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JWVWHSX

Candidate Nomination

To recommend a potential candidate to Parker Executive Search:

• Nominations: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JYYJ2Z6

Your engagement in these next steps is critical to developing a candidate profile that will attract individuals with an ideal set of experiences and skills to lead the Waterbury Campus. Thank you for your participation in this process.

Sincerely,
Carl

Carl Lejuez
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear Colleagues,

We appreciate the community’s engagement in our search for the next director of the Stamford Campus.

Your input will be an important consideration for the search committee in our next steps. As a reminder, the public presentation recordings and feedback surveys for all candidates are available online. You may access them at this link: https://provost.uconn.edu/stamford-finalists/. Please submit your feedback on candidates by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16.

Sincerely,
Mark

Mark Overmyer-Velázquez
Chair, Stamford Campus Director Search Committee

Campus Director, UConn Hartford
Professor of History and Latinx Studies

 

Dear Colleagues,

I write to share an update on the spring Provost’s Awards. We are extending the deadline to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, for the following awards:

• Provost’s Outstanding Service Award
• Provost’s Awards for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship
• Alumni Faculty Excellence Awards

More information on each award can be found at https://provost.uconn.edu/events-and-recognition/awards/.

We recognize that this is always a busy time of the year, and particularly so this year. We hope extending this deadline allows ample time to submit nominations to recognize the outstanding work of your colleagues. Please feel free to share this update among your units and encourage the submission of nominations.

Please reach out to Kristi Henderson, Chief of Staff, if you have questions regarding this year’s awards: kristi.henderson@uconn.edu.

Sincerely,

Carl

Carl Lejuez

Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

This message was sent to Stamford Campus faculty, staff, and students, and UConn academic leadership. 

 

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that candidates have been selected as finalists for the Stamford Campus Director position.

The candidates will visit the Stamford and Storrs campuses next week. We encourage you to participate in forums throughout their visits, and share your feedback on each candidate in the provided surveys. This input will be carefully considered by the members of the search committee.

Visits start on Monday, March 7, and continue through Friday, March 11. We will announce each candidate one business day before their visit. The first candidate, who will visit Stamford on Monday, March 7, is Jennifer Orlikoff, currently serving as campus president for Potomac State College at West Virginia University  –  Keyser.

Information on candidates, including CVs, public forum meeting links, and feedback surveys will be available at https://provost.uconn.edu/stamford-finalists/.

Sincerely,
Mark

Mark Overmyer-Velázquez
Chair, Stamford Campus Director Search Committee

Campus Director, UConn Hartford
Professor of History and Latinx Studies