I hope this message finds you well and rejuvenated after a restful summer break. As we gear up for the start of the new school year, I want to extend a warm welcome to all of you. Whether you are returning or joining us for the first time, I am excited to have each one of you as part of our vibrant university community.

I am excited to meet the class of 2027, who secured a spot amid tight competition in this year’s record high applicant pool of more than 48,800. They join us from all over the world including 92 countries, 43 states, and from every corner of Connecticut. We also welcome over 2,300 new graduate students coming to us from 58 countries and 45 states.

I had the opportunity to meet many of our new undergraduate students during move in. Many thanks to the staff and faculty who volunteered to assist students and families throughout Fall Opening. The atmosphere was happy and positive, and Residential Life couldn’t have done a better job managing an incredibly large scale and complex operation. I was happy to kick off the year with our new students at Convocation. It had to be moved indoors due to weather, but it was fun and festive, and there was a great sense of community in Gampel that night.

Together, we have the unique chance to continue to expand our institution's impact beyond our multiple campuses. We encourage all of you—students, faculty, and staff—to embrace the opportunities that await us. Let us approach this year with a sense of purpose, a willingness to explore new horizons, and a dedication to making a meaningful difference. Whether in the lecture halls, research labs, or the spaces that facilitate our day-to-day interactions, let us strive for excellence in all that we do.

This year in particular holds great promise for us, as we embark on a journey of strategic growth and development. As many of you may know, we have begun engaging in the strategic planning process aimed at shaping the future of our institution. Central to the success of this process is your engagement. We believe that the collective wisdom of our faculty, staff, and students is integral to shaping the future of our university. To this end, we are thrilled to announce that public forums will be held in September, providing an opportunity everyone to actively participate in discussions, share your insights, and help us define our strategic priorities.

As we prepare to embark on this new academic year, I want to express deep gratitude for your continued dedication to our university's mission. Together, we will build a future that honors our past and our traditions while embracing new opportunities for progress.

Once again, welcome back! I look forward to seeing you all as we gather to envision the next chapter of our university's story. Let's seize this opportunity to create, learn, and grow—together.

All best wishes,

Anne

Introducing: Mary Anne Amalaradjou, DEIJ Faculty Fellow  

The Provost’s Office is excited to welcome Mary Anne Amalaradjou as the DEIJ Faculty Leadership Fellow for the 2023-2024 Academic Year. In her role, Mary Anne will collaborate closely with key faculty, staff, deans and department heads across campus to advance projects and initiatives with DEIJ as a core priority. We than Mary Anne for her commitment to these principles and are grateful to have her advance these initiatives. 

Bio: 

Hello, my name is Mary Anne Amalaradjou and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I'm an Associate Professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Connecticut. I received my DVM from India and MS and PhD in Food Microbiology from the University of Connecticut. My research primarily focusses on food safety and gut health. Specifically, it is targeted towards understanding pathogen survival and persistence along the food chain, their virulence attributes and the application of protective cultures to control foodborne pathogens. I also evaluate the efficacy of currently applied intervention (hurdle) technologies to reduce pathogen transmission during pre- and post-harvest processing of fresh produce, meat and dairy products. Beyond controlling pathogens in food systems my research investigates the potential application of probiotics and functional foods in the prevention and treatment of gut pathologies. Through all aspects of the research program, my main objective is to improve food safety and promote public health.  Outside of research and teaching, I am passionate about mentoring the next generation with a strong focus on promoting equity and inclusivity in higher education. 

What are you most excited about in this role for the upcoming AY? 

As the provost DEIJ fellow, I look forward to working with partners and administrators across UConn in developing and promoting initiatives that support our diverse workforce.  Further, this position will provide me with the continuing opportunity to actively engage with a diverse population at UConn. Since diversity enriches educational experience, encourages critical thinking, helps communicate effectively with people of varied backgrounds and fosters mutual respect and teamwork, the yearlong program would help me to not only grow as a faculty but also as a contributing member of the UConn community. 

What is one piece of advice you would give to your colleagues regarding DEIJ work? 

Shared identity does not necessarily imply shared values or ideals. Hence, while it is important to bring my viewpoints it is more critical to promote the inclusion of those different from mine. 

What is your favorite UConn Dairy Bar flavor? 

Maple Walnut 

Scheduling the Use of Instructional Spaces 

In an effort to utilize the university's classroom space as efficiently as possible and to minimize time conflicts for students, departments will be expected to follow the university's policy on the Assignment of Instructional Space when scheduling class meetings in centrally supported classrooms in the CourseLeaf Section Scheduler (CLSS) system, which will be used to build the Spring 2024 term. 

When scheduling classes, schedulers for the academic departments should note the following points from the policy: 

1. Standard Schedule: Classes at all campuses, except UConn Health, will conform to the following standard schedule: 

     2. Exceptions: On rare occasions, classes with extenuating circumstances may deviate from the standard schedule with the permission of the Dean of the School or College and if applicable, regional campus director, and with the concurrence of the Provost. 

     3. Department-controlled Learning Space: The appropriate School or College has the authority to assign laboratory space under its jurisdiction, and regional campus directors have the authority to assign all instructional space on their campus. 

     4. Weekends and Evenings: Classes that begin after 5:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, or after 4:45 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or anytime on Saturdays and Sundays may deviate from the standard schedule. 

For administrative and technical questions about CourseLeaf Section Scheduler (CLSS), please contact the Office of the Registrar. Departments with questions about how this policy will impact their class schedule should contact the appropriate Dean’s Designee of their school or college. 

Pop-Up Courses 

Three pop-up courses will be available this semester and registration is now open: 

• Exploring the Entrepreneurial Perspective 
• Transformation Now 
• Feeling Well: The Science and Practice of Emotional Well-Being 

New Undergraduate Majors 

For students enrolling in the fall of 2023, six new undergraduate majors are available to them as a course of study. These programs are: 

• Economics of Sustainable Development and Management (BS) 
• Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (BS) 
• Applied Data Analysis (BA) 
• Statistical Data Science (BS) 
• Data Science and Engineering (BSE) 
• Financial Technology (BS)  

Management Information Systems (BS) has also been renamed Analytics and Information Management (BS). 

Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) Records 

Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) records are an important metric for professors for continuous improvement of teaching, as well as an integral part of the promotion, tenure, and reappointment (PTR) process. SET records are viewable by logging in on the BPIR website here. For questions or technical support needs, contact SETeaching@uconn.edu  

Faculty Consulting 

Faculty members are state employees; this means your participation in outside consulting activity is tightly regulated by state statute. Prior approval through the online request system is required before beginning any activity. All paid activities related to your professional expertise (including grant reviews, talks, and similar academic activities), and unpaid work with faculty affiliated companies, fall within the faculty consulting policy. Consulting is work that you are doing outside of your role as a state employee; further information is provided in other sections of our Faculty Consulting website on limitations related to consulting activity. 

We are here to help you understand the process and policies; it is your responsibility to adhere to them. To help you, individual advice is always available. Please see the contact details for UConn (Storrs/regionals) and UConn Health if you need individual assistance. If you have submitted a request and you have limited time before the activity will begin, please reach out for help by emailing sarah.croucher@uconn.edu. 

Religious Observances 

In accordance with our mission of meaningful inclusion, we ask that all faculty and staff be mindful of upcoming religious observances that may impact student participation when planning events or setting deadlines. We recommend you refer to the religious observances calendar for upcoming dates and that you ensure familiarity with the religious accommodations policy when working with a student on an accommodation request. 

Provost Fund Guidance 

The Provost Fund is a program that identifies a pool of university resources to be used for faculty salary increases for the purposes of retention, compression and inversion equity, and special achievement. The university may consider requests for salary adjustments for retention, equity and special achievement through processes outlined in this memo. Contact provost@uconn.edu with any questions. 

Updates to the Course Action Request (CAR) Form 

The Course Action Request (CAR) Form for adding, revising, and deleting courses has been updated to reflect the incoming Common Curriculum (CC) Topics of Inquiry (TOIs).   Please note: 

1. Proposals for new courses can use this form to request consideration for the CC TOIs. Proposers will be asked if they would like the course to be considered for a temporary Content Area under the outgoing system.                                        
2. All departments received a spreadsheet of current general education courses and have been asked to return it with their plans for transition by November 1, 2023.  Courses that are making a direct transition into the CC (i.e. no major changes that require catalog copy revision) can use the spreadsheet. Only courses with significant revisions that require catalog copy changes need to use the online CAR Form. 

For more information on the Common Curriculum, visit our website or contact Karen McDermott. 

South Campus Infrastructure Updates 

As the summer construction period wraps up the South Campus Infrastructure (SCI) Project has met several key milestones that allows the following to happen starting on August 22, 2023. 

• Mansfield Road is REOPENED. 

• Whitney Road Extension has returned to pre-construction condition (one way traffic) 

Construction will continue into the fall semester and the overall project will be completed in the Fall of 2025. Portions of the work will be reopened as soon as the work is completed. Construction impacts over the fall semester are as follows. 

• Gilbert Road CLOSED from Mansfield Road to Whitney Road Extension 
• Maple Lane and Coventry Road will be CLOSED from Mansfield Road to Lot R starting on August 28, 2023. This closure will remain in place for most of the fall semester. 
• Lot R will continue to have parking impacts through most of the fall semester. Access to the lot will be via a temporary driveway. 

• Lot S will continue to have parking impacts through the duration of the project. Parking impacts will start on August 28, 2023. Approximately half of the lot will be offline during this constriction period. 
• Accessible pedestrian detours will be in place. All pedestrians should follow dedicated walkway and signage. 

For more information, contact: Ian Dann at ian.dann@uconn.edu 

Faculty Awards & Honors 

The Provost’s Office is committed to showcasing and celebrating faculty excellence. As part of this effort, we are continuously collecting details of national and international awards/honors earned by UConn and UConn Health faculty. These faculty and a list of their awards/honors are featured on the Provost’s Office Awards/Honors Searchable Database. New awards/honors listed in the upcoming year will also be honored at a reception in the Spring semester.  

We encourage all members of the UConn community to submit their awards/honors to be included in the database, or submit on behalf of a colleague at any time. More information can be found on the Provost’s Office Awards and Honors web page. We are honored to showcase the great achievements of our faculty. 

Open Education Supported by the UConn Library 

Open education is using learning resources, teaching practices, and education policies that use the flexibility of Open Educational Resources (OER) to provide learners with high quality educational experiences without the cost of purchased instructional materials. Integrating OER can help to alleviate the hidden-cost burden of textbooks and other required instructional materials for students who cannot afford this cost. Click here to learn more or contact Zach Claybaugh at the UConn Library. 

The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering at UConn Selects Four Presidential M1 Mentorship Program Awardees 

The Cato T. Laurencin Institute for Regenerative Engineering at UConn, in conjunction with the Office of the Provost, has selected the 2023 Presidential M1 Mentorship Program Awardees. The program aims to create a national model for best practices in the mentorship of underrepresented students and faculty in the sciences, engineering and biomedicine. Click here to read more. 

Center for Career Development: “Career Everywhere” Program Receives Honors 

The Center for Career Development received an Honorable Mention distinction in the category of Career Services Excellence from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) for their entry entitled “Career Everywhere”. NACE’s Excellence Awards competition is national in scope and recognizes the outstanding achievements of college career services and HR professionals.  The entry was judged on program need/objectives, relevance to target market, integration, design, and use of medium, creativity, innovation, measurable outcomes, and ease of replication.   

In addition to the national exposure of Career Everywhere, the Career Center has heralded national recognition in the form of presentation requests for the Career Champion program which supports Career Everywhere at UConn. This program builds a community around career planning in support of UConn students by building a critical mass of university faculty, staff, employers, and alumni in an effort to impact every UConn student’s success post-graduation. The infusion of career development into all facets of the UConn experience provides access and equity to career development including underrepresented and marginalized students. As career planning is optional for UConn students, not all students equally understand the significance of this preparation and hearing about the it from faculty and staff increases the chance that students will begin to understand its importance and take action.  

This year, staff at the Career Center have been asked to speak nationally about how to build a successful Career Champion program and how the program impacts equity in the career development space at NACE in June, a Career Everywhere conference sponsored by uConnect this summer, and through national webinars and podcasts.   

Through a survey administered to faculty and staff this past year, the Career Center has garnered results that demonstrate the increased knowledge of the Career Center offerings, value of referring students to Career Center services and resources, and confidence in providing career advice to students. See the impact of being a Career Champion below: 

• 61% of respondents (career champions) feel more confident in their ability to discuss topics of career with their students. 
• 73% of of respondents now have a better understanding of the resources available to their students through the Career Center 
• 71% of respondents would recommend the Career Champion Program to a colleague. 
• 43% of respondents have a better understanding of the NACE Career Readiness competencies.  
• 54% of respondents can better articulate why being a career champion and having career conversations with students promotes equity in career development. 

Additionally, there is a significant difference in how often Career Champions refer students to Career Center resources and in their familiarity with said resources compared to faculty and staff who are not Career Champions.  The first chart are select services that faculty and staff refer students to, and the second chart is regarding familiarity with services of the Career Center. 

With over 700 Career Champions, the reach of this community is large, but still only a fraction of faculty and staff have joined. The time commitment is flexible with the reading of a monthly newsletter to keep up with trends, resources, and programs as the only ask. To join we only require that you complete this quick enrollment form. Imagine if the majority of faculty and staff became Career Champions; think about the impact we would have as a community on all students’ post-graduation success. 

Dates

Monday, September 5th: Labor Day (no classes) 

Monday, September 11th: University Senate Meeting 

September 15th – 17th: Rosh Hashanah 

September 19th – 22nd: Employee Appreciation Week (HR) 

September 24th – 25th: Yom Kippur 

Wednesday, September 27th: Board of Trustees Meeting