Creativity. Collaboration. Transformation.
Promoting a positive organizational climate that enhances workplace satisfaction and increases faculty productivity.
Faculty Success Initiative
The Faculty Success Initiative conducts continuous assessment of campus policies, practices, and resources to create an equitable and inclusive work environment for all faculty. Below are the primary areas of focus to improve workplace satisfaction and faculty productivity. To learn more about past surveys and identified areas of improvement, visit UNLV’s Campus Climate Surveys webpage.
Areas of Focus
Differential Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Faculty and Staff
Our Office coordinates a university-wide committee to understand the scope and depth of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted faculty and staff productivity. The committee is charged with designing and implementing initiatives that address faculty and staff concerns and better supports their productivity. Project initiatives span data collection about faculty and staff experiences, a review of the annual evaluations process as well as the tenure and promotion process, and improvements to campus work/life resources.
Diversity
Our Office partners with the Office of Diversity Initiatives to launch programs and services to support our diverse faculty and staff, including enhanced support to faculty affinity groups, increased programming that supports underrepresented faculty and staff, improved strategies to increase diverse hiring, and expanded resources on topics such as cultural intelligence, race, racism, and racial identity.
Leadership & Individual and Team Professional Development
The Office of Faculty Affairs has either led or collaborated with campus units to develop programs and resources that support the professional growth of faculty, staff, supervisors, and teams. Below is a summary of those programs and resources:
- Branding, Self-Promotion, and Visibility
In collaboration with the University Libraries, a campus-wide committee organized the collection and development of resources to improve online reputation and increase the visibility and impact of research.
- Dialogues
Dialogues is a process designed to build and strengthen the capacity of teams and units to communicate, collaborate, and institutionalize behaviors that increase overall job satisfaction and improve professional and organizational outcomes.
- Management Training Academy
The Management Training Academy (MTA) was created in Spring 2020. It consists of a series of courses that builds adaptable leaders who respond more effectively to diverse situations to increase productivity and organizational success. - National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity
In 2018, UNLV joined the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD), a nationally-recognized, independent organization that provides online career development and mentoring resources for faculty, post-docs, and graduate students. - Leadership Coaching Program
The Leadership Coaching Program was created in Summer 2020 to provide campus leaders (faculty and staff) with opportunities to refine existing skills and acquire new skills required to develop and lead a successful, effective organization. - UNLV Faculty Center
The UNLV Faculty Center was established in 2018 to provide faculty development in the areas of research, teaching, and career planning at UNLV. The Center also provides social and professional networking and teaching consultations. Campus units, both academic and administrative, work in collaboration to provide the Center’s services.
Mentoring Resources
In collaboration with the campus community, six task forces composed of faculty and staff were established to collect or develop mentoring services and resources. These resources are presently housed on the Faculty Mentoring Resources web page which was created to increase access and visibility of mentoring resources for our campus community.
Networking & Community
In addition to offering professional development programming, the UNLV Faculty Center serves as a space for faculty affinity groups, professional organizations, and chapters of scientific societies to network, meet, and host events. To reserve the faculty lounge or classroom space, send an email to facultycenter@unlv.edu.
Onboarding
Our Office organizes efforts to improve the onboarding experience for new administrative and academic faculty, including onboarding events, departmental onboarding guides, and improved communications and promotions of onboarding activities.
Policy
Our Office either develops or collaborates with administrative units to propose or revise policies that impact academic and administrative faculty. A representative from our Office also serves on the University Policy Committee to review proposed or revised campus policies.
Recruitment
In partnership with the Office of Human Resources, our Office provides workshops, guides, and materials on best practices in faculty searches and hiring to assist academic and administrative units in conducting an effective and efficient search. In addition, search and hire protocols for visiting faculty and part-time instructors have also been developed.
In Spring 2021, our Office partned with Human Resources to launch UNLV's Search Advocate Pilot Program to support the search and hire process for academic and administrative faculty. The advocate program has three priorities: (1) increase the diversity of candidate pools, (2) ensure equitable practices and treatment of all parties participating the search process, and (3) guarantee compliance with university search and hire policies and procedures.
Targeted Initiatives to Support Full-time & Part-time Nontenure-Track Faculty
Annually, our Office coordinates a faculty orientation, professional development workshops, and networking activities for part-time instructors. For lecturers, faculty-in-residence, and research faculty, our Office coordinates onboarding and networking events as well as workshops about university promotion processes. Our Office also maintains resources for developing promotion standards for full-time, nontenure-track faculty.
History of Faculty Success Initiative
The Faculty Success Initiative derived from the 2016 Faculty Excellence Initiative (FEI) launched out of the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. The FEI was created in response to climate survey results that identified several areas of improvement to workplace satisfaction. The FEI strategically designed and implemented programs and projects to improve the organizational climate. The FEI had four primary areas of focus: search and hire practices, tenure and promotion bylaws, work-life balance, and COACHE data analyses and reporting. In 2018, the Faculty Excellence Initiative was institutionalized within the Office of Faculty Affairs to operate more broadly across all facets of the faculty experience. With an expanded mission and goals, the FEI was renamed the Faculty Success Initiative.
Activities
The FEI’s primary activities included:
- Assessment and revision of faculty search and hire procedures and practices
- Assessment and revision of university tenure and/or promotion bylaws and standards
- Integration of more inclusive and diverse language into campus policies
- Data collection to inform decision-making
- Support to faculty affinity networks
- Support to specific initiatives within colleges and departments
- Support to interdisciplinary collaborations
- Faculty advocacy
- Dissemination of best practices
People
The Faculty Excellence Initiative was launched by the following team:
- Ms. Doris Blackwell, Program Officer I, UNLV Faculty Center
- Dr. Joanna Jezierska, Director, Multicultural Program for STEM & Health Sciences, Office of Academic Programs
- Dr. Kimberly Kendricks, Director of Faculty Success
- Dr. Cecilia Maldonado, Associate Vice Provost for Workforce Development & Former Faculty Excellence Resident Fellow, Office of Academic Programs
- Dr. Peg Rees, (Retired) Former Vice Provost of Educational Outreach &Professor of Geoscience
- Dr. Allison Sahl, Faculty Assessment & Evaluation Manager, Office of Faculty Affairs