By Rick Vacek | October 28, 2024
The University of Texas at Dallas and The University of Texas System are taking extra steps to show how much they value the contributions of nontenure-system (NTS) faculty.
At UT Dallas, the Faculty Success Program has increased its support of NTS faculty, who focus on teaching and service:
UT System’s commitment to NTS faculty was demonstrated in June at the first in-person meeting of the Faculty Success Community of Practice, a group of administrators that normally meets online to share ideas. The meeting’s title: Supporting Instructional Faculty Throughout the Career Cycle.
It drew members from nine UT System institutions to Austin, Texas, including three UT Dallas representatives: Dr. Stephen Spiro, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs; Dr. Sean Cotter, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs; and Dr. Amandeep Sra, Professor of Instruction in chemistry and biochemistry and Chair of the Academic Senate’s Committee on Effective Teaching.
“There were so many rich discussions that came out of that workshop,” Sra said.
Cotter said two items on the wish lists of other participants were to provide mentoring for NTS faculty and to have an administrator whose responsibilities include NTS faculty promotions.
UT Dallas checks both boxes. The administrator is Cotter, who assumed the role late last year at the same time Dr. Meghna Sabharwal became Associate Provost for Faculty Success.
Each semester, Cotter conducts a workshop, Promotion Strategies for Nontenure-System Faculty. He begins by reading this passage from a UT Dallas policy, UTDPP1062, which stipulates that NTS faculty “should be treated as true colleagues” of tenure-system faculty.
“I always want to point out to people that that’s written down as an aspiration of the University,” Cotter said.
The first Faculty Success Workshop of the fall semester, Things I Wish I Knew When I Started as a Faculty Member, was exclusively for NTS faculty. It was led by Sra, Dr. Carie S. Tucker King of the Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology, and Dr. Carol Cirulli Lanham, Associate Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL).
“We talked about the role of the nontenure-system faculty and supporting them and how it’s so important to find a mentor who can guide you through this process,” Sra said.
Tucker King, Clinical Professor and Director of Rhetoric for the Bass School, sees so much value in the mentoring process, she created a similar program for the 28 teaching assistants she oversees, using third- or fourth-year doctoral students as mentors.
“The best thing about the mentor program is that it integrates faculty into the network,” she said. “We don’t want them on the outside feeling like they’re not connected. That’s just not what our university is about.
“It’s about taking care of our neighbors – just saying, ‘Hello’ and ‘How are you doing?’ They seem to adapt better if they feel as if they have a trusted friend.”
Zhen Yi Wu, a visiting assistant professor teaching two Taiwan-related courses for the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences, desperately needed to see some friendly faces when she arrived at UT Dallas for the fall 2024 semester.
She had never been outside Taiwan.
But just one month into her experience in Texas, the Faculty Success Program, the CTL and her fellow faculty members made her feel much more at home.
“So many faculty helped me,” she said. “I highly recommend the workshops to anyone who hasn’t attended yet — you won’t be able to stop coming back after your first one!”
Anna Ladipo was in the corporate world for two decades before transitioning this fall to Associate Professor of Practice in Operations Management for the Naveen Jindal School of Management (JSOM). Managing a classroom has created a totally new set of challenges, but the mentoring program made a huge difference immediately.
“I felt like I belonged. I felt like I was supposed to be here,” she said. “Everyone’s so supportive. I have the feeling that everyone is here for you to succeed, and I think that’s phenomenal.”
Another JSOM newcomer, Dr. Ashim Bose, spent 35 years in the tech industry before switching to academics. As a professor of practice in information systems, he’s grateful for the information he has received from the workshops.
“I like the CTL offerings. They are a quick way to get some focused expertise on relevant topics,” he said. “Also, the people associated with these are very helpful and responsive.”
Sabharwal plans to continue that responsiveness by conducting a survey of NTS faculty. Her goals are to ensure that they find value in the orientation, mentoring and instructional programs; to continuously improve those initiatives; and to align them with the University’s appreciation for its NTS faculty.
“The expertise that our nontenure-system faculty bring is priceless,” she said.