Welcome from the Associate Provost for Faculty

Welcome to the ranks of The University of Iowa faculty--and to this "welcome" edition of our e-newsletter for new faculty. Some of you are brand new to the professorate, some new to Iowa, and others of you are old hands at both. We hope that this newsletter will be helpful to you all. Our aim is to offer information that will help you with planning your career, understanding the University, and getting to know the wider community. We welcome your comments and suggestions, and we have an e-mail address for just that purpose: newfaculty@uiowa.edu.  All inquiries are confidential and we will respond to every question you send by offering information or directing you to a resource that can help you.  Please also feel free to send us your suggestions for programs that you believe would be beneficial to new faculty.  Our goal is to support you in meeting your goals.

Susan R. Johnson, M.D., M.S.

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People You Want to Know

We are pleased to introduce you to Wallace D. Loh, PhD, JD, the newly appointed Executive Vice President and Provost and Professor of Law.  Provost Loh began his position August 1, 2008, so is himself a “new faculty member” at The University of Iowa!  From 1999 to 2008 Loh served as dean of the college of arts and sciences, professor of public service, and professor of psychology at Seattle University. Previously, he was director of policy for Washington governor Gary Locke. He also was vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of law at the University of Colorado, Boulder, from 1995-97. From 1990-95, he served as dean of the University of Washington Law School.

Breakfast with the Provost, November 12, 2008, 8:30-9:30 a.m., 2520 UCC.  New faculty members are invited to attend a breakfast and enjoy the opportunity to meet with Provost Loh in an informal environment.  RSVPs are required for this event by Monday, November 3rd.  You may RSVP on-line or by calling or e-mailing Sue Moore, 335-0256.

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Campus Units You Want to Know

In each issue, campus resources will be featured, including how they can support new faculty members’ success on campus and in the community. Featured in this issue are campus resources highlighted in the Office of the Provost guide “Tips for Getting Off to a Good Start at The University of Iowa." 

To jumpstart your teaching:

• The UI Center for Teaching
• Information Technology Services (ITS) Instructional Services
• Office of Consultation and Research in Medical Education
• UI Teaching Resources

To jumpstart your research:

• Office of the Vice-President for Research
• HR-Principal Investigator and Research Investigator Human Resources Management
• Division of Sponsored Programs
• UI Research Resources (Faculty Handbook)

To jumpstart settling in to a new community:

• UI Family Services
• Iowa City/Coralville Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Office of International Students and Scholars
• UI Recreational Opportunities (Faculty Handbook)

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Featured UI Policy

Highlighting specific University policies of potential interest to new faculty.  For a general overview of both University and college-specific policies, please see the links on the sidebar at the top left of the newsletter.  For additional information, please see your collegiate representative or email your question to the Provost Office (newfaculty@uiowa.edu) for assistance in locating the appropriate resource. 

Faculty Promotion and Tenure

In Heeding New Voices Project:  Academic Careers for a New Generation, Rice, Sorcinelli & Austin (2000) share findings from more than a decade of research with early career faculty.  According to their findings, faculty members early in their career report as their top concerns: 

1. Lack of comprehensible tenure system,
2. Lack of community,
3. Lack of an integrated life.

The Office of the Provost is committed to creating a productive environment in which early career faculty can thrive and decreasing these stressors in the lives of new faculty at Iowa.  While your department chair and Dean’s office are the best resources to support you in preparing for the promotion process, new faculty are invited to meet directly with Susan Johnson, Associate Provost for Faculty, to review the University’s Promotion and Tenure policies and discuss any questions you might have.

UI Promotion and Tenure Guidelines Workshop:  Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 3-4:30 p.m., Executive Boardroom, UCC.  Please RSVP for this workshop by Friday, October 10, 2008.  RSVP on-line or by calling or e-mailing Sue Moore, 335-0256.

For specific policy guidance, the Promotion and Tenure policies are posted on the Office of the Provost website:

• Tenure-track Faculty:  Procedures for Tenure and Promotion Decision Making at The University of Iowa
• Clinical-track Faculty:  Procedures for Clinical-track Promotion Decision Making at The University of Iowa

For more information about this and other faculty-related policies, please refer to the on-line UI Faculty Handbook.

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New Faculty FAQs

Featuring frequently asked questions by new faculty about the University and the local community. All faculty are encouraged to submit a question. No question is too mundane, and none too challenging. If we don’t know the answer, we will find someone who does: newfaculty@uiowa.edu

Question:  Will there be any social gatherings just for new faculty?

Response:  In addition to several workshops of interest to new faculty, the following three events will provide the opportunity for socializing and networking with other faculty members new to campus:

• New Faculty of Color Reception, September 23, 2008, 4:00-6:00 p.m., Old Capitol Rotunda – Senate Chambers. 
• Breakfast with the Provost, November 12, 2008, 8:30-9:30 a.m. [RSVP by 11/3/08]
• New Faculty Reception, Monday, December 8, 2008, 4:30-6:00 p.m. [RSVP by 11/21/08] 

To register for these or other events sponsored by the Provost Office:

• Register online, or
• Contact Sue Moore, Office of the Provost, 335-0256; susan-moore@uiowa.edu

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Upcoming Campus-Wide Events Promoting Faculty Success

Numerous offices hold events and workshops that may be of particular interest to new faculty and/or early career faculty.  The following events are sponsored by the Office of the Provost.  For a calendar of campus-wide events, please see NewFaculty@IOWA Workshops and Events.  Several colleges and units on campus also offer college-specific programs; contact the Dean’s office in your respective college for more information.

For more information, please contact: Sue Moore, Office of the Provost, 225-0256 or susan-moore@uiowa.edu

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Academic Career Development Resources

Featuring national resources that support faculty development in teaching, research, and service. A different resource will be highlighted in each newsletter.

Start the semester off right by signing up with one of the many on-line communities designed to support early career faculty success:

• Academic Ladder, The.  Getting Help with the Climb.
• BlackAcademic.com. Support for Under-Represented Faculty Making The Transition From Graduate Student to Professor.
• Successful Academic.  Professional resources for finishing your dissertation, landing a faculty position and getting tenure.
• Tomorrow’s Professor℠ Mailing List. Desktop Faculty Development, One Hundred Times a Year.

“Top Ten Things New Faculty Want to Hear From Colleagues”

“As an antidote to the triple threat of evaluation, isolation, and overwork,” Mary Deane Sorcinelli developed a list of the “Top Ten Things New Faculty Want to Hear From Colleagues.” The list is based on her research and also years of interactions with new and early career faculty members, their mentors and chairs.  The items are shared in list form below; for more elaboration, see The National Teaching & Learning Forum 13(3), March 2004.

Getting Started

1. Remember:  you are great.
2. You don’t have to be superman or woman tomorrow.
3. Figure out what matters.

Tenure Truisms

4. Decide what doesn’t matter.
5. Teaching matters.
6. Make a plan.

Collegiality and Community

7. Think “mentors,” plural.
8. Invite community.

The Balancing Act

9. Don’t work on 15 things equally all at once.
10. Have a life.

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Community Resources

Featuring cultural and recreational resources in Iowa City and surrounding communities to assist new faculty in settling in to the community and maintaining balance in their lives. Previous issues have explored local trails system, Live From Prairie Lights, and Iowa City/Coralville Bus Transportation. 

The Iowa City Farmers Market:  Sponsored by the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Department, the Iowa City Farmers Market is an open air market which features seasonal produce, locally grown meats and poultry, and arts and crafts from around the region.  You can find the largest of the area’s farmers markets on Wednesday, 5:30-7:30 p.m. and Saturdays, 7:30-11:30 a.m. in the Chauncey Swan parking ramp located next to the College Street bridge between Washington and College Streets in Iowa City.  The Iowa City Farmers Market is held May 3rd through October 29th.  Visit the City of Iowa City website for more information, including a listing of “What’s in season at the Farmers Market?”

The Sycamore Mall Farmers Market is held on Tuesday evenings, 3-6:30 p.m., August 26th thru October 28th.  It is a smaller open air market held in the parking lot of the Sycamore Mall, 1600 Sycamore, Iowa City, but also offers the opportunity to enjoy locally grown produce, baked goods, and meats.

And if THAT wasn’t enough to encourage you to get out and enjoy what the community has to offer, take your dog (or borrow one) to the Thornberry Off-leash Dog Park .  The park, located in Peninsula Park at the west end of Foster Road (off of Dubuque Street), was opened in 2006 as a result of a community-wide effort led by the Johnson County Dog park Action Committee.  All dogs using the Thornberry Off-Leash Dog Park (TOP) must wear an annual permit tag on their collar. The permit is $25/year with a $5 discount for spay/neuter and an additional $5 discount for microchip. There is a low-income reduced fee available for qualifying individuals. The exception to the annual permit is a daily pass available for $5. For more information about the Dog Park or how to apply for a permit, see the Johnson County Dog Park Action Committee website.

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is an eight-week program offered several times throughout the year by the UI Behavioral Health department at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.  The UI’s MBSR is modeled on the program founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.  The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction website offers extensive information about the program, including reference to the research that indicates that practitioners of MBSR “learn to be active participants in their healthcare and in their lives, becoming better able to respond skillfully to stress, chronic pain and illness, anxiety, fear, anger and depression.”

The MBSR program is open to the community, but UI employees may be eligible for tuition support through the UI Wellness liveWELL Program. For example, faculty who complete the on-line Health Risk Assessment (HRA) form on the liveWELL site and answer “yes” to the question, ““Do you want to meet with a Health Coach?”, may be eligible to get 75% of the $400 MBSR fee paid by UI Wellness through the liveWELL program and be reimbursed via flex spending for the remaining fee.  For more information, visit the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction website, call 319-384-5089 or send an e-mail to mindfulness@uiowa.edu.

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