Graphic text stating UNT Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Faculty Success Newsletter

September 2024

Message from the Vice Provost for Faculty Success


Greetings Mean Green Colleagues,

 

It's beginning to feel like fall again, and for those new to the North Texas area, it will be cooler soon.

 

We are seeing Salute to Faculty Excellence award submissions roll in as we approach our deadline of Oct. 9. These prestigious distinctions recognize faculty excellence in mentoring, research, leadership, service, teaching, and community engagement. We urge you and your colleagues to apply.

 

I hope you saw the provost’s message announcing UNT's 2024 COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction results. We are now recruiting faculty to work with our Steering Committee on three focus areas: promotion and tenure, tenured faculty experiences, and interdisciplinary work and collaboration. Attend the next Faculty Senate meeting on Oct. 9 to learn more about getting involved.

 

Finally, please check out all the significant initiatives hosted by Faculty Success in this newsletter. From advocating for policy changes to be more inclusive and transparent to developing leaders (welcome Academic Affairs and Leadership Fellows; join us for Crucial Conversations), your Faculty Success team is excited to support your soar! 

 

Talons Up!

Holly Hutchins signature

Holly M. Hutchins, Ph.D. (she/her)

Vice Provost, Faculty Success

Portrait of Holly Hutchins

On the Calendar

Oct. 1

Tuesday Talon TidbitsFor New Faculty

Faculty Success

Oct. 2-3

Crucial Conversations (Fall Session)

Faculty Success

Oct. 4

Fulbright Faculty Workshop

International Affairs

Oct. 7

Faculty Speed Mentoring

Faculty Success

There's still time to register for Faculty Speed Mentoring! Get to know your colleagues and gain valuable insight through a series of short, structured discussions with faculty mentors, each lasting a few minutes. It’s a structured and streamlined way to get advice and guidance from multiple mentors on various aspects of academia, from teaching and research to career advancement and work-life balance.

Register by Sept. 30

Artwork of people at a table having a discussion

Interested in being a mentor for this or other events? Complete a brief survey to let us know your areas of interest.

Corporal David Causey and Chief Ramona Washington holding UNT Police’s new community support dog

Oct. 8

Meet UNTPD's new community service dog, Clover!


Faculty are invited to drop by the Faculty Lounge (Union 249) from 4 to 4:30 p.m. to meet the newest member of the UNT Police Department. Clover is here to help victims feel at ease and to help with UNT community relations. She lives full-time with Cpl. David Causey, who will be on hand if you have questions about Clover or the UNT Police Department.

Oct. 9

Join DSI CLEAR to learn how Packback, the UNT-supported, AI-driven discussion board technology, can help reduce grading time and encourage critical thinking.


Cultivate Confident Writers with Packback Deep Dives

10 to 11 a.m. (Virtual)


Foster Peer Learning with Packback’s AI-guided Discussion Boards

1 to 2 p.m. (Gateway 049)


Packback Community Meet & Greet

3 to 4 p.m. (Union 249)

Faculty Spotlights

Welcome to our 2024 Faculty Leadership Fellows!

The UNT Faculty Leadership Fellows program was founded in 2008 with a mission to develop leaders who are prepared to catalyzing and sustaining change.


Leadership Fellows participate in wide range of activities, including a college-level leadership project, meetings with senior-level university administrators, and various opportunities to build relationships and gain leadership experience.

Leadership Fellows

Portrait of Thomas Brindle

Thomas Brindle

Clinical Associate Professor

Multidisciplinary Innovation

Portrait of Mark Evers

Mark Evers

Lecturer

Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Law

Portrait of Sarah Moore

Sarah Moore

Associate Professor

Social Work

Portrait of Tiffany Norris

Tiffany Norris

Associate Librarian

UNT Libraries

Portrait of Han Wen

Han Wen

Associate Professor

Hospitality, Event and Tourism Management

Portrait of Yong Yang

Yong Yang

Professor

Biomedical Engineering

Academic Affairs Fellows

Portrait of Brian Richardson

Brian Richardson

Professor

Communication Studies

Portrait of Daniella Smith

Daniella Smith

Hazel Harvey Peace Endowed Professor

Information Science

Portrait of Uyen Tran-Parsons

Uyen Tran-Parsons

Principal Lecturer

Counseling and Higher Education

Angie Cartwright posing with Mean Green football helmet at the Capitol

Dr. Angie Cartwright, professor and assistant vice provost for faculty success, recently visited Washington, D.C., in her role as a Governing Council member of the American Counseling Association.

Arunima Datta headshot

Dr. Arunima Datta, assistant professor of history, spoke with UNT News about the permanent display she curated in collaboration with the Museum of the Home in London. Titled “A Townhouse in 1878,” the exhibition reflects the influence of an ayah on a typical late 19th century British household.

2024 Faculty Success Mentoring Grant recipients


The Faculty Success Mentoring Grant Program provides financial support for full-time faculty across all ranks, with a goal of supporting opportunities for faculty to create professional networks within and beyond UNT.

Individual Mentoring Grant Award Recipients

  • Nicholas Finzer, Jazz Studies — Legacy: A Centennial Celebration of JJ Johnson’s Brass Orchestra Works 
  • Ravi Sankar Haridas, Mechanical Engineering — Enabling additive manufacturing capability to UNT’s NASA BIG Idea Challenge 2023 winning SolidStir technology 
  • Hanchen Jiang, Economics — From Insight to Impact: Leveraging Mentorship to Advance Housing Affordability Studies 
  • Benedict Jikong, Rehabilitation and Health Services — Mentorship for HDA Graduate Program Coordination 
  • Karine Narahara, Anthropology — Junior Faculty Mentorship and Anthropology of Latin America 
  • Raquel Samayoa, Instrumental Studies/Brass — Best Practices in Trumpet Teaching and Performing 
  • Xi Yang, Economics — Welfare Programs and Its Impacts on Household Financial Well-being

Team Mentoring Grant Recipients

Jakob Burnham, History — Mentoring the Medical Humanities at UNT

  • Team Members: Rachel Moran (History), Lisa Henry (Anthropology), Anna Hinton (English)

Pamela Scott-Bracey, Multidisciplinary Innovation — Enhancing Project-Based Learning Experiences at UNT and Beyond through Faculty Mentorship 

  • Team Members: LeeAnn Derdeyn and Les Stanaland (Multidisciplinary Innovation)

Rebecca Geoffroy-Schwinden, Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology — Vertically Integrated Research Mentorship in Musicology

  • Team Members: Tamar Sella, Beth Snyder, Barbara Dietlinger, Brian Wright, Vivek Virani (Music History, Theory and Ethnomusicology)
Portrait of Glen Biglaiser

Dr. Glen Biglaiser, professor of political science, is UNT's new faculty associate for Fulbright programs!


The faculty associate for Fulbright programs is a position created by International Affairs, in cooperation with Faculty Success and the Toulouse Graduate School, to promote Fulbright opportunities to UNT faculty and students alongside UNT's Fulbright program advisor and scholar liaison.

Faculty Senate News

Deadlines approaching for faculty awards sponsored by the Faculty Senate


Nominations for the Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11.


Nominations for the 2024-2025 President’s Council Service Award, President’s Council Teaching Award, and the J.H. Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award are due by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11.


The selection criteria, requirements, and application forms for all of these awards will be sent in an email to faculty and administrators and may also be found on the awards page of the Faculty Senate website.

McConnell Tower surrounded by fall foliage

Academic Policy Updates

UNT Policy 06.010, Development Leave, and UNT Policy 06.006, Librarian Faculty Reappointment and Promotion, have been revised. The key updates are listed below.

To learn more about the policies that govern faculty, please view the Chapter 6 (Academic Affairs) policies in our UNT Policy Manual. Have questions about a policy or suggestions for a revision? Don't hesitate to get in touch with Assistant Vice Provost Angie Cartwright at Angie.Cartwright@unt.edu.

McConnell Tower

Development Leave

  • The policy now includes a definition of faculty and clarifies that professional faculty members are eligible for development leave.
  • Language has been added to recognize creative activities, prestigious fellowships/awards, and support for applications mentioned in the policy.
  • Teaching has been added as Class IV.
  • Teaching awards require a defined project or outcome related to teaching, curriculum development, or instructional activities.
  • Faculty must demonstrate sustained effectiveness to be eligible for development leave.

Clarification was provided regarding benefits, insurance premiums, and the post-leave requirement to remain at UNT, without financial penalty, for a specified time. All development leave requests must be approved by the Board of Regents, as required by Tex. Educ. Code §51.103. A procedures document supplements the policy, detailing the process for submitting development leave requests.

Librarian Faculty Reappointment and Promotion

  • This policy underwent a standard 6-year review, resulting in several revisions to ensure alignment with tenure processes in other policies.
  • Key updates include the addition of stop-the-clock provisions, the requirement that promotion applications occur after five years in rank, and the introduction of a terminal contract for the next academic year in cases of negative decisions.

Clarifying language was incorporated into the sections on Guidelines for Negative Decisions and Eligibility/Criteria for Promotion of Assistant Librarians. Additionally, definitions for terms such as librarianship, stop-the-clock, and terminal contract were added, along with cross-references to other policies, formatting improvements, and minor editorial changes throughout the document.

Willis Library on a sunny day

Stay Connected

We want to hear from you!


If you have suggestions or items you'd like us to feature in our newsletter, please email faculty.success@unt.edu by the 25th of each month. You also can find us on X: @UNTFacSuccess.


Faculty Success supports UNT faculty in developing their professional community, enriching their capabilities and advancing their careers.

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CONTACT US

Hurley 121 | 940-565-3987

facultysuccess.unt.edu