Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity | April 2025 | | |
Dear Colleagues,
As we wrap up the academic year, there are several events and opportunities for support and learning in light of our changing higher education landscape. I invite you to join us for a conversation with Andrew Knight, executive director of the Bauer Leaders Academy, on “Getting through Turbulent Times.” The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity is also offering a series of webinars on navigating uncertainty. In addition, WashU’s Mindfulness Science & Practice group is offering drop-in mindfulness gatherings through mid-May.
If you advise and mentor graduate students or postdoctoral scholars, please consider attending our Mentoring Intensive in May. By completing this one-day experience, you can be certified as a Level 1 Mentor through WashU’s CIMER-based mentoring curriculum. Over 100 WashU faculty have completed this program!
Finally, if you are an assistant or associate professor, I hope you’ll apply to participate in our Fourth Annual Writing Retreat this August.
Details about all of these opportunities may be found below.
With best wishes for the final weeks of classes,
Kia Caldwell
—Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity
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Lunch and Learn: Getting through Turbulent Times with Andrew Knight – Register Now!
WashU—and higher education more broadly—is navigating turbulent times. In this session you will learn five common human reactions to organizational turbulence and a few strategies for leading others as we face and implement significant changes. Andrew Knight is the executive director of the Bauer Leaders Academy, senior advisor to the Chancellor for Leadership, and professor of organizational behavior. Light refreshments will be served.
Wednesday, April 9, 2025 (12-1 p.m.), DUC 234 AND on Zoom
Register here
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Mentoring Intensive for Faculty–Register Now!
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m.), Danforth Campus
We invite you to the upcoming Mentoring Intensive through our curriculum based on five essential modules developed by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) and tailored for WashU faculty dedicated to mentoring graduate students and early career faculty at our institution. It offers a unique blend of theory-based exercises and case studies proven to enhance your mentoring impact.
Register here
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Danforth Campus Faculty Writing Retreat–Apply Now!
August 10-12, 2025, The Inns at St. Albans (~45 minutes from Danforth campus)
The Office of the Provost will host the fourth annual writing retreat for Danforth assistant and associate professors. Priority registration will be given to assistant professors and to faculty who did not attend previous writing retreats. Accommodations, meeting spaces, and meals are covered by the Office of the Provost. Attendees need to provide their own transportation.
Learn more and apply here by April 30
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Coming Soon: The 2025-26 Creating Equitable & Inclusive Learning Environments (CEILE) Faculty Pedagogy and Curriculum Enhancement Program!
This program is a year-long opportunity for faculty to develop and implement a plan for inclusive pedagogical practices in their teaching and curriculum design. All full-time faculty members are welcome to apply. Priority selection will be given to faculty members who teach undergraduate courses. Applications will be available in mid-April. If you have questions about this opportunity, please reach out to Lorien Carter, inclusive pedagogy faculty fellow through the Office of the Provost.
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Ruha Benjamin: Who Owns the Future? From Artificial Intelligence to Abundant Imagination
Please join the Office of Public Scholarship for its launch within the Office of the Provost, featuring a William C. Ferguson invited lecture by 2024 MacArthur Fellow Ruha Benjamin, the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University.
Friday, April 4, 2025 (5 p.m. lecture, 6 p.m. book signing), Emerson Auditorium, Knight Hall
Register here
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Cultivating Dynamic Academic Environments: A Blueprint for Collaboration, Innovation and Leadership
Monday, April 7, 2025 (9 a.m.-5 p.m.), Duncker Hall, Hurst Lounge
This full-day event is aimed at generating fresh approaches around our topics of collaboration, innovation and leadership in academic settings. A series of panels, hosted by the Center for the Humanities and the Office of Public Scholarship, will feature visiting speakers as well as WashU faculty members in conversation with audience members about urgent topics concerning the support of innovative and collaborative academic work in the humanities and beyond. Panels are as follows: Panel 1: Leading in the Humanities in Turbulent Times; Panel 2: Cultivating Collaboration and Innovation; Panel 3: Leading and Working Across Disciplines; Panel 4: Reaching the Public: Changing the Narrative on the Humanities and Higher Ed; and Panel 5: Final Roundtable and Reflections.
More information
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Assembly Series—Dark Waters: The Environmental Legal Battle Exposing Corporate Coverup in the name of Public Health
The New York Times called Robert Bilott, “The lawyer who became DuPont’s worst nightmare.” Bilott, a distinguished environmental attorney, shares the unsettling story of his epic legal battle against DuPont and how he exposed corporate coverup and massive chemical contamination of unprecedented scale and scope, impacting virtually every living thing on this planet. Drawing from his book, "Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle Against Dupont," Bilott takes audiences through an unforgettable legal drama about malice, manipulation, and perseverance against failings of environmental regulation.
Monday, April 7, 2025 (5 p.m.), Graham Chapel
Register here
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NCFDD Webinar Series: Navigating Uncertainty in Higher Ed
In this series, NCFDD explores key challenges impacting faculty and administrators, from research funding and leadership strategies to long-term planning in uncertain times. Topics and registration information below. Please note that you need to sign in with your free NCFDD individual membership.
Research Funding Strategies - Register here
Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (2-3 p.m. ET)
Approaches for Academic Leaders – Register here
Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025 (2-3 p.m. ET)
Reflections and Lessons Learned – Register here
Wednesday, April 30, 2025 (2-3 p.m. ET)
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Monthly Community Mindfulness Sessions
Join certified mindfulness teachers from the WashU Mindfulness Science & Practice group for community sessions that include guided mindfulness meditation practice and discussion on practice-related themes. Brief micro practices will be offered that you can use throughout the day in a moment of challenge or stress throughout the semester. Open to all faculty, staff, students, leaders, and community members.
- April 18 (11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.) at Somers Hall 249
- May 9 (11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.) at Somers Hall 249
- May 16 (9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.) Retreat-Style Practice - Location TBD
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2025 Global Health Annual Conference, Global Health at WashU: Focus on Impact
April 30-May 1, 2025
Join WashU global health faculty, students and community partners convene to explore the impact of WashU research on global health at the 2025 Global Health Annual Conference, Global Health at WashU: Focus on Impact.
Learn more and register here
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2025-26 AAHHE Faculty Fellowship Program (FFP): The American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) Faculty Fellowship Program’s (FFP) primary goal is to prepare Latina/o/x faculty for successful careers in academia and beyond by increasing the number of tenured and promoted Latina/o/x faculty. The program is geared towards new faculty who are beyond their first year on the tenure-track. The call for applications is open through April 14, 2025. More information and application information here.
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Federal Grants: This WashU research site has the latest information on federal research.
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Application Open for the Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program: The Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program brings to WashU individuals who have distinguished themselves as leaders and innovators in the academy, business, or in other fields of endeavor. Learn more and apply to the program here.
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AAUP: WashU Faculty invite you to join them to form an official chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). At the organizational meeting, bylaws and offers will be voted on. Interested colleagues can examine the current draft of the proposed bylaws on the AAUP website. The meeting is Thursday, April 10, 2025 (1-2:30 p.m.), Hurst Lounge, Duncker Hall and simultaneously via Zoom (meeting ID: 946 4863 3633; passcode: 130201).
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Free NCFDD Membership and Programming: Claim your free membership to the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD). Learn more about this free membership, available to all WashU faculty, graduate students, postdocs, and trainees. Plus, the NCFDD programming calendar is live and visible upon joining NCFDD.
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Faculty Senate and Provost Office Launch WIDE Speaker Series: Provost Beverly Wendland, Faculty Senate Chair Dennis Barbour, and Vice Provost Vijay Ramani, along with a review committee of faculty from both campuses have launched a faculty-driven speaker series, WashU Ideas, Discourse and Exploration (WIDE), which offers the WashU community the chance to celebrate the value of open dialogue while engaging with a range of insightful scholars to promote personal growth and learning in the context of complex topics. The WIDE committee will continue to review proposals on a rolling basis until program funds are expended, so we encourage faculty with ideas for projects that align with the goals of WIDE to submit a proposal.
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SPOTLIGHT: Office of the Faculty Ombuds, Danforth Campus
The Office of the Faculty Ombuds at WashU is a neutral resource for problem resolution available to faculty members on the Danforth Campus. The office assists with the informal resolution of campus-related conflicts, and advocates for fair treatment and process, following four distinctive principles:
- Confidentiality
- Independence
- Impartiality/Neutrality
- Informality
Professor Peggie R. Smith is available by appointment to meet with any Danforth Campus faculty colleagues who seek a safe place to discuss concerns related to interactions with others at the university, its policies, or its procedures. The Ombuds Office strives to help visitors clarify their concerns, navigate difficult conversations, and identify and consider options, including possible referrals to other offices or resources.
More information
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