Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity | August 2023

Welcome back!

Dear Colleagues,

 

I hope you had an enjoyable and restorative summer break. I am always energized by the beginning of the academic year and the new opportunities the start of the fall semester brings. This fall, the Danforth Campus will welcome 86 new faculty, which includes faculty on all tracks and at all ranks. As part of this group, we are welcoming eight new faculty as part of the Race and Ethnicity Cluster Hiring Initiative. It is very exciting to see our Danforth faculty grow! I hope you will reach out to these new members of our community, including those outside of your immediate departments and schools.  

 

I am also pleased to share the Gender Equity and Title IX Compliance Office’s annual report for 2021–22, which is available online. We have also reactivated the Title IX Advisory Committee. You can learn more about that important group here.

 

This month’s newsletter features several faculty opportunities, including our upcoming Mentoring Summit on October 27, the Commit Series that is offered through the new Office of Institutional Equity, and several programs offered through the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD). If you have not had an opportunity to utilize NCFDD’s programs, I highly recommend claiming your free individual membership here.

 

Best wishes for a fruitful fall semester!

 

Kia Caldwell

—Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity

Meet Our Team


Faculty Affairs and Diversity at WashU plays a critical role in ensuring and promoting the success of faculty of all backgrounds, on all tracks and at all career stages. As part of the Office of the Provost, we provide professional and leadership development for tenured/tenure-track faculty and teaching, research, and practice faculty.

You can meet the team and learn more about our programming and initiatives by visiting our website.


2023–24 Faculty Fellows


Caitlyn Collins, Gender Equity Fellow


Seema Dahlheimer, Teaching, Research, and Practice Faculty Fellow



Amy Eyler, Faculty Development Fellow


Jeremy Goldbach, Faculty Development Fellow


Konstantina Kiousis, Faculty Development Fellow


Atia Thurman, Equity and Inclusion Fellow


Team News & Recognition


Seema Dahlheimer has been promoted to Teaching Professor, in the McKelvey School of Engineering 


Amy Eyler has also been recognized as a top social scientist by Research.com


Cecilia Hanan Reyes has been promoted to a Senior Program Manager

Upcoming Events

Mentoring Summit

Knight Center

October 27, 2023

Save the Date


Dr. Melissa McDaniels, the associate executive director of the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER), will give the opening keynote. Participants will complete 5 CIMER modules with the choice for an emphasis in mentoring graduate students and postdocs or mentoring early-career tenure-track faculty




AAHHE Conference

WashU Danforth Campus

March 13–15, 2024

Save the Date


The American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) will hold its next annual conference on the Danforth Campus. Non-AAHHE members are welcome to attend. Registration details coming soon.

The 14-Day Writing Challenge

National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity

October 9 - 22


Join the focused 14-day program that will enable you to experience the skills and habits that lead to explosive writing productivity. It includes group accountability, coaching and access to NCFDD's WriteNow custom software platform.

register here

Washington University is an Institutional Member of National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD), an independent organization that is nationally recognized for its provision of online research productivity, academic mentoring, and career development resources. Through our Institutional Membership, all WashU faculty, graduate students, post-docs, and trainees can enroll in a free Individual Membership. Over 1,000 members of the WashU community have joined NCFDD. We invite you to learn more about NCFDD and enroll in your free membership.

Opportunities
  • NCFDD Discussion Panel: "What I Wished I Would Have Known after Becoming a Full Professor" - Tuesday, August 22 (1 p.m.). Register Here


  • Association for Women Faculty (AWF): Join the AWF the first Friday of every month for happy hour (3:30–5 p.m.) at the Bear Public House in the Knight Center (Danforth Campus).


  • Facilitators for Faculty Learning Circles: The Faculty Affairs and Diversity Team is seeking faculty to co-facilitate new learning circles focused on Creating Mentorship Networks (Fall 2023) and Work/Life Balance (Spring 2024). This opportunity is open to mid-career and senior tenured and teaching, research, and practice faculty. Facilitators will receive professional development funds as compensation. Please email [email protected] by September 5, 2023 for more details.


  • The Berlin Prize Call for Applications: The American Academy in Berlin invites applications for its residential fellowships for the academic year 2024–25. The Academy seeks to enrich transatlantic discussion in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and public policy through the development and communication of projects of the highest merit. Fellowships are typically awarded for an academic semester, but shorter stays of six to eight weeks are also possible. Benefits include round-trip airfare, partial board, a $5,000 monthly stipend, and accommodations. Applications are due September 29, 2023. more information

 

  • Application Open for the Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program: The Distinguished Visiting Scholars Program brings to Washington University individuals from underrepresented backgrounds 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.
University Spotlight

Office of Institutional Equity


The Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) has been established to build infrastructure to support a diverse and inclusive community. As such, it is responsible for upholding WashU’s commitment to the fair and equitable treatment of all employees of the university community through robust educational and employee engagement opportunities, and services designed to bolster policies, processes and practices having an impact on the employee experiences.


Learn more about their upcoming Commit Series. What commitments has WashU made as an institution in pursuit of equity and inclusion? How does that promise impact staff and faculty in the workplace and what responsibility do each of us hold? Explore the language of EDI and the meaning we assign it to create a shared understanding.

Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity
Office of the Provost
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion