Office of the Provost

Dear Colleagues,

If you have been away for the summer: welcome back! I hope the new semester finds you well and I’m excited to see and talk with you in the months ahead. If you are just joining us this fall for the first time, welcome to UConn Nation!

As you know, our students finished moving into their residence halls on the Storrs and Stamford campuses this past weekend, with the usual buzz of excitement, nervous anticipation, and scenes of emotional partings between families and their students, especially those coming to our campuses as UConn students for the first time. Even when waiting in lines to park and hauling boxes up flights of stairs on a hot day, it’s heartening to see how people remained positive and upbeat through it all. It’s clear our students are excited to be here, see each other, and start their classes.

Similarly, even as move-in was happening this past Friday, the Provost’s Office was at the Innovation Partnership Building, hosting New Faculty Orientation and New Academic Leader Orientation (for new department heads, assistant and associate deans, and deans). It was exciting to meet new colleagues, and to see current colleagues in a fresh light as they take on different roles and responsibilities at the university.

While never losing sight of all that’s positive, I do also want to acknowledge that this semester may pose unique challenges for our faculty, staff, and students owing to both global and national events. It is always the case that leadership of our faculty and staff is needed across our campuses to build community and demonstrate our shared values. That need becomes even greater during challenging times like these.

It is our responsibility to create and sustain an open and inclusive environment, both broadly and in every individual classroom. Our students bring many diverse perspectives and opinions to class discussions and throughout their course work, just as they do in their campus activities and social circles. As dedicated teachers, we need to be conscious and mindful in ensuring that no student in our class is made to feel marginalized, alienated, or excluded because of any aspect of their identity, including opinions they may hold.

We have faced many challenges over the past year and at times heard from students who felt as though they were being targeted with hostility in the classroom because of their identity or personal views. Some decided to just remain silent during discussions for fear of being ostracized or verbally attacked if they said what they thought. That’s the last thing we want in a classroom. Though the instructor or other students in the classroom may disagree with views shared during class, those moments call for dialogue and for empathy, which I know our instructors have in abundance.

Instructors may also feel compelled to speak about or discuss current events with their students both in and out of the classroom, and it is a principle of academic freedom that instructors have a wide latitude to determine what may be relevant for their course. That said, we have an obligation to our students to cover everything presented in the syllabus to make sure we meet the expectations of their curriculum. I know our instructors bring much care and thoughtfulness to their teaching, and I’ll ask them to give extra consideration to the classroom environment and the goals of their classes this year.

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) works diligently to provide resources and training for instructors to lead what can be difficult classroom discussions. Instructors should reach out to CETL if they find themselves struggling with any dimension of teaching, but especially if the intensity of classroom discussion is becoming a challenge to channel productively. I have the highest respect for the expertise of our CETL colleagues, and they are ready and able to help all instructors create positive classroom environments. Toward that end, I would encourage all of us to take advantage of the wide array of teaching workshops and seminars that CETL offers every week.

As professional staff, we are also often faced with navigating challenging discussions with students in the various ways we support and interact with them. Please know how much I value the encouragement, guidance, and supportive environments our staff provide for our students. I know there were times over the last year that staff were subjected to disrespectful language or behaviors, which is unacceptable in the simplest of terms, especially when they work so hard to keep our university running in so many ways.

Knowing all of this, there are resources available both for faculty and staff who are encountering these and other issues and I wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of them:

• Human Resources
• Office for Diversity and Inclusion
• Office of Institutional Equity
• Ombuds Office
• Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
• Student Health and Wellness
• Cultural Centers & Programs
• UConn InForm
• UConn Policies

We will continue to evaluate and improve the resources the university provides to support the work of our faculty and staff.

When facing especially trying moments like this, we are best served by working to turn challenges into opportunities. We can rely on our experience, the goodwill of our students, the support of our colleagues, and our institutional resources to find ways to organize and facilitate discussion, create a deeper understanding of issues and problems, and challenge our own thinking and that of our students.  As always, we aim to further the intellectual and personal growth of our students and help our university community emerge better and stronger than it was.

Once again, welcome back and best wishes for a productive semester.

Sincerely,
Anne

Anne D’Alleva, PhD
Provost and Executive Vice President
University of Connecticut
Office of the Provost
352 Mansfield Road, U-1086
Storrs CT 06269-1086
Tel. 860-486-4037

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