Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – June 2023

The Storrs campus is certainly quieter in summer than term-time, but there are still many things happening here, as there are at all our campuses.

The first thing that’s happening is – nature! The Storrs campus looks beautiful, with colorful flowers, lush green lawns, and the extraordinary trees of our campus arboretum in full leaf. Colleagues have shared photos of songbirds and raptors, a doe and fawn on the lawn near Whetten, and, of course, picturesque cows on Horsebarn Hill. At this time of year I especially appreciate everything our colleagues in Buildings and Grounds do to make our campuses attractive and welcoming.

The natural beauty of the campus serves as a backdrop for many special events and gatherings – summer classes, orientation sessions, camps, conferences, and more. The number of events has rebounded somewhat this summer but has still not reached pre-Covid levels. In the last newsletter I asked for suggestions for summer programming, and many thanks to all those who forwarded ideas. We want each of our campuses to be a vibrant place of learning, researching, and gathering throughout the year.

In mid-June I attended the opening of The Husky Robotics Invitational, a high school robotics competition sponsored by Engineering’s department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the UConn FIRST Club, and the Armored Artemises, a high-school robotics team based in Glastonbury. Teams came from as far away as Pennsylvania to compete and the level of energy and enthusiasm in McHugh Hall was fantastic. Many faculty, staff, and students contributed to making this event a success, and it was a terrific opportunity to support young engineers and showcase our School of Engineering.

The summer is a busy time not only for its own events, but for the preparation we do for the coming year. I’m especially grateful for the university staff who work throughout the summer to ready our facilities and programs to welcome students in August.

Just as I finished writing this, we’ve all learned of a new challenge for which we must prepare: the two decisions by the Supreme Court striking down affirmative action programs in college admissions. There is much to process in these decisions, but UConn’s commitment to the diversity in community that is essential to our work is unwavering. I encourage you to read and share the message shared by President Maric yesterday following these decisions.

All best wishes,

Anne

Synchrony JEDI Research Faculty Fellow

The Office for Diversity and Inclusion is seeking a Faculty Fellow for the upcoming year to be a part of the Synchrony Equity-Focused Student Success Initiative designed to increase rates of student success for students of color, low-income, and other student populations traditionally minoritized in higher education. One area of focus within this initiative is to enhance faculty and student research to support inclusive student experiences at UConn.

Toward this goal, UConn will fund and centralize a new Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (JEDI) Research focus for fellows and minoritized undergraduate students: This initiative will allow the faculty fellow and students to engage in research that works with minoritized students to understand what programs are working and which ones need to be developed to meet the needs of these students. The inaugural Synchrony JEDI Faculty Fellow will be located at the UConn Hartford campus but work with students from the Stamford and Waterbury campuses as well.

Learn More.

Academic Impressions

As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that each member of our university community, including UConn and UConn Health, as information and guidance to feel supported and to thrive, we are pleased to share that we are expanding our commitment to provide high-quality professional development resources for our faculty and staff through a new institutional-wide membership with Academic Impressions.

Information on gaining access, UConn Picks, and more is available on UConn’s Academic Impressions website.

South Campus Infrastructure Construction Starting

The start of the South Campus Infrastructure Project is planned to start on July 7, 2023.

The intent of this project is to provide infrastructure improvements in the South Campus district to support the construction and sustainable operation of the South Campus Residence Hall. The overall scope of this project will provide renewable infrastructure to the new South Campus Residence Hall and includes new utilities including steam, electric, hot and chilled water, communications, sanitary, stormwater, and domestic water for the South Campus Residence Hall, and expansion of the South Campus Chiller Plant to accommodate a new geothermal heating and cooling system and to meet the needs of the Residence Hall.

To accommodate this work the following road closures are necessary. Starting July 12th, the following road impacts will begin and continue through the middle of August.

Mansfield Road will be CLOSED from Coventry Road to Whitney Road
Gilbert Road will be CLOSED from Mansfield to Whitney Road Extension
Whitney Road Extension will be converted to two-way traffic to facilitate traffic to the detoured portions of Mansfield Road
Please follow all detours accordingly

As always also please reference the Construction Activity Map for campus wide construction impacts.

Fall Opening

Mid-June marks the end of the school year for many of our local schools, the peak of new student orientation, and the pivotal moment for planning the upcoming academic year. This past spring, a cross-divisional group of professionals gathered to plan the opening of the fall 2023 semester at the Storrs campus. The principal goals included creating a sense of belonging and an atmosphere of welcome for our new and returning students. To achieve this, the University will come together to contribute to what we are referring to as Fall Opening at the Storrs campus.

Ship to Home Guidelines from Purchasing

In March 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the University issued guidance on shipping various goods to employee residences in the State of Connecticut. While the pandemic is over, the University is experiencing an increase in hybrid and fully remote working employees and faces additional challenges regarding the most efficient ways to procure goods for these employees. This announcement outlines procedures for purchasing and distributing these goods in various scenarios.

UConn Stamford Launches Eatery Meal Plan

UConn Stamford has launched the Local Eatery Meal Plan for the Fall 2023 semester. This new program will allow UConn students to purchase blocks of meals for use at off-campus, independent restaurants surrounding the Stamford campus. The participating restaurants will provide healthy, well-balanced options for UConn students taking part in the program. Each meal will consist of a main dish, a side, and a beverage and can be redeemed during the restaurant’s normal hours of operation. Unused meals will carry over from semester to semester and will remain active until the student graduates, separates from the University, or the cost per meal increases. The meal blocks are now available for purchase for the Fall 2023 semester through July 15^th, 2023.

2022-2023 Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors

Three exceptional scholars at the University of Connecticut have been awarded the highest honor the university bestows on its faculty, the Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor.

Each year, the Office of the Provost seeks nominations from across UConn for the newest cohort of Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors. Candidates must excel in all three areas of research, teaching, and public engagement. A committee of faculty is charged by the Provost’s Office to review and select each year’s honorees from among a competitive pool of nominees.

Honorees retain the title of Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor throughout their career at UConn and receive a $2,500 one-year stipend to be used by each recipient to further their professional activities. The number of available professorships each year is determined by the University by-laws. The Board of Trustees approved the latest cohort of honorees at its June 28 meeting.

The recipients for 2022-23 are as follows, with more detailed biographical information below.

Douglas J. Casa, Professor, Department of Kinesiology; Director, Athletic Training Education; Chief Executive Officer, Korey Stringer Institute; Research Associate, Human Performance Laboratory
Lewis Gordon, Professor and Head, Department of Philosophy
Bandana Purkayastha, Professor of Sociology and Asian and Asian American Studies; Associate Dean for Social Sciences, Regional Campuses, and Community Engagement

“It’s a pleasure to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of Professors Casa, Gordon, and Purkayastha through their appointment as Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors. They are not only outstanding scholars but also dedicated teachers who have mentored and inspired our students. Each of them is also a catalyst for change beyond the university, using their expertise to address societal and health challenges,” said UConn Provost Anne D’Alleva.

Douglas J. Casa

Douglas Casa has demonstrated a level of scholarly productivity that has led to an international reputation as one of the world’s leading experts in exertional heat stroke, hydration, thermal physiology, sport performance monitoring, maximizing performance in the heat, sport safety, and public policy regarding the prevention of sudden death during physical activity for the athlete, warfighter, and laborer. The work of Casa has not only added to our fundamental scientific understanding in these areas but has impacted policy and quality-of-care changes globally to establish widely used guidelines and practices that have not only improved performance and made physical activity safer but have directly saved thousands of lives. As a scholar, there are four main areas in which Casa has demonstrated, and exceeded in many cases, the university standards of scholarly excellence: 1) innovation and impact; 2) collaborations; 3) funding success; and 4) publication and public recognition. As an example, Casa has been a PI on 18 Department of Defense-funded grants in the past 6 years. UConn’s Korey Stringer Institute (KSI) was established by Casa at the specific request of Kelci Stringer, whose husband Korey Stringer died a tragic and preventable death from exertional heat stroke during a football practice in 2001 with the Minnesota Vikings. The NFL, Gatorade, and UConn joined KSI as the founding partners when the Institute’s doors opened in 2010. The mission of KSI is to provide research, education, advocacy, and consultation to maximize performance, optimize safety, and prevent sudden death for the athlete, warfighter, and laborer. Casa is the CEO of KSI and, with the assistance of an incredible team, has grown the organization to about 80 staff (25 paid and 55 volunteers), Casa has approximately 400 refereed publications and chapters in edited books, seven books, and over 600 presentations (national and international). The innovative and impactful nature of the organization that Casa has created is unarguable and in many diverse ways, it has had a broad-reaching positive ripple effect of scientific, service, and educational influence.

Casa has been affiliated with the Department of Kinesiology and its Athletic Training Education program for over 20 years. He has provided mentorship for their master’s and doctoral students as well as graduate-level exercise science students. In both his individual teaching and role in educational leadership and administration, he has improved teaching at University of Connecticut in multiple ways. Casa has individually taught 24 courses in exercise science and athletic training. For the athletic training program alone, Casa developed 14 new classes and drove the change in its curriculum that resulted in the first-ever accreditation of the athletic training education program at UConn, a program that continues to thrive 20 years later. His continued success as a teacher is demonstrated by the quality of his SET feedback each semester and the uniqueness of the course offerings at UConn thanks to his expertise and creativity in teaching.

Lewis Gordon

Lewis Gordon is one of the most important and highly regarded intellectuals in the world writing on anti-racism and Africana philosophy. He is internationally recognized as the leading contributor to the fields of Black existentialism, Africana Existential Phenomenology, Fanon studies, Teleological Studies of Disciplinarity (a field he invented), Decolonialism, and Afro-Jewish Studies. His original theories have generated widely discussed concepts such as “bad faith embodiment,” “epistemic closure,” “disciplinary decadence,” and “shifting the geography of reason,” among many others.

Gordon is the author of 12 books, editor and co-editor of 6 anthologies, and the author of over 100 articles in academic journals, 79 book chapters, and over 39 introductions, forewords, and afterwords. His work has been translated into over two dozen languages. His seminal first book, “Bad Faith and Anti-Black Racism” is widely regarded as a classic in the study of existential philosophy and racism, while his recent “Fear of Black Consciousness” has been hailed by Judith Butler as expanding our understanding of “how race consciousness is made and lived.” The latter has received coverage and press in dozens of newspapers and radio media across the globe, including in Publishers Weekly. Considered together, Gordon’s works constitute a significant and original vision of the human condition and consciousness.

As a teacher, Gordon is a recognized innovator and leader—internationally and at UConn—in the movement to make philosophy and the humanities a more inclusive subject. Gordon’s courses integrate sources from ancient through contemporary Africa, Latin America, and Native America. This has attracted a diverse group of African and Latin American students to philosophy—especially at UConn. Thus, for example, at the undergraduate level, his introductory course, Phil 1106, started with 35 students in his first semester teaching it in 2014; it has since grown into a highly sought-over 370-student lecture course. Moreover, Gordon has designed a number of new courses for the philosophy department’s curriculum, including seminars on Africana Philosophy, Global Southern Phenomenologies, Global Existentialism, Race in the Formation of Human Science, Phenomenology, Philosophy of Psychoanalysis, and Philosophy of Social Science.

Beyond his extensive service to the University, Gordon is on the editorial board of many journals, book series, and a news outlet (one of which won the 2021 Izzy Award for Independent Media). His work as an institution-builder includes founding Radical Philosophy Review, for which he was the first executive editor and for which he edited 6 volumes. The 26th volume of that journal is now at-press. He co-founded the Caribbean Philosophical Association in 2003, for which he was the first president. He founded Temple University’s Center for Afro-Jewish Studies, and its Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought; and at Brown University, he founded the Department of Africana Studies, for which he was the first chairperson. He serves as an evaluator for the MacArthur, Ford, Newcombe, South African Research Council, and ACLS fellowships.

Bandana Purkayastha

Purkayastha’s research focuses on the structures of inequalities and social transformation, with specific focus on migrants and migration, gender and intersectionality from a global perspective, and critical human rights. A prolific scholar, with a current tally of 15 books, 36 peer reviewed articles, 35 chapters, and many other publications that reach across the world. Eagerness to engage with her ideas are evident through her long list of invited talks in the US and across the world, as well as the invitations to share her expertise for policy purposes by WHO (on migrant women and health) and diverse United Nations (UN) offices (including on violence against women and forced migration). A brilliant sociologist, she has been at the forefront of challenging global conceptual and methodological hierarchies, including between the Global North and South, that act as barriers to robust and meaningful social science research.

Significant disciplinary accolades as well as international recognition of her expertise are testimonies to her national and global scholarly prominence. In 2019, she was awarded the highest honor from the American Sociological Association [ASA], the Jessie Bernard Award, which is given “in recognition of scholarly work, inclusive of research teaching, mentoring and service, that has enlarged the horizons of sociology to encompass fully the role of women in society.” She continues to publish on racism and gendering structures that affect migrants. Her recent work on trafficking and other victims of forced migration, and her theoretical perspective on voluntary and forced migration, was featured by UN-IOM in 2022.

Purkayastha’s teaching record reflects her commitment to international, interdisciplinary, teaching and mentoring. Her commitment is to engage students in an intellectual feast while making sure they are well supported to grow as people who are mindful of equity and justice, and the inherent humanity of others. During her time at UConn she has developed and taught seven graduate and undergraduate courses, and co-developed three others to fill department needs. These courses all meet diversity, international, and interdisciplinary initiatives of the university. Her courses are cross-listed with, or serve the requirements of Asia and Asian American Studies (AASI), Human Rights, India Studies, and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies. She has been a champion of using multiple methods for teaching and a consistent and enthusiastic early adopter of new technologies. Over the years she has used her national and global networks and leadership positions to bring outstanding scholars and prominent leaders to the university to enrich UConn’s educational offerings.

Provost Summit for Student Success

At the end of the spring semester, Provost Anne D’Alleva hosted a Summit on Student Success attended by over 30 academic leaders from across the university. Participants included Deans, Program Directors, Vice Provosts, the Directors of CETL, Honors, Student Success, Career Center, and Advising, as well as faculty and university staff from across the Storrs and regional campuses. The Student Success Summit provided many opportunities for participants to learn about and discuss both new and existing challenges and opportunities that students, staff and faculty all encounter as we work collectively to support student success at UConn. The goal of the Summit was to discuss and Identify UConn’s most effective programs and practices that contribute to our students’ overall success both now and in the future, as well as to develop plans for continuation and expansion of these programs and practices and finally, to draft a 3-5 year plan to wholistically support student success at UConn that will be widely shared for discussion in the fall.

It was clear from the many discussions at the Summit that UConn’s staff and faculty care deeply about student’s success in academics as well as personal lives. Our discussions about student success were particularly meaningful in the ways that our staff and faculty connect with and support our students. A number of innovative ideas were raised ways to involve even more faculty and staff in grass roots and collaborative efforts to support our students. For example, we discussed ways that we can increase faculty and staff work with FYE courses (a very important factor in student success), as well as ways to motivate more faculty and staff to volunteer to serve as UConn Connects Mentors and to lead Learning Communities, two of our most successful practices for increasing student success.

Also discussed was the important role of advising, of focusing on reduction in students failing and withdrawing from courses as well as ways to help faculty respond to the needs of diverse learners. The many ways about how faculty can include diverse perspectives in curricula and class discussion was also a fascinating topic from the Summit. Look for more information and a summary of our work in a future edition of this newsletter in the future and if any of you are interested in volunteering to work with us on student success, please contact us at that time.

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – May 2023

On the 22nd of May, as the academic year comes to a close, the first thing that needs to be said is thank you. We’ve had an outstanding year, marked by achievement across all dimensions of our work. I’m grateful for colleagues in the faculty, staff, and administration who create this success every day. We have an extraordinary impact on our students, our state, and nation, and the major problems facing our world.

Even as we’ve just said good-bye to the outstanding Class of 2023, we’re preparing to welcome the Class of 2027 to our campuses. We are right on track to meet our targets and enroll 4100 first-year students at Storrs and a total of 1600-1800 combined at our Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, and Waterbury. According to our colleagues in Admissions, we are projecting a record level of racial and ethnic diversity in the first-year class for the sixth year in a row, including an increase in first-generation students. This is also a class that is highly accomplished academically, and a UConn education is in demand at a time when many colleges and universities are struggling to attract students. Admissions does an outstanding job of recruiting and shaping our incoming class each year in collaboration with the schools, colleges, and campuses.

For all of us in academia, the summer months are a time that we shift the focus of our work and the rhythm of our days. For staff and administrators, the summer is a time to regroup and wrap up the prior year and prepare for the new one – it’s a time to engage in a mix of long-term projects and “seasonal” tasks like closing the fiscal year, refreshing classrooms, and orienting new students. For many faculty, this is a time to prioritize research, and I’ve enjoyed visiting with colleagues in their labs and hearing from those heading out on research trips. I was in the new Science 1 building last week and was so pleased to see the progress the team has made there in getting some very complex labs and shared research facilities up and running.

Over the weekend, I attended UConn’s inaugural Human Rights Film Festival, co-sponsored by the Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute and the School of Fine Arts. In addition to meeting filmmakers and activists, I was delighted to meet a group of very engaged students taking a May term class focused on human rights documentaries. Many of our May and summer term classes now take place online, which creates an opportunity for us to expand our summer offerings of conferences, K-12 education, athletic camps and other experiences. If you have an idea for a summer event or project that you would like to undertake or that you think the University ought to pursue, please do feel free to reach out (provost@uconn.edu). I’m gathering ideas and possibilities for Summer 2024 already.

But before Summer 2024 arrives, we need to enjoy Summer 2023! I hope everyone has a summer that is both productive and restorative. We’ll publish shorter newsletters geared toward colleagues working on our campuses in June and July and return to the full format in August.

All best wishes,

Anne

Travel Expenses for Trips of 30 Days or Longer

As a public institution, we are required to be careful stewards of our financial resources. If you are traveling for 30 days or more, please work with Travel to seek cost-effective self-catering accommodation. Email travel@uconn.edu for support.

For longer trips, the expectation is that use of self-catering accommodation will reduce food costs so that they are equivalent to normal expenses of purchasing food. Requests for long-term per diem support (30 days or more) should include a justification for why the extended per diem support is required. This might be related to specific requirements of research, limitations on accommodation related to the area of travel, non-food expenses that are being supported through per diems, or issues related to the individual context of travel. Any claims for per diems of over 30 days or more will only be approved when supported by appropriate justification.

Laura Curran Named Dean of UConn School of Social Work

Laura Curran, Ph.D., a highly regarded social work educator and researcher, has been selected as the 15th dean of the UConn School of Social Work.

Dr. Curran currently is the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Prior to serving as Vice Provost, Dr. Curran held the position of Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Rutgers University School of Social Work. She starts her new role as UConn School of Social Work dean on August 11.

Dr. Curran demonstrates a clear understanding of the mission of our School of Social Work, with a commitment to social, racial, and economic justice and the improvement of human well-being, both locally and globally. She has led several DEI initiatives and has a record of interdisciplinary collaboration and understands the demands of research and faculty advancement. She is also a strong supporter of students, serving as a mentor for supervised research assistantships for social work graduate students over the last two decades.

Dr. Curran earned her B.A. from Barnard College, an M.S.W. from Columbia University, and her PhD from UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare.

Read full announcement here

Provost Office Leadership Update

Jeffrey Shoulson, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, has accepted the position of Dean of Arts and Sciences at Brandeis University and will transition from his role at UConn effective June 16. Since joining UConn in 2012, Jeffrey has been an active and engaged member of our community. While we are thrilled for him to take on this new well-deserved opportunity, we’re sorry to lose such thoughtful, kind, and dedicated colleague. On behalf of the Provost’s Office and the entire university administration, I want to thank Jeffrey for his contributions to UConn.

In the six years that Jeffrey has been a member of the Provost’s Office, he has served as a Vice Provost in several capacities, first as Vice Provost for Academic Operations, then Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Affairs, and finally Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. In this time, he has assumed many responsibilities including oversight of interdisciplinary centers and institutes, academic program development and assessment, and most notably, managing the promotion, tenure, and reappointment process. This is an exceptionally important and complicated process, which he has handled with skill and sensitivity for several years, guiding several hundred faculty to reach tenure and/or promotion.

Jeffrey has also made important contributions to the wellbeing of our students, including co-chairing the Future of Learning Committee, formed during the pandemic to address the rapidly changing education landscape with the pivot to online learning. He also led an initiative to study food insecurity across our multiple campuses, which eventually led to the establishment of Husky Harvest, a food pantry now located on the Avery Point, Hartford, Stamford, Storrs, and Waterbury campuses.

Before joining the Provost’s Office, Jeffrey served as Director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life and held the Doris and Simon Konover Chair in Jewish Studies. He is Professor of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages and Professor of English, and has affiliations with the Medieval Studies Program and the Middle East Studies Program. He was previously on the faculty at the University of Miami, where he also served as Director of Judaic Studies. He has actively served in the leadership of several professional societies including the Milton Society of America and the Association of Jewish Studies.

There have been many significant changes in the Provost’s Office in this last year. I am finalizing a plan to reorganize and rebuild and will share details on how we will move forward soon.

There will be an event to recognize Jeffrey’s accomplishments and impact on the UConn community on June 14^th (Click here for more details). Please join me in congratulating Jeffrey on his new role and thanking him for his service to UConn.

Read full announcement here

Clinical Placement Coordination Director Announcement

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Jean McCarthy as the next director of the Office of Clinical Placement Coordination (OCPC) effective July 1, 2023.

Professor McCarthy is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences. She has worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist in various states across the US and has provided prevention, assessment, and intervention services in schools and hospitals. Before joining UConn, she was the Director of Rehabilitation at a skilled nursing facility. Professor McCarthy specializes in Neurocognitive Communication Disorders such as aphasia and dementia, as well as disorders related to swallowing, voice, and fluency. She is also a certified provider of Lee Silverman Voice Treatment (LSVTLOUD), which is a speech treatment for people with Parkinson's Disease.

Professor McCarthy holds leadership positions in the UConn Committee on Interprofessional Excellence in Healthcare (CIPEH) and the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). Additionally, she is a trustee for the Connecticut Speech and Hearing Association (CSHA) Foundation and has previously served on the CSHA executive board. She has demonstrated a commitment to and understanding of clinical placement coordination across a range of disciplines and support for the diverse voices and perspectives that constitute the constituency of OCPC. Professor McCarthy has articulated a clear dedication to supporting the work of OCPC and supporting the staff who work diligently to assure compliance for clinical placement contracts for our students and faculty and I am confident in her ability to succeed in this new role.

We would like to thank Dr. Carol Polifroni for leadership of OCPC for the past three years. Since its establishment in 2020, Dr. Polifroni has played a key role in setting up the operations of the office, building a staff team, and communicating the work of the office to the University. This has been no small task and we are grateful for the time and energy Dr. Polifroni has dedicated to OCPC.

Please join me in congratulating Professor McCarthy on this appointment and wishing her well as she begins the role this summer.

Read full announcement here

Institute of Materials Science (IMS) Director Reappointment

I am very pleased to announce the reappointment of Steven Suib as Director of the Institute of Materials Science (IMS) for a third term of five years, effective August 23, 2023.

This renewal recognizes Dr. Suib’s successful leadership as the director of the Institute since 2013. A few highlights from Dr. Suib’s tenure include hiring 10 new faculty who brought considerable diversity and research strength to the Institute; retention of key staff members; establishing and renewing eight Centers of Excellence; the first two awards as primary recipient at UCONN from ARPA-e; funded multi-investigator MURI, DOE EERE, NSF, and DoD efforts; three GAANN Fellowship (Polymer Program and MSE) awards totaling $2.2M in student aid; increasing the members of the Industrial Affiliates Program; substantial growth of all research programs; establishing a new Certificate Program in Characterization of Advanced Materials; and successful operation during COVID.

I am grateful to all of the staff, faculty, administrators, and other key partners of the Institute of Materials Science who shared feedback about Dr. Suib’s leadership. There were several common themes regarding Director Suib’s leadership, including his strong advocacy for his faculty and the IMS labs, and his success in promoting and securing resources for them. Dr. Suib is also known to be approachable and responsive, patient, thoughtful, and pragmatic, with a strong work ethic. Dr. Suib is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Fellow of the American Chemical Society and National Academy of Inventors, with over 700 research papers and 80 patents to his credit. These qualities contribute to the consensus that Dr. Suib is a strong administrator and outstanding researcher who can lead growth and innovation at IMS.

Please join me in congratulating Steven Suib on his reappointment and thanking him for his dedication and hard work on behalf of the Institute of Materials Science and the University.

Read full announcement here

CLAS Dean Transition

Juli Wade, who has served as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (CLAS) and Sciences since 2019, has accepted the position of Executive Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University.

Throughout the last five years, Juli has provided great leadership for CLAS and its many units including the newly established School of Public Policy, 24 departments and 13 centers and institutes. Juli led the development of the CLAS strategic plan with collaborative involvement by faculty, staff and students across the college. She has guided CLAS through significant growth including expanding academic program offerings, increasing research expenditures, and strategic hiring.

Juli has also been a strong advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion work in CLAS and across the University. She hired the first Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in CLAS and has supported numerous initiatives to foster a supportive and inclusive environment in the University’s largest college.

Before coming to UConn, Juli served in several different roles at Michigan State University, most recently as Associate Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff development. She has extensive experience in higher education and is a trusted colleague of many. While we are excited for Juli to embark on this new adventure, she will certainly be missed here at UConn. In my experience working with Juli both as a fellow dean and as Provost, I have always appreciated her thoughtfulness, transparency, collegiality, and commitment to equity and inclusivity.

Beginning July 1, 2023, Ofer Harel, currently Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Affairs, will serve as the Interim Dean of CLAS. Ofer formerly served as the Director of Graduate Admissions in the Department of Statistics and is a Professor of Statistics. I’m grateful to Ofer for his willingness to serve in this role and am confident in his ability to lead CLAS and drive progress in supporting the academic mission and promoting research and innovation. I will share details on a search to fill the position permanently once available.

Read full announcement here

PAECES Award Winners

The annual Provost Awards for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship (PAECES) recipients were announced earlier this month. We are so pleased to recognize each award recipient, chosen from a competitive pool of nominees. Congratulations to all the faculty and staff who exemplify the university’s service and engagement mission by making notable impacts on our community.

Faculty Research Distinguished Award – Professor Nathaniel Rickles, Department of Pharmacy
Faculty Research Emerging Award – Professor Jennifer Mozeiko, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Science
Faculty Distinguished Instructor Award – Professor Phoebe Godfrey, Department of Sociology
Faculty Emerging Instructor Award – Professor Christopher Steele, Internal Medicine, UConn Health
Undergraduate Student Award – Makayla Dawkins, Bachelor of Science, Individualized major in Gender, Sexuality, and Reproduction; minor in Human Development and Family Sciences

Click here to learn about Provost Office awards

Dates

May 25-27 Shavout

May 26 Buddha’s Birth

May 28 Pentecost Sunday

June 16 Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev Sahib

June 24 Litha

June 26 – July 1 The Hajj

June 28-29 Eid al-Adha

Faculty Consulting, Storrs/regional campus faculty - year begins May 23

Last year, updates to the faculty consulting policy changed the reporting year to align with a nine-month faculty contract. This means that the new faculty consulting year began on May 23, 2023. If you have ongoing consulting activities, please be sure to submit a new request for the current (FY24) reporting year. Use the “start on approval” option for any activities that do not have a specific start date.

All information, including PDF and video guides on using InfoEd for consulting submissions, can be found at https://consulting.uconn.edu/ under the “getting started” or “training materials” areas of the website.

If you have specific questions related to your consulting request, please email Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Sarah Croucher (sarah.croucher@uconn.edu).

Center & Institute Directors Retreat

The annual Center and Institute Directors Retreat was held on Tuesday, May 16 in the Student Union. This annual gathering is an opportunity for center and institute directors to form new connections and share more about the important work of their units and how they can collaborate with other centers and institutes to promote interdisciplinary research and collaboration. Education Advisory Board (EAB) made a keynote presentation on emerging best practices for centers and institutes, and UConn colleagues led sessions focused on multidisciplinary grants, start ups, communications, philanthropy, and community engagement.

Provost Summit for Student Success

The inaugural Provost Summit for Student Success will be held on Thursday, May 25, at the Homer Babbidge Library. Key university leaders will spend the day collaborating and brainstorming ways to overcome challenges related to student success, reviewing effective intervention methods, and discussing the need for assessment and informed future planning for the next academic year and beyond. A summary of the day’s discussion and recommendations will be shared in the next newsletter.

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – April 2023

The month of April has certainly been busy for all of us – it’s a mix of events to close out the academic year, events to welcome a new class of students, and a rush of meetings to finish up the tasks and goals of the year.

Earlier this week we held the first meeting of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. Lloyd Blanchard, Pamir Alpay and I will be co-chairing this process in partnership with Anna Pond, an external consultant who will help guide us to develop a strong and actionable strategic plan for the University. I am excited to build on the vision President Maric has set and am invested in creating a plan that aligns our priorities and values with resources to support the advancement of our beloved UConn. The committee had a terrific opening discussion of our goals and the need for a “One UConn” approach to the plan. I’ll use this space in the coming months to update you on our progress.

We also held a Trustee-Administration-Faculty-Student (TAFS) meeting this month, with a focus on undergraduate student success. The University Bylaws establish this TAFS committee with the goal of creating a space for representatives of the university community to come together to discuss issues of importance. We had a presentation from Dr. Tadarrayl Starke, Associate Vice Provost for Student Success, and a robust conversation around current and planned programming to promote student engagement and academic success.

I had the opportunity to spend a day at the Avery Point Campus meeting with faculty, students, and staff. I appreciated the honest and thoughtful discussions I had with many individuals throughout the day surrounding issues like building enrollment, resource and space constraints, and academic program offerings. I plan to continue visiting each of our campuses on a regular basis so I can put focus on supporting the UConn experience across all areas of the State.

I attended the Undergraduate Research Presentations and Mentorship Excellence Awards hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) and was so impressed by the creativity and brilliance of our undergraduate researchers. This event takes place at both Storrs and Stamford, with opportunities for students from all campuses to participate. Programs like this are essential to providing a life-transformative experience for our students. None of this would be possible without the leaders of OUR and the many faculty and staff who serve as mentors for these students.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the lunch that was prepared for me by students in Nutritional Science 3271: Food Services Systems Management. They were required to plan, cost out, quantify, and cook a three-course meal in CAHNR’s teaching kitchen, and I was thrilled to participate! The meal was vegetarian and absolutely delicious, especially a Peruvian appetizer of roasted potatoes with a spiced tomato salsa.

There are many more things I could mention but won’t try to be exhaustive. I am grateful to everyone for their hard work as we wrap up this semester and get ready for the summer, and look forward to celebrating Commencement Weekend with you!

All best,

Anne

UConn's Newest Living/Learning Community Launching Fall 2023

Officially launched with a celebration on April 27^th, the newly established BSOUL House (a Learning Community in support of Black Sisters Optimizing Unity & Leadership) is designed to support the scholastic efforts of female students who identify as African American/Black through academic and social/emotional support, access to research opportunities, and professional development. BSOUL House is open to first- and second-year female undergraduates interested in engaging in courses and co-curricular activities related to the experience of Black females in higher education. For more information, visit https://LC.uconn.edu/.

Interfolio Review, Promotion & Tenure (RPT)

UConn has implemented Interfolio’s Review, Promotion & Tenure module for the submission and review of all promotion, tenure, and midpoint review cases for the AY 23-24 PTR cycle. Interfolio RPT is a secure, online workflow platform that provides customizable tools to manage all of the documents, workflows, committees, communication, and outcomes associated with review-based academic decisions.

We thank you all for your engagement, enthusiasm, and input as we’ve worked over the past year to configure this new system and prepare for its launch. As of this month, departmental system administrators may now begin creating cases within RPT for faculty who will be coming up for promotion (both tenure track and non-tenure track), tenure, or midpoint review in the 23-24 PTR cycle utilizing the department- and action-specific templates.

Learn More.

Reading Days

Reading Days are Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and April 30. Per the University Senate By-Laws, the intent of Reading Days is as follows:

Reading Days are protected time for students to prepare for the final exam and assessment period. Instructors shall not require any course-related activity, assessment, or submission of work on Reading Days. Instructors may use Reading Days for optional activities, such as office hours. While an instructor cannot initiate required course-related activity, assessments, or submission of work on Reading Days, instructors have the option to accommodate student requests for required work and/or examinations to be rescheduled for a Reading Day. Reading Days restrictions do not include responsibilities with external placements, such as clinical positions and internships.

Final Exams

Final exams begin on Monday, May 1, and end on Saturday, May 6.

Final in-class examinations may not be given during the last week of classes. Other types of assessments (for example, but not only, portfolios, performances, projects, presentations, etc.) may be due in the last week of classes, but should be clearly delineated on the syllabus from the first week of classes.

Undergraduate students may request rescheduling for an exam through the Dean of Students Office for the Storrs campus or each regional campus student services office, and as early as possible. The reasons for such a request include bunched finals or other extenuating circumstances. Such bunched finals may include final assessments like juried performances for Fine Arts students. A student whose absence is excused by the Dean of Students Office or regional student services staff shall have an opportunity to take a final without penalty. Please consult the Dean of Students website and the Registrar’s website for further details.

UNESCO ChatGPT Quick Start Guide

UNESCO has developed a ChatGPT quick start guide to provide an overview of how ChatGPT works and explains how it can be used in higher education. The Quick Start Guide raises some of the main challenges and ethical implications of AI in higher education and offers practical steps that higher education institutions can take. This Quick Start Guide was published in April 2023. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly developing field. This guide is based on GPT-3.5, the latest free version of ChatGPT available at the time of writing. As well as dynamic changes in technology, the ethical implications of ChatGPT and other forms of AI are also swiftly advancing. Readers are advised to constantly check reliable sources for the latest news and updates.

https://www.iesalc.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ChatGPT-and-Artificial-Intelligence-in-higher-education-Quick-Start-guide_EN_FINAL.pdf

Victoria Vaughan Dickson Named Dean of UConn School of Nursing

Victoria Vaughan Dickson, PhD, RN, FAHA, FHFSA, FAAN has been appointed as the next Dean of the School of Nursing. She will begin this new role on August 1, 2023.

Dr. Dickson has demonstrated a deep understanding of our School of Nursing’s needs and will bring the necessary leadership and vision to continue the school’s extraordinary achievements across teaching, research and engagement. She is committed to fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment for the School and will facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations across the University.

Read the full announcement.

CLAS Dean Juli Wade

Juli Wade, who has served as Dean of the College of Liberal Arts (CLAS) and Sciences since 2019, has accepted the position of Executive Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University.

Throughout the last four years, Juli has provided great leadership for CLAS and its many units including the newly established School of Public Policy, 24 departments and 13 centers and institutes. Juli led the development of the CLAS strategic plan with collaborative involvement by faculty, staff and students across the college. She has guided CLAS through significant growth, including expanding academic program offerings, increasing research expenditures, and strategic hiring.

New Training for State Employees: Understanding Domestic Violence

During the 2022 legislative session, the Connecticut General Assembly passed, and the Governor signed Public Act 22-82. This legislation requires all state agencies to provide to all employees one hour of training and education related to domestic violence and the resources available to victims of domestic violence.

To comply with this state requirement, the Office of Institutional Equity prepared a self-paced online video presentation available through the Learning@Work system. Employees will be receiving direct communication from Learning@Work with instructions on how to fulfill this training requirement. This training must be completed by July 1, 2023.

UConn and UConn Health are committed to maintaining a safe, inclusive, and non-discriminatory learning and working environment for all members of our community. UConn and UConn Health are also committed to ensuring our employees are equipped with information, support and assistance.

Please contact the Office of Institutional Equity at (860) 486-2943 or equity@uconn.edu for questions or concerns. Information about resources can be found on the University’s Title IX website (www.titleix.uconn.edu).

Celebrating Promotion & Tenure of 96 Faculty

At their meeting on April 19^th, the Board of Trustees approved the promotion and tenure of 96 faculty across UConn’s multiple campuses. Evaluations for promotion, tenure, and reappointment apply the highest standards of professional achievement in scholarship, teaching, and service for each faculty member evaluated. Applications for promotion and tenure are reviewed at the department level, school or college level, and finally at the Office of the Provost before recommendations are forwarded to the Board of Trustees. This process involves significant work on the part of each faculty member, as well as assistance and support of colleagues and administrative staff who provide guidance and manage many of the logistics through each stage of the promotion and tenure cycle. It is a notable milestone for each faculty member awarded these promotions, as well as for their colleagues. View the listing of faculty promoted and/or granted tenure here.

Executive Leader Onboarding

Another session of the Executive Leader Onboarding series was held on Thursday, March 30^th at the UConn Health campus in Farmington. Senior administrators participated in dynamic discussions with Human Resource leadership at UConn and UConn Health about services and resources offered and current projects. Additionally, senior leaders participated in a Predictive Index assessment to understand how their leaderships styles can help control workplace outcomes and steer their teams in the right direction with confidence and empathy. Interim CEO of UConn Health and Dean of the UConn School of Medicine Dr. Bruce Liang presented on the highlights of UConn Health and its facilities as the campus has undergone a major transformation over the past decade due to the State’s investment in the Bioscience Connecticut initiative. Senior leaders also participated in a UConn Health campus tour, including student learning and training labs, new research labs, and the renovated medical and dental clinical facilities that continue to provide exceptional patient care and training for medical and dental professionals in Connecticut.

Save the Date: Staff Technology Day
Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Every day, new applications and features emerge that change how we work. Embrace these updates, and technology can be your greatest ally in the workplace.

That’s why Information Technology Services, in partnership with the Office of the Provost and Office of the Vice President for Information Technology, has created a professional development opportunity for all UConn staff. We want to share information, resources, and support so that you can take advantage of the technology available to you.

Upcoming Governor's Council on Women and Girls Panel re Firefighters

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Next week, Wednesday, May 3rd from 10am to 11am via Zoom, the Governor’s Council on Women and Girls will host a panel discussion on women firefighters. Moderated by Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz, the panel will discuss their path to their current roles, experience thus far, how we can increase the pipeline for more women as firefighters, and much more. Although the panel consists of all women with a focus of increasing the voices of women in the topic selected, all members of the general public are welcome to attend. If you’re interested in this topic but unable to attend, a recording will be posted online here following the event.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER https://provost.media.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/2165/2023/04/CoWaG-Firefighter-Panel-Flyer-FINAL.png

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – March 2023

As of today, we have received a record high of over 48,200 applications across all our campuses. UConn is in demand, and that is a direct reflection of our talented and innovative faculty and staff. Our program for admitted students, UConn Bound, will take place on April 1 and 15, and I’m grateful to all the faculty, staff, and current students who will participate in these important events. They were favorites of mine when I was a Department Head and Dean – it was always rewarding to connecting with hopeful, excited prospective students and their families. I especially enjoyed meeting not only our Fine Arts students, but also students from other disciplines who visited with us to ask about minors and participating in ensembles.

This is a busy time of year in the Provost’s Office. We have almost completed academic unit budget hearings as well as the promotion, tenure and reappointment process for 2022-23. The Provost’s Office is also launching its DEIJ Faculty Fellow Program, with the goal of advancing innovative efforts in DEIJ work as well as building a pipeline of leaders at the university. For the coming academic year, one faculty member will be selected to work with the Provost’s Office on specific DEIJ initiatives in collaboration with the Office for Diversity and Inclusion. We hope to expand programs like this in the future, to give faculty opportunities to gain experience in administration and engage in impactful professional development.

We are also working to address a number of challenges. Over the past few months, faculty and staff have shared significant frustration with the Concur travel system. Please understand that our colleagues in Procurement and Accounts Payable are working hard and with a very good will to support travelers, and we all appreciate your patience as we work to improve the system. The President has asked Lloyd Blanchard, our Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Planning, to convene a working group that will include colleagues from Procurement, Accounts Payable, frequent travelers among the faculty, and other key stakeholders to identify needed improvements. You will be hearing more about this initiative in the coming week.

I can’t in good conscience end without mentioning one of the most important things happening this month – basketball! I am so proud of the UConn Women’s team for their tenacity and determination throughout a challenging season, their Big East Tournament title, and their deep run in the NCAA tournament. I’m now anxiously awaiting Saturday’s Final Four game, and will be cheering on the UConn Men’s team along with all of UConn Nation.

GO HUSKIES!

Anne

Provost’s DEIJ Faculty Fellow Program

The Provost's Office seeks interested applicants for a Provost's DEIJ Faculty Leadership Fellow to contribute to the advancement of the Provost's DEIJ initiatives for AY 23-24. The fellow will oversee an assigned portfolio of initiatives and projects, collaborating closely with the Provost, the Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, vice provosts, deans, department heads, and faculty. Applicants will be considered who hold a current, full-time faculty position at the University, and may include tenured faculty or CIRE faculty on multi-year contracts. It is anticipated that the fellow will contribute approximately 4-8 hours per week to assigned projects and initiatives, and work hours may vary based on active projects. The term of the appointment will be August 23, 2023 - May 22, 2024. Learn more about this opportunity and how to apply.

Senate Bylaw Amendment Approval

At the March 6 meeting, the University Senate approved an amendment to the Bylaws, Rules and Regulations of the University Senate, II.B.12, Readmission. The amendment proposed the additional of an academic renewal option which allows students who have been separated from the university for a significant period to omit a certain number of courses from GPA calculation. The option is designed to provide motivation, incentive, and access for those students hoping to return to UConn to complete their degree.

Senate PTR/PR Forums

In partnership with the Provost’s Office and AAUP, the Faculty Standards Committee of the University Senate will hold two separate forums on faculty promotion, tenure, and reappointment on Friday, April 14, 2023, via WebEx. The purpose of the forums is to ensure that all faculty are aware of PTR and PR procedures and expectations at the university and have the opportunity to have their questions answered by the administration.

The Promotion, Tenure & Reappointment (PTR) program for tenure track faculty will be held from 9:00-11:00 AM. The program will begin in a group session with the Provost’s Office outlining PTR procedures at the University of Connecticut. This large group meeting will be followed by breakout sessions for participating schools/colleges, led by Deans or their designees, to discuss the nuances of the PTR process specific to each school/college.

The Promotion and Reappointment program will be held from 1:00-2:30 PM and is for faculty who are eligible to use the non tenure track promotion and reappointment form (this covers clinical, in-residence, and extension [CIRE] faculty members and lecturers, as well as research professors).

Faculty and staff who plan to attend must register by April 12^th to attend by completing the appropriate survey. Reservations can also be made via the Senate website. Recordings of the programs will be available after April 14th.

Reading Days

Reading Days are Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and April 30. Per the University Senate By-Laws, the intent of Reading Days is as follows:

Final Exams

Final exams begin on Monday, May 1, and end on Sunday, May 6.

Provost's Office Personnel Update

Effective March 17, 2023, Bridget Inzirillo has left the Provost’s Office and accepted a new position at North Carolina State University as Assistant Dean of Finance at NC State in the Wilson College of Textiles. Anyone who had the opportunity to work with Bridget knows how truly exceptional she is. Bridget masterfully managed several complex budgets in academic affairs and played an instrumental role in overseeing the finance, personnel and general operations of the Provost’s Office. She has been a source of guidance for many of us and will certainly be missed.

Kate Clark, Associate Director of Finance with a dual report to the Provost’s office and BPIR, will be serving as Interim Director of Academic Finance and Administration. Kate has worked closely with the Provost’s Office over the past few years, and I am confident in her ability to take on this role. We will plan to launch a search to refill the position permanently and will share details when available.

Kognito: NEW Online simulation training

Have you ever been worried about a student? Faculty and staff are in an ideal position to recognize when someone is struggling emotionally and may need help. Kognito is an online interactive training that lets faculty and staff practice conversations with virtual students, to assist with engaging students and connecting them to other campus resources when needed. Student Health and Wellness (SHaW) is making this program available to all members of the UConn community to help create a safer and more supportive campus.

The online module runs for approximately 40 minutes and connects users with a coach and walks through various scenarios. It is designed to:

Support academic performance
Enhance student retention
Promote campus safety

These practice discussions help students build resilience, strengthen relationships and develop connections with campus resources. A pre and post survey offers important feedback about impact and the module concludes with an overview of campus resources and a certificate of completion.

To launch the training visit uconn.kognito.com. In addition, the resources to support student wellbeing website provides additional tools.

Center for Career Development wins 2023 EY Global Career Services Award

UConn’s Center for Career Development was awarded the Ernst & Young Global Award for University Employer Partnerships, recognizing a career center with the best practice in programs aimed at connecting students with employers. The Center for Career Development team, led by Assistant Vice Provost Jim Lowe, is comprised of passionate and thoughtful individuals who are making a huge difference in the lives of UConn students and preparing them for their future careers. We are so proud of our colleagues for this tremendous achievement and thankful for the important work they do for our students and communities.

Dr. Cato T. Laurencin Awarded 2023 Priestley Medal

University Professor and Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery Dr. Cato T. Laurencin was awarded the 2023 Priestley Medal, the highest honor of the American Chemical Society. He is being recognized for his work on polymeric materials and composites for biological use as well as for his leadership in inclusion, diversity, equity, and antiracism. Dr. Laurencin has dedicated his life and career to pioneering the field of regenerative engineering, defined as “the convergence of advanced materials science, stem cell science, physics, developmental biology, and clinical translation toward the regeneration of complex tissues, organs, or organ systems.” In his address at the March 28th ACS reception, Dr. Laurencin remarked “I’m excited about the power of polymeric chemistry and materials science in addressing grand challenges. People tell me this is going to be hard. But I tell my students, as Bob Marley stated, ‘You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.’”

Faculty Honors and Awards

Faculty at the University of Connecticut are known nationally and internationally for their excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. As a highly visible measure of this, our faculty are frequently recognized for their excellence and expertise as recipients of many internal and prestigious national and international awards. Each achievement is richly deserved and further elevates the international reputation of UConn as a top research institution. To further recognize our excellent faculty, the Office of the Provost has developed a webpage to highlight such awards and honors. Please visit the Awards & Honors webpage to learn more about our faculty and details on how to submit award information to be published on our page. This page is scheduled to be updated once every semester and faculty are encouraged to submit their recent external awards and honors for recognition.

Highlighting Interdisciplinary Scholarship

The mission of the Institute of Materials Science (IMS) is to promote education, research, and outreach across internal and external communities in the exciting and ever-growing field of materials research. There are three major educational programs in IMS including the Materials Science and Engineering Department, the Materials Science Ph.D. program, and the Polymer Ph.D. program. Undergraduate students in our research groups are trained in making, characterizing, and applying materials. Independent study, senior design, NSF REU, UCONN SURF, work study, and individual research projects are all supported by our labs and funding. Graduate student fellowships through the UCONN Foundation and federally funded programs also contribute to educational efforts. A new online certificate program in Advanced Materials Characterization is aimed at practical aspects of use of instruments and data interpretation, including workforce education of industrial researchers. Over 150 faculty members and similar numbers of graduate students use the Core Research and Service Facilities in IMS. Lab Managers of these facilities are Ph.D. level researchers who train students, operate, and provide maintenance of instruments.

Our efforts are multifold in support of the University's research mission. Besides individual grants and contracts, IMS houses numerous multi-investigator awards due to the strong inerdisciplinary composition of faculty members and students from various schools and colleges. Some of the multi-investigator programs housed in IMS include large federal programs under MURI, I/UCRC, ARPA-E, and GAANN Fellowship programs in both Polymers and Materials Science & Engineering. Major industry programs include the Pratt Center of Excellence, the Collins Aerospace Center of Excellence, the DENSsolution Center of Excellence, and the UConn Thermo Fisher Scientific Center for Advanced Microscopy and Materials Analysis. These programs all provide support to graduate students and a foundation for many Ph.D. theses. Many of IMS’s industrial research partners are members of the review committees for our graduate students and provide outstanding perspective of potential careers, as well as advice about research. The new building for IMS is shown here.

Outreach is another important activity in IMS. The Industrial Affiliates Program (IAP) serves many companies by carrying out characterization of their materials. Short courses and workshops are also provided through IAP. Our External Advisory Board (EAB) consists of leaders from industry and the Connecticut State government who provide invaluable support and advice for new directions. With the help of EAB members, we have established several Centers of Excellence in IMS that involve collaborative research projects, use of instrumentation by industrial researchers, Certificate Courses, and short term service work. IMS’s investment in outreach also supports multiple materials-based programs (such as sponsorship of a materials division under the CT Invention Convention) and other University efforts such as Olympiads, summer fellowships, McNair scholars, SURF, and LSAMP.

The IMS website, www.ims.uconn.edu, provides significant information about our research efforts, personnel, and outreach programs. Details concerning the number of resident faculty members, grant awards per year, number of students, industry partners, alumni, annual research funding, leadership, and other related information can be found online under our Interactive Fact Sheet .

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are among the core values of the University of Connecticut and the Institute of Materials Science. We recognize that diversity in outlook and approach, equity on all levels, and total inclusion all contribute to a vibrant intellectual environment, promote deep understanding of our society's shared challenges, and cultivate perspectives needed to solve problems of the future. We firmly believe that collaboration among team members with varied experiences, perspectives and viewpoints generates more incisive and deeper insight that better serves our people, partners, customers, and communities.

Academic Affairs Spotlight

The Office of the Provost and the units that report in academic affairs are staffed and led by an outstanding group of talented and dedicated colleagues. This month we are spotlighting Alyssa Kelleher, Director of the Office of Veterans Affairs and Military Programs. Alyssa was enlisted in the Connecticut Army National Guard before earning a commission through Army ROTC while attending UConn. She served in the Regular Army after commissioning until returning in 2007 to the Connecticut National Guard. Alyssa deployed twice to Afghanistan, once as a Platoon Leader and once as a Company Commander. Alyssa continues to serve in the Connecticut National Guard, currently as the Battalion Commander of the 1/169 Regional Training Institute (RTI). She graduated from UConn in 2004 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and earned her Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management from UConn in 2017.

What does a typical work week look like for you?

There really is no typical week, which is part of why I love my job so much! I have recurring events, like team meetings, coordination meetings with both ROTC Department Heads, and meetings with my Leadership Legacy Student. Beyond these things every week looks different based on what time of the year it is, what projects we are working on, what events we have coming up, and what students bring to us. As a small team we work on most of these things together. Woven throughout every week is plenty of time with each other, and with our student employees. It's important to all of us to create a place where all of us like to come to work, and where our students like to come for advice or just for a space to study or relax.

What is an important project/initiative you’re working on right now?

There are a few - one is a big reapproval (requirement every two years) with the Federal VA so UConn continues to be a school that can accept GI Bill benefits - a lot if going into this behind the scenes as we work with Sarah Croucher and other campus partners on various administrative requirements that must be line in order to submit the reapproval. Another one is expanding the Veteran's History Project, which Emily Lugo on the team is doing a great job with! Lastly, we are finishing up legislative season, providing feedback through Government Relations to the state on behalf of our students and the University.

What are you most looking forward to as the academic year begins?

This one is a shameless plug for a new program that is housed within our department, but is a stand alone federal grant serving the whole state of CT - the Connecticut Veterans Upward Bound Program. Run by Ryan Hinton and Jessika Gossett, this program will be fully running by the end of summer/new Academic Year, so I am really excited to see the possibilities and their hard work being realized at that point in time!

If you could solve one problem right now at UConn, what would it be?

This is not a "problem" as much as something that is an area in which we can possibly improve, and it's something that's already being worked on - and that's transfer credit for military training and military experience. It's clearly specific to our students, but transfer of credit is a larger concept that can be applied to many students beyond those who have served.

What is your favorite dairy Bar ice cream/spot on campus?

My favorite Dairy Bar ice cream is banana chocolate chip with peanut butter topping!

Another favorite thing of mine at UConn is the trees - but somehow my favorites aren't on the campus tree touring guide. My favorite trees are the large tree at the corner of the parking lot next to Mirror Lake and Manchester Hall, the tree on Horsebarn Hill Rd. in between the parking lot behind the Young Building and the Horse Barns, and the beautiful flowering trees right outside our own building, Hawley Armory along the side walk.

Lastly, my daugther (5 years old) would say her favorite thing at UConn is the Walrus, inside the TLS Building!

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – February 2023

February has been an exceptionally busy month. We’re nearing the end of the annual promotion, tenure and reappointment cycle; introducing new PTR/PR software; preparing for academic unit budget hearings; and working on planning for the next academic year.

By now you’re likely all aware of the current situation with the governor’s proposed biannual budget and its potential impact on UConn. I have been participating in meetings with President Maric, UConn leaders, and legislators actively working on ways to bridge the gap between UConn’s request and the governor’s proposal. In undertaking this work I have been tremendously inspired by our UConn students and their extraordinary vision and leadership in protesting the proposed budget and highlighting the profound impacts it would have on their education. It was good to see them turn out in force for a peaceful and passionate protest on February 15, and also to see the large number of faculty and staff who joined them in solidarity.

UConn students and students from the Connecticut state universities and community colleges spoke at a panel that night to address the impact of the proposed budget on their universities. With other University leaders, I attended in person to support the students, and was moved by the thoughtfulness and depth of their testimony. I was proud to see so many Connecticut students actively using their voices to initiate change. It reminds me how lucky we are to have the opportunity to help nurture and educate our students to be the future leaders of our state and nation. I was also impressed by the focus, respect, and good will that our state legislators brought to their interactions with all of us but especially the students – their dedication to the public good was clear at every moment.

I also want to acknowledge that, despite all that we have going on, it’s important to reflect on our community wellbeing. Earlier this month, we learned of another tragic mass-shooting on a university campus. The safety of our students, staff and faculty is of the utmost importance all of UConn’s campuses. I encourage all faculty and staff to check in with your units to make sure you know your unit’s emergency plans. And most importantly, I encourage us all to check in with each other. This could mean allowing time for students to share their feelings during class or office hours; making a referral to the CARE team if you are concerned about a student’s wellbeing; setting up time to meet individually with direct reports to see how they are doing; or just meeting up with a colleague for a coffee to catch up. Supporting each other is how we will continue to move forward together.

Reading Days

Reading Days are Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and April 30. Per the University Senate By-Laws, the intent of Reading Days is as follows:

Final Exams

Final exams begin on Monday, May 1, and end on Sunday, May 6.

Finals Opt-Out Reminder

If you are not delivering a final exam in Spring 2023, we ask that you fill out a brief form to notify the Registrar that you are opting out. We are asking for those who use another method of assessment (portfolios, projects, etc.) to let us know so that the room and/or time may be available for other instructors during the assessment period. It is also important that instructors recognize that due dates for these alternative forms of final assessment should not fall on days designated as reading days. As always, all due dates should be indicated on the syllabus at the beginning of the semester.

Many of our instructors have used other forms of assessment that align more purposefully with their intended learning objectives. Assessment formats can include individual or group-based strategies, e.g. projects, portfolios, papers, team-based work, creative works, performances, presentations, and other assessments in lieu of final exams.

Class Absences Due to Illness

At this time of year, and considering the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we would like to remind faculty that students are not required to provide “sick notes” or “medical excuses” when they miss classes, and such excuses should not be requested from them. More generally, per the university Senate By-laws, student grades should not be reduced because of a student’s absence. Please exercise flexibility and understanding for students who may miss class or classwork due to illness. Faculty should also exercise caution in attending class if they are feeling sick. Our community’s health and wellbeing remains a priority of the University. If any other COVID-related questions or issues arise during the remainder of the semester and academic year, you may find our COVID-19 FAQs for Academic Operations to be helpful, but as always, you are encouraged to reach out to our office directly at provost@uconn.edu if you would like additional support.

Spring 2023 Pop-Up Courses

Pop-up classes are taught online in a multidisciplinary and integrated fashion by faculty from various schools and colleges and are offered to faculty, staff and students on topics of shared interest to the community and national or international importance.

Why the Jews? Confronting Antisemitism

Antisemitism has often been described as the “oldest hatred.” Yet the term “antisemitism” is a modern formulation, coined in Germany in the 1870s a badge of pride by German nationalists who feared Jews posed a danger to “true German culture.” Why should the so-called “anti-semites” define who or what Jews and Judaism are? Just as the broad range of Jewish experiences around the globe over thousands of years defies easy categorization, hatred of Jews has taken so many forms from antiquity to the present that it also resists simple categorization or definition. Why have the Jewish people been such convenient targets for any number of agendas and ideologies? What accounts for the persistence of numerous anti-Jewish tropes that run the gamut from “Christ-killer” to socialist, capitalist, parasite, and purveyor of global power? This course will first and foremost introduce students to the diverse nature of Jewish identity, before examining the many manifestations of Jewish hatred throughout history, and the ways in which Jews have attempted to respond to a hatred that refuses to disappear.

Transformation Now

This course provides a brief, detailed historical account of gender, the language that has shaped gender, the laws that have defined gender, and the various transnational revolutions that have taken place to redefine gender altogether. Students will be able to recognize how essentialist/biological determinist beliefs are used by institutions to reinforce systemic oppression so they may develop skills to transform their communities.

Emeritus Status Nomination Deadline

Faculty who retire at the rank of associate professor (or equivalent clinical, in-residence, and extension titles) and who have at least five years of service are automatically recommended for emeritus status to the Board of Trustees. However, faculty or other related staff who retire and do not meet these conditions can only be considered for emeritus status if nominated to the Emeritus Committee. The next deadline for submitting materials to this committee is April 1. Further details, including guidelines for nomination materials, can be found on the Office of the Provost website.

Nursing Dean Search

We are pleased to share that four candidates have been selected as finalists for the Dean of the School of Nursing position. The candidates will visit Storrs and UConn Health the week of February 27, 2023. We encourage you to participate in public forums throughout their visits and share your feedback on each candidate in the provided surveys. This input will be carefully considered by the members of the search committee. Information on candidates including CVs, public forum meeting links, and feedback surveys are available on this page.

Executive Leader Onboarding

Another session of the Executive Leader Onboarding series was held on Thursday, February 9 at the UConn Waterbury campus. Senior administrators participated in dynamic discussions with University Safety and ITS about safety in the workplace and online. Participants learned about university safety resources, emergency response guidelines, and how the University manages critical incidents on-campus. They also received an overview of the IT support systems and structures at UConn and UConn Health, with a focus on the overarching goals of ensuring IT security. Waterbury Campus Director Fumiko Hoeft also presented on the highlights of UConn Waterbury and led an exciting tour of the campus.

Student Athlete 3.0 Night

On February 15, the Student Athlete Success Program and Division of Athletics held their annual 3.0 Night celebration at the UConn Women’s basketball game vs. CCSU. The event recognized student athletes who achieved a 3.0 or better in the Spring ’22 and/or Fall ’22 semesters. We are proud and inspired by our student athletes who display excellence both in their sport, and in the classroom. We are so proud of the work completed by Ellen Tripp, the director of the Student-Athlete Success Program (SASP), as well as all of the counselors and advisors in this unit for the valuable support and academic counseling they provide to our student-athletes, helping to ensure their academic success.

429 students who achieved a 3.00 semester GPA or higher for either Spring 2022 and Fall 2022.
73 enrolled student-athletes who earned a term GPA of 4.0 in Spring '22 and/or Fall '22 term.
23 enrolled student-athletes who maintain a cumulative GPA of 4.0 through the Fall '22 term
Currently, sixteen of our teams have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher.

Highlighting Interdisciplinary Scholarship at UConn

The Eversource Energy Center, founded in 2015 at UConn in partnership with the Eversource Energy Company, is a unique research institute whose mission is “to be the foremost energy utility-academia partnership advancing leading-edge interdisciplinary research and technology assuring reliable power during extreme weather and security events.”

In the eight years since it set up shop at the UConn Tech Park’s Innovation Partnership Building, the EEC has been making great strides in the five research areas—or pillars—on which its mission rests: grid resilience in a warming climate, grid reliability in a changing demand environment, renewable energy integration, cyber-physical system security, and workforce training, outreach, and policy. In its annual reports, the Center chronicles its progress in an ever-increasing number and range of research projects in all of these areas. These include advances in storm preparedness, vegetation management, electric grid reinforcement, and renewable energy.

A centerpiece of EEC accomplishment is the development of UConn’s Outage Prediction Model (OPM), which combines weather, vegetation, infrastructural, and historical storm data, among others, to predict storm damage to the electric grid and enable utilities to prepare for its impacts. Recently, the Center entered into partnerships with AVANGRID and Dominion Energy to extend development of the OPM to parts of the United States beyond Eversource’s service area, including New York, Virginia, and North Carolina.

Aside from its research work, the EEC provides substantial support to the UConn community in other ways. Since its inception, the Center has funded 145 students at the graduate and undergraduate levels, 10 postdoctoral researchers, and 49 UConn faculty. Through its new Grid Modernization Certificate Program, it is also preparing early-career engineers for careers in managing an electric grid made ever more complex by the transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy. And, through its pioneering Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, the Center has, to date, funded thirteen underrepresented and minority (URM) students, including support for internships, mentors, and expenses for those who present their research at national conferences and publish their work. The goal is ultimately to have URM students comprise 25 percent of the Center’s funded students.

Recently, Eversource Energy extended its support for the Eversource Energy Center with a commitment of $14 million in new funding. The Center will use these funds to continue and expand its efforts to address the great resilience challenges that confront the energy industry at the intersection of weather extremes, climate change, and clean power infrastructure.

Academic Affairs Spotlight

The Office of the Provost and the units that report in academic affairs are staffed and led by an outstanding group of talented and dedicated colleagues. This month we are spotlighting Dr. Tadarrayl Starke, Associate Vice Provost of the Institute for the Student Success. He also serves as Interim Executive Director for Access and Post-Secondary Success, Director, McNair Scholars Program, and Director, Northeast Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. Dr. Starke is a native of Jacksonville, Florida. For over 20 years, Dr. Starke has been committed to student success, with an emphasis in serving students traditionally underrepresented in higher education like himself.

What does a typical work week look like for you?

For the most part, my week is filled with committee, staff, and budget meetings. I also add in various UConn Foundation meetings on both the development and corporate philanthropy sides on certain weeks to ensure we keep our needs and activities on the forefront of their awareness and to help add resources to various student success initiatives. Because ISS is such a large division, the meetings are varied in their focus areas and targeted populations. But, many meetings allow for colleagues and myself to discuss ways we can be creative and innovative to move student success forward at UConn. Those meetings have helped move forward a lot of the work in ISS, but also have generated ideas for new programming and services to support our students. It’s always exciting when we get to envision how we can better support our students in reaching their goals.

During certain stretches of the year, I am usually consumed with grant writing to help supplement our programs across the division. Over the last 2 years, I’ve been able to work with some great people at UConn to submit over $45 million in grant proposals. Fingers crossed for some of those awaiting determination.

Like a lot of staff, right now I am also serving in additional capacities within our division. One role is the Interim Director of the Center for Access & Postsecondary Success (CAPS). This provides a great opportunity to work with our university community to promote greater equity in higher education and to imagine and develop steps to expand how we at UConn better serve and support our underrepresented populations across the system.

Finally, my weeks are highlighted when I get to engage with undergraduate students in conversations about their experiences at UConn, or talking with graduate students about their professional pathways, or speaking in a class about my personal journey in and through higher education to help students realize there’s no one defined path to reach your goals.

What is an important project/initiative you’re working on right now?

A major initiative I’m working on is Regional Campus success efforts. Focusing significantly on underrepresented student populations, I’m working with various people across the UConn system, as well as our partners in the UConn Foundation, to build new systems, services, and resources to enhance existing student success efforts and develop new ways of improving student outcomes. Our work seeks to help students tap into programming that can promote retention while also helping them build a sense of community to the campus and to each other. This is another area where being free to imagine what could be is so important, as we have the potential to create a new way of approaching student success and expand how our students on the Regional Campuses experience the various dimensions of UConn.

What are you most looking forward to as the semester begins?

Student engagement. Students give me energy. As someone who comes from a Student Affairs background, I thrive off the energy students bring. It keeps me focused on why we’re all here – them and their needs. Their energy provides the opportunity for us to also listen to their voices in order to develop better ways to serve and support them through the journey to and through UConn. I look forward to great conversations about what we can do to make UConn a place where all of our students feel valued, can pursue their interests, and build lifelong connections with faculty, staff, and other students.

If you could solve one problem right now at UConn, what would it be?

If I could solve one problem right now at UConn, it would be to expand advising staff…not just academic advising staff, but increase the number of staff who provide an advising and/or counseling function to our students. Our academic and non-academic advising staff provide such significant support to move UConn’s student success metrics. Unfortunately, we’ve had to do it in the midst of increasing caseloads, staff departures and retirements, and the increased need of our students to have deeper interpersonal connections. A robust formal and informal advising system shows the strength of an institution in meeting students’ needs. It’s our people who move and drive student success and, if I had the ability to enhance this particular function of the university, there’s no doubt we would reap the benefits in terms of improved metrics and student outcomes, as well as deepening students connections to the campus and inspire their continued support of UConn nation even well after they graduate.

What is your favorite UConn experience so far?

My first UConn Women’s Basketball tournament in Gampel is one of my favorite memories. The energy. The crowd. The excitement. I definitely learned why UConn is the basketball capital of the world. It was also a great change of pace after so long being online and working remotely.

Timely Topics

Timely Topics is a series of opportunities to engage with subject matter experts on topics relevant to those who support and advise graduate students and programs. Two tracks are offered for this series: one designed for faculty and one designed for faculty who hold an administrative role and staff, however every session is available to anyone interested in joining. All sessions will be held as a WebEx meeting. Links for each meeting will be sent directly to registrants and follow up materials will be posted on our website. Slides, recordings, and resources from past sessions can always be found at The Graduate School’s Timely Topics webpage.

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – December 2022

With finals wrapping up this past weekend, we have reached the end of the fall 2022 semester. This past semester, and all of 2022 for that matter, feels like it has flown by. I am feeling inspired, grateful, and proud to be a part of this university and am looking forward to seeing what we will accomplish in the coming year. I’m thankful for the role that each staff member, faculty member, student, parent, and community member played in supporting each other throughout the year and in making UConn great.

That said, it’s important that we take time for ourselves over the next few weeks; to relax and recharge, spend time with loved ones, and do things that bring us joy. I wish each of you peace and happiness in the new year.

Happy Holidays,

Anne

Anne D’Alleva, PhD
Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Interfolio Dossier is Live!

As previously announced, UConn has purchased Interfolio’s Review, Promotion and Tenure and Dossier modules to streamline the PTR/PR processes. We are pleased to announce that Dossier is now live and open for faculty to begin accessing.

Dossier is Interfolio’s online platform for academics to collect and curate scholarly materials, request and receive confidential letters of recommendation, and prepare for upcoming evaluations. You, as a member of our faculty, can use Dossier to store your CV, publications, and other important career related materials for easy reference. You can then use Dossier to share your documents for review by your colleagues, to be included in review and promotion submissions, and to review documents shared with you by your colleagues.

Dossier will be available for all faculty members across campus to access using your NetID and password. To access your account, select sign-in with Partner Institution on the Dossier website: https://account.interfolio.com/login. You can view a video tutorial on how to sign-in here.

If you have used Dossier previously with a personal e-mail address, this article shows how you can merge your two accounts.

For more information about how to use your Dossier account, Interfolio has a great online help center and their Scholar Services can help answer your technical questions by email, phone, Facebook, or Twitter.

Dean of the School of Nursing Search

A national search is underway to identify candidates to lead the School of Nursing. This searched is chaired by Jason Irizarry, Dean of the Neag School of Education and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction. Applications are being collected through January 17, 2023.

Dean of the School of Social Work Search

A national search is underway to identify candidates to lead the School of Social Work. The search is chaired by Kent Holsinger, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Listening Sessions took place earlier this month and applications will be open in the coming weeks. Applications are being collected through February 6, 2023.

Humanities Institute Director Search

An internal search for the next Director of UConn’s Humanities Institute is underway. The search is chaired by Jeffrey Ogbar, Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Study of Popular Music. Interviews and public forum presentations were hosted over the last week.

UConn Reads

UConn Reads is a stimulating program that invites all members of the extended UConn community (students, staff members, faculty members, alumni, friends) to join in an engaging discussion about a book that has been selected to spark multidisciplinary conversations, critical debates, and an array of supporting activities. The program is being orchestrated by the Office of the Provost, and the book selected for this year’s program is “Light from Uncommon Stars," by Ryka Aoki. Get involved by contacting uconnreads@uconn.edu.

Reaffirming UConn's Commitment to Diversity in Admissions

On December 1st, University leaders and scholars in the areas of admissions and diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education shared insights on the issues being addressed and UConn's Response to the U.S. Supreme Court Cases (SFFA v. Harvard/UNC). View a recording of the presentation and panel discussion on the impending decisions and how they may impact UConn.

Highlighting Interdisciplinary Scholarship at UConn

Entrepreneurship isn’t just for the students at a university building startups—it’s for everyone.

At UConn, entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, unrestricted by school, college or program that provides the solution to many of the challenges our world faces. Across all industries and disciplines, it takes someone with an entrepreneurial drive and mindset to disrupt the status quo - continually innovating to find solutions to the world’s most irretractable problems.

The Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation provides students with interdisciplinary opportunities to learn about and experience first-hand entrepreneurship and innovation. Our signature programs include NetWerx, which provides tailored mentorship; Stamford Startup Studio for students interested in product development and management; Championship Labs, a first-of-its-kind program empowering student influencers and athletes with the tools to explore opportunities in content entrepreneurship and beyond; Werth Innovators Leadership Development, one of the nation’s top entrepreneurial leadership development programs; and the Center for Neurodiversity & Employment, created to improve employment outcomes for neurodivergent job seekers.

The Werth Institute is the legacy of Peter J. Werth, Jr., philanthropist and the founder, president, and CEO of ChemWerth, Inc., a full-service generic drug development and supply company. His investment is changing the lives of the thousands of students who take part in our mentorship, leadership, and experiential learning programs by ensuring UConn becomes a beacon of inclusive entrepreneurship for students throughout the nation.

Not housed in a singular department or college, The Werth Institute strives to be a central node of connection across the University for students in all schools and colleges to equip them with skillsets essential for personal and professional growth. In fact, 35% of the students who participated in our programs this past year were from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, constituting a significant departure from traditional entrepreneurship programs. At the heart of all we do is an accelerated, individualized approach to investing in students beyond what most academic units are able to offer.

Be Good. Make a Difference. Change the World.

This is Peter’s vision for entrepreneurship at UConn, one that has guided The Werth Institute since our founding in 2018. In that time, we have grown from an idea to an award-winning program that prepares and propels students forward, empowering each to the world they want to live in. UConn now has over 60 programs focused on or supporting entrepreneurship, reaching more than 3,000 students each year. The Werth Institute is a central part of the University’s strategic direction, especially in engaging students who are traditionally underrepresented or marginalized within entrepreneurial communities. This year, 55% of students engaged in our programs were from underrepresented populations, and more than 60% were women.

The Werth Institute is also reaching more first-year Huskies than ever before with an inclusive message around entrepreneurship, helping them get a head start on forging networks, growing their ideas, and developing as emotionally intelligent leaders. We continue to expand the depth of our programming by bringing together diverse groups of alumni who have successfully navigated a myriad of career pathways to provide students with greater real-world opportunities and insight into prestigious, competitive careers. More importantly, these connections are helping students build their self-confidence and hone their creative voices, something that simply cannot be learned in the classroom.

You can’t teach students how to be an entrepreneur. Instead, you give them the platform to fail without the having to pay a steep price and then the support to get back up to try again. The Werth Institute has created a space for students to explore their innovative potential without barriers as well as remove any sort of limitations students may have developed in their own head as to what they can be.

As we prepare to celebrate our five-year anniversary in January, our mission remains the same as it has been since day one: to create opportunities not yet imagined. Bringing this to life would not be possible without our students, faculty and staff, alumni, donors, and community partners. Join us in ensuring every Husky has the opportunity to explore their potential and build their confidence through entrepreneurship.

If you would like to learn more about how you can get involved with the work we’re doing, please reach out to me directly at david.noble@uconn.edu.

Huskies Forever,

David Noble
Managing Director, The Werth Institute

December 21: Semester Grades Due
December 26: Christmas Holiday Observed
January 2: New Years Day Holiday Observed
January 16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
January 17: First Day of Spring Semester Classes
January 30: Last Day of Add/Drop

Provost Office Awards

Deadlines for nominations are fast approaching. Visit our website for details on nomination materials, deadlines, and past winners.

Interfolio Town Hall

On February 10, the Provost’s Office will host a virtual town hall to offer a brief overview of the purchase of Interfolio’s Review, Promotion and Tenure and Dossier Modules and to answer questions from the community about the rollout of this new system. Please click here to learn more about this session, view recordings from the November 15^th Info Session, and to learn more about Interfolio @ UConn. You can also submit questions for the Town Hall in advance using this form. Questions will be answered live and the session will be recorded.

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – November 2022

I hope this message finds everyone well-rested and energized for the end of semester after the Thanksgiving break!

As you’ll know from President Maric’s announcement yesterday, she has appointed me as Provost, and I’m grateful for the trust that she and the Board of Trustees have placed in me. Since taking up the position on an interim basis six months ago, I’ve come to have an even greater appreciation for the talent and dedication of our faculty and staff and the potential of our amazing students across every field. We’ve experienced many challenges and transitions together over the past few years, and one of my primary goals is to create a stable institutional environment so that we can fully achieve our dynamic and innovative potential across our teaching, research, and engagement missions. I’m looking forward to working with each of you to make UConn – and the world beyond our campuses – a better place.

The focus of our Provost’s Office newsletter this month is student success. Simply put, student success is a measure of how our students are growing and thriving in every dimension of their experience at UConn. They are succeeding academically, making steady progress toward completing their degrees, and attaining knowledge and skills that will enable them to be life-long learners and launch satisfying and successful careers. They are forming friendships, finding mentors, and growing in their capacity to understand, respect, and embrace the many dimensions of our diversity. They are learning how to cultivate their own wellbeing, emotionally, physically and financially, which serves as a foundation for those complex and challenging academic and social experiences. And they are giving back to their communities – they are growing in responsibility, purpose, and leadership and driving change both on campus and off.

We have many qualitative and quantitative metrics for measuring students’ academic success. These include retention and graduation rates, DFW rates (the aggregate rate of students with D or F grades, or that withdraw from classes), the number of students on academic probation, survey data where students self-report on their experiences, and post-graduation data such as employment outcomes, return on investment, and economic mobility.

Much of the data shows that UConn students are experiencing high levels of success in many dimensions, including an average time to degree of 4.1 years that is the best in the nation among public universities.

At the same time, there are several areas in which worrying data trends have been emerging. These trends predate the pandemic but appear to have been exacerbated and accelerated by pandemic impacts. In some cases, our overall data does not ring alarm bells, but when we disaggregate by factors such as race and ethnicity, income status, first-generation status, and gender, we can see that we are not creating equal pathways to academic success for all our students.

As provost, I take responsibility for leading change so that we reverse these trends and close outcome gaps based on student demographics. But this work will take all of us. Student success is often seen as a “wicked problem” of higher education, and as such, there is no one single solution. The work will touch on many different areas and is an area of intense focus for the Provost’s Office.

In future newsletters, I will share spotlights and details of some of the work across UConn that support student success, including that of undergraduate advising and the Institute for Student Success. Today I want to begin by highlighting two projects led by the Provost’s Office. One is our Life-Transformative Education initiative, dedicated to ensuring we develop the identity, agency, and purpose of every student with a focus on their post-graduation success. The other is our assessment initiative, which will create a framework for academic programs to understand strengths and areas for improvement in relation to student learning. I also want to highlight a working group that has been creating resources for pregnant and parenting students. This has resulted in a new website and some guidelines that I hope you will all find helpful.

This problem is not confined to UConn. Earlier this month I attended the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities (APLU) annual meeting. At this meeting, higher education leaders from across the nation shared challenges they are facing and the strategies they are implementing to better support student success, especially among minoritized students who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. I had the opportunity to participate on a panel related to honors education and showcase some of the initiatives our Honor’s program undertakes to fosters high-level achievement. Some of the ideas being discussed in this national context are exciting, and we are moving discussions forward in several projects that you’ll hear more about in the next few months.

This is a vital time for us to come together and support our students, particularly as we look to mitigate and erase some of the growth in inequities caused by the pandemic. Research has clearly demonstrated that a caring and engaged faculty and staff has a powerful positive effect on student retention and achievement. I hope you’ll be joining me in finding your role in this work.

All best,

Anne D’Alleva
Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

New Gen-Ed Common Curriculum Guidelines and Implementation

At a special meeting of the University Senate on Monday, November 14, 2022, the Implementation Guidelines for the Common Curriculum for Leadership and Global Citizenship and related Senate by-law amendments were approved. This was the last approval step in a multi-year project to re-envision a general education curriculum that reflects our commitments to be forward-looking, responsive to students, increasingly flexible while maintaining high scholarly standards. The new curriculum offers relevant, challenging coursework that empowers students with a strong sense of moral, ethical, and social responsibility and the capacity to be proactive in a world that desperately needs them. The new curriculum will roll out in Fall 2025.

Faculty Compensation Policy

The University replaced the “Policy on Extra Compensation for Full-Time Faculty in AAUP” with the revised “Faculty Compensation Policy” effective November 11, 2022. This policy establishes the standards under which regular payroll faculty may receive compensation from the University or external entities. This applies to all regular payroll faculty excluding UConn Health, and covers regular compensation, summer salary, overload pay, and payments for prizes and awards.

Life Transformative Education

The Life Transformative Education Initiative continues to find ways to embed the guiding principles of LTE into the life and culture of our students. LTE is a framework to support the development of identity, agency, and purpose for all UConn students. In this work, we are part of the national Coalition for Life Transformative Education, focused on embedding long-term outcomes into our work on student success.

The guiding principles of Life Transformative Education at UConn are to:

Create (and celebrate) initiatives and programming that promotes the development of agency, identity, and purpose.
Create coursework, programs, and initiatives within an inclusive and equitable framework.
Foster meaningful relationships and emotionally supportive advising and mentoring.
Infuse curriculum with authentic experiential learning opportunities and real-world problem solving.
Ensure that LTE programming (coursework, experiential/service learning) and support is available to each UConn student.
Provide an environment in all facets of programming that welcomes diversity, encourages participation, and centers collaboration.

In practice, this work has been manifested in four ways:

Annual Cultivate workshops to engage faculty and staff around the University into the work of the initiative. The next Cultivate workshop will be held on March 2, 2023, featuring keynote speaker Christina Katopodis, Associate Director of Transformative Learning in the Humanities, CUNY. She will frame a set of group discussions around radical optimism in the classroom (and beyond) and will deliver specific strategies to guide this work. Details for sign up will be in the next newsletter.
An ongoing speaker series that highlights internal work in line with the LTE guiding principles, and which showcases external speakers to bring a range of inspiration to our work. Details can be found on our website.
Multiple “design sprints,” initially with external partners The Design Gym, and now in partnership with UConn’s Greenhouse Studios. These lead project teams through a process to “scale up” and further develop existing experiential learning opportunities at UConn. More details will follow on current projects, which include embedding career competencies for students in campus jobs & internships and imagining curricular and co-curricular opportunities for students to discover their purpose.
A series of workshops (launching early in 2023) to engage instructors across UConn in inclusive learning. These will focus on actionable strategies to close equity gaps, foster belonging in the classroom, and to ensure all students have a pathway to academic success. These workshops will draw on foundations from early LTE working groups, particularly that of the authentic & inclusive learning group.

Beyond these key elements, the LTE initiative also partners with broader conversations as we work to build LTE as the foundation for all engagement and education of students at UConn. This includes a strong partnership with University Advising, the Institute for Student Success, and the Office of Outreach and Engagement.

Assessment

At the University of Connecticut, we are all committed to ensuring we are providing all UConn students with the most effective educational programs possible. Program-level assessment work focuses on improvement by first identifying what students should be learning (program-level student learning objectives). Data can then be gathered to understand student outcomes in relation to these learning objectives. This allows programs to identify what is currently working, and where changes might be needed. In many cases, these efforts will be building on work that is already happening.

The Office for Academic Program Assessment (OAPA) leads this work in collaboration with the faculty-led University Student Learning Assessment Committee (USLAC). Our goal is to develop a robust culture of assessment at the University of Connecticut. In particular, we want assessment work at UConn to pay careful attention to achievement gaps that are visible when outcomes data is disaggregated. Throughout this data-driven process, we will be supporting departments as they develop and refine their programmatic student learning outcomes, create appropriate instruments for assessing how effective they are in achieving these outcomes, and ensure an inclusive approach to these efforts, sensitive to the diverse backgrounds and needs of all our students.

Over the next two years, all undergraduate programs that are not assessed through programmatic accreditation will develop learning outcomes, a curricular map for these outcomes, and an ongoing, manageable engagement in a cycle of assessment activities. The schedule for this process has been developed by OAPA and USLAC in consultation with our deans.

If you are in a program entering into the assessment cycle you can expect ongoing, centralized support from the staff and faculty fellows in OAPA. As academic programs work their way through this process, we encourage them to leverage the opportunity to engage in real, meaningful conversations about what they expect their students to learn within their programs.

An assessment software module that is part of the Blackboard (HuskyCT) system is being implemented and will be available—on a fully optional basis—to facilitate this work. Academic programs are free choose other means for building their assessment infrastructure and capturing the relevant data.

Further information related to the assessment initiative is available online here.

If you are interested in issues of equity and inclusion related to assessment, we encourage you to look at the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) framework on Equity in Assessment. This has been a central guide in our overall plan for our UConn assessment initiative. You can look at this framework and a range of resources to begin thinking about what equity in assessment might mean for your unit here.

Resources for Pregnant or Parenting Students

We know that the past two years have presented enormous challenges for us all. It has been made clear that the boundaries between our professional/academic and our personal lives are more porous than we had previously acknowledged. To this end, we encourage our faculty and staff to be open to potentially difficult conversations for our students who are balancing these responsibilities.

We want to share a new website that is available for students who are pregnant and/or have parenting responsibilities. This website will help students discover and navigate resources available to them, https://studentparents.uconn.edu/. This site was developed by a committee of UConn community members from across the University.

We have heard from pregnant and parenting students that they often feel isolated, have limited information about supports available, and are reluctant to discuss their concerns for fear of being stigmatized or having their commitment to their academic goals questioned. Faculty and staff who interact with these students have a unique opportunity to foster a more welcoming and supportive environment for them.

Some tips for this include:

Let students know you are open to them sharing their concerns about navigating family and academic responsibilities.
Be familiar with the resources available to pregnant and parenting students, many of which can be found at https://studentparents.uconn.edu/
There is also good information here https://hr.uconn.edu/worklife-family/, relevant to all members of the UConn community, including childcare providers, and lactation spaces on all campuses.
Be mindful of messages based on unconscious bias that your department might be sending about a student who is pregnant and/or parenting. Do not treat expectant/parenting students differently from those without children. Rather, encourage all your students to protect time for outside interests and responsibilities.
Be sure to allow adequate time and space for those who are lactating.
If a student requires an accommodation related to a pregnancy, refer them to the Center for Students with Disabilities at 860-486-2020 or csd@uconn.edu
If a student feels they have experienced discrimination or harassment due to pregnancy or other sex-based conduct, refer them to the Office of Institutional Equity at 860-486-2943 or equity@uconn.edu
If a student needs to be connected to resources and to consider impacts and support related to their academics, faculty and staff can refer Storrs undergraduate students to the Dean of Students Office at 860-486-3426 or dos@uconn.edu. Graduate students can be referred to The Graduate School at gradschool@uconn.edu. Regional campus students can be referred to the Student Services staff on their home campus.

We should strive to be fair, equitable, objective, and empathetic when receiving requests for flexibility. We encourage faculty and staff to extend these same considerations to our pregnant and/or parenting students as we enter this and future academic years.

2022 Undergraduate First Destination Outcomes

The Center for Career Development (CCD) has released the 2022 Undergraduate First Destination Outcomes which indicates that 90% of the 2022 graduating class have reported favorable outcomes at the six-month post graduation milestone. The full outcomes report will be available on the CCD website on December 15th.

Winter Weather Reminders

With the winter storm season upon us, we’d like to refresh your knowledge about operations at UConn’s Storrs and regional campuses during inclement weather.

For those of you who are new to the UConn community, these details will be helpful to understand the University’s decision-making processes before and during unusual weather conditions or other unexpected changes in class schedules and business operations.

First and foremost, the safety of our students, faculty, and staff is paramount. At the same time, the University has important teaching, research, and service missions to carry out. We balance these factors when considering whether the University can safely and effectively maintain normal operations during and after inclement weather or other unusual events.

With that in mind, we make decisions about cancelling classes or curbing business operations at our campuses very carefully, using the information available to us at the time about weather forecasts, road conditions, and other considerations.

UConn Alerts

One of the most important steps you can take right now as a member of the UConn community is to sign up to receive text message notifications on your cell phone about schedule changes, cancellations, emergencies, and other important information.

The process is quick and easy, and signing up is free. Instructions can be found under the “Get Alerts” section of the UConnALERT page. Even if you believe you are already signed up, it’s wise to check to ensure that the system reflects your most current cell phone number and other contact information.

We encourage you to review the University’s policy for details about how these decisions are made, expectations of employees, and other information.

The following guidance applies to all UConn locations except UConn Health, which has its own relevant policies.

How you’ll know UConn’s status:

When we determine it is necessary to cancel or delay classes, or to change business operations at the University, we’ll notify the UConn community as quickly as possible.
When storms occur overnight, we try to make this notification by 5 a.m. Sometimes conditions change rapidly, however, and we might need to adjust decisions about class schedules and business operations on short notice.
The UConnALERT webpage (http://alert.uconn.edu) is the definitive source of information about the University’s operating status.
UConn community members at all locations, excluding UConn Health, can also check the 24-hour emergency closing information number: 860-486-3768.
The University notifies the media about operating changes at UConn’s campuses, but we cannot guarantee that details provided by news outlets represent the most current or complete information.

What stays open, what might change:

If classes are cancelled, this applies to all classes -- including those online.
UConn follows suit if the Governor closes state agencies, releases state employees from work, or restricts road travel due to weather conditions.
Certain essential operations continue despite inclement weather, including public safety, residential and dining services, health services, animal care, facility maintenance, and other critical services.
Decisions about whether to continue or cancel specific services, such as transportation, are made on a case-by-case basis depending on existing conditions and needs.
The Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, UConn Athletics, and other units that sponsor events and activities decide independently whether to continue or cancel their events, and you should contact them directly with questions.

Academic operations:

If the University has not announced a delay or cancellation of classes, faculty are expected to hold their classes as scheduled in the modality originally advertised.
In circumstances when a faculty member determines that they cannot travel safely to campus, the faculty member must notify all students in the class in a timely manner along with their dean and department head.
Faculty must not preemptively cancel class before the University decides and announces whether UConn’s normal schedule will be changed.
Students should contact their professors as soon as possible if they must miss a class or other activity due to weather conditions.
Faculty should respect the decisions of commuting students who decide not to travel to campus or to leave class early to get home safely, and should provide options for them to make up missed work.

Keep safety first:

Always consider your safety first. Weather and road conditions may vary considerably across the state and from one UConn campus to another.
With that in mind, all members of the University community should evaluate the circumstances they face, plan extra time for their commute if necessary, and take other common-sense measures.
Employees and students are reminded to be particularly vigilant while driving or walking on campus during inclement weather, including around vehicles conducting plowing and sanding activities. Remember that pedestrians always have the right of way.

Who reports to campus, and when:

Emergency and essential staff must remain at, or report to, in-person work as directed. Supervisors must learn and follow their units’ related procedures. UConn’s policy and guidance on the Human Resources site are helpful in understanding these expectations.

Employees who decide not to come to campus or to leave campus early due to travel safety concerns may use a vacation day, personal time, or other accrued time without advance approval, but must notify their supervisors that they are doing so.
If approved by their supervisor, they may also be able to work remotely.
For typically in-person employees: If UConn directs those employees not to report to campus due to weather or other operational changes, they are expected to work from home unless they have a manager-approved flexible schedule or use accrued time (i.e., vacation or personal time).
Supervisors are encouraged to consider difficulties that storms may cause for employees, such as electrical or internet outages.
All employees working remotely are expected to be accessible and responsive to supervisors during work hours by email and telephone. Supervisors may expect that assigned work that can be accomplished remotely is completed on time.
Employees on an approved telecommuting or remote work schedule should continue to work that schedule unless they receive approval to flex their time that day.

Supervisors may make reasonable adjustments to continue University business, including holding meetings by teleconference or virtually; and employees who would normally be present at work may be required to participate.

Again, we wish to emphasize the paramount importance of safety. Faculty, staff, and students should evaluate their own circumstances carefully, exercise appropriate judgment, and take responsibility for their safety when making decisions during inclement weather and other operational changes to emergency situations at UConn Storrs and regional campuses.

Reading Days

Reading Days are Saturday and Sunday, December 10 and 11, and Thursday, December 15. Per the University Senate By-Laws, the intent of Reading Days is as follows:

Final Exams

Final exams begin on Monday, December 12 and end on Sunday, December 18.

In very limited instances, undergraduate students may request rescheduling for an exam. They must make such a request through the Dean of Students Office for the Storrs campus or each regional campus student services office, and as early as possible. The reasons for such a request include “bunched” finals and immediate illness. A student whose absence is excused by the Dean of Students Office or regional student services staff shall have an opportunity to take a final without penalty. Please consult the Dean of Students website and the Registrar’s website for further detail.

***Please note, the above does not apply to the School of Law, School of Medicine, or School of Dental Medicine.***

Appointment of Director of UConn Waterbury Campus

Dr. Fumiko Hoeft has been appointed as the next director of UConn Waterbury. Selected from a talented pool of applicants, Dr. Hoeft has demonstrated a commitment to student success in academics and beyond and has shared an exciting vision for the future of the UConn Waterbury campus and its connections with the wider Waterbury community. Dr. Hoeft is a prolific researcher and an exemplary member of the UConn community. Dr. Hoeft joined UConn in 2018 as director of BIRC and professor of psychological sciences. In addition to her appointment as professor of psychological sciences, she also holds appointments as professor of computer science, mathematics, neuroscience, psychiatry, pediatrics, and educational psychology at UConn.

UConn Reads

UConn Reads is a stimulating program that invites all members of the extended UConn community (students, staff members, faculty members, alumni, friends) to join in an engaging discussion about a book that has been selected to spark multidisciplinary conversations, critical debates, and an array of supporting activities. The program is being orchestrated by the Office of the Provost, and the book selected for this year’s program is “Light from Uncommon Stars," by Ryka Aoki.

Interfolio Information Session Recording & Future Opportunities

On November 15, the Provost’s Office hosted a virtual information session to provide an overview of the purchase of Interfolio’s Review, Promotion and Tenure and Dossier Modules. A recording of the information session and details about additional opportunities to learn more about the system and our roll out are available on the Interfolio @ UConn webpage.

Dean of the School of Nursing Search

A national search is underway to identify candidates for the next Dean of the School of Nursing. This searched is chaired by Jason Irizarry, Dean of the Neag School of Education and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction. Applications are being collected through January 17, 2023.

Dean of the School of Social Work Search

A national search is underway to identify candidates for the next Dean of the School of Social Work. The search is chaired by Kent Holsinger, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Listening Sessions took place earlier this month and applications will be open in the coming weeks.

Marissa Greenberg Post-Event Summary

On November 9 and 10, the Office of the Provost, in partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, and the UConn Humanities Institute, hosted Dr. Marissa Greenberg, Associate Professor of English at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Greenberg was invited to teach the UConn community about an approach that she has been developing to create a more active and inclusive pedagogy, drawing on the practice of caucusing that has emerged as a powerful tool in anti-racist efforts in political and labor contexts.

In a public presentation, followed by two hands-on workshops, one for faculty and one for graduate assistants, Dr. Greenberg demonstrated the value of this approach in shifting our pedagogical orientation from a deficit mindset to an asset mindset. By providing them with opportunities to engage in discussions within this context of affinity-based caucuses, students come to see how their own embodied, lived experiences can lead them to powerful, critical insights into materials that might otherwise seem distant and alien to them.

Highlighting Interdisciplinary Scholarship at UConn

UConn’s Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP) brings together individuals with diverse scientific, clinical, and methodological expertise and supports their evolution into collaborative investigators who conduct innovative interdisciplinary research that impacts public health and well-being. At its core, InCHIP and its investigators aim to improve human health through research. But human health does not exist in a vacuum -- it reflects myriad processes and mechanisms at levels ranging from the molecular to the political. To truly improve the condition of human health requires us to acknowledge this complexity, embrace the need for collaboration across fields of research, and encourage creative approaches that unearth and leverage mechanisms that tip the scales.

InCHIP began as an HIV-focused research center within Psychological Sciences and has since grown into a multidisciplinary research center broadly focused on health. InCHIP has over 150 core faculty and student investigators from across UConn and a network of over 600 health researchers worldwide. InCHIP is home to four research centers: Collaboratory on School and Child Health; UConn Center for Advancing Research, Methods, and Scholarship in Gun Injury Prevention; UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media; UConn Rudd Center on Food Policy and Health. InCHIP is also host to nine Research Interests Groups focused on topics ranging from obesity to pregnancy to interprofessional healthcare.

InCHIP investigators work collaboratively across UConn departments, colleges, and campuses around common health-related interests. InCHIP centers collaboration across disciplines is pivotal to meeting the goal of improving health. ‘Interdisciplinarity’ research reflects a lot of hard work to translate, concede and articulate assumptions, and delve into new directions. To be successful, health (especially public health) research and initiatives require researchers who carry different lenses to work together around shared goals.

An example of how successful collaboration can look lies in one of InCHIP’s areas of strength – HIV prevention and treatment. Medical researchers have worked in laboratories and clinics for the last 30 years to develop new and better HIV treatment and prevention solutions that can prevent lives lost and improve the quality of life for those living with HIV. But due to HIV-related stigma and often the intersecting stigmas associated with poverty, racism, gender identity, and sexuality, these medical solutions may never become widely used by the people who stand to benefit the most from them. By working with researchers who specialize in stigma, human behavior, communication, and social determinants of health, teams can work together to improve the accessibility and uptake of these life-saving drugs and ultimately curb the spread of HIV.

How to Connect with InCHIP:

Learn More: Faculty and students interested in or working in human health are encouraged to check out our website: chip.uconn.edu.
Join the InCHIP Network: We encourage anyone interested to join our network here. By joining InCHIP’s network, faculty and students will be the first to learn about InCHIP’s lectures and workshops, services, and resources and connect around shared interests with fellow researchers.
Access Resources and Services: We offer many resources to develop and support health research ranging from the development of nascent project ideas to processing and submitting grant proposals and beyond – you can learn more about those services here. Our services are available free of charge to UConn faculty and students.

News & Events:

Annual Report: To get a better sense of the work we do and the research of our investigators, check out our annual report.
Internal funding opportunities: InCHIP offers funding for faculty and students working in areas related to human health. To learn more about this year’s seed grant programs, click here.
InCHIP Lecture Series: InCHIP hosts lectures each academic year that feature investigators from around the world working in human health. Upcoming speakers will address gun violence prevention, HIV and substance use, and global health. To learn more about upcoming lectures and RSVP, click here. To view past lectures, visit our YouTube page.
Two New Graduate Certificates: Working in collaboration with departments and colleges across UConn, InCHIP recently developed two graduate certificates in Global Health and Interdisciplinary approaches to Obesity Prevention and Weight Management. These certificates will launch next semester. If you are interested in either, please reach out to Greidy Miralles at greidy.miralles@uconn.edu.

Academic Affairs Spotlight

In Jeffrey's role, he supervises academic program development, review, and accreditation across all units. In collaboration with the schools, colleges, and University Senate, he manages academic curricular standards and adjudicates appeals that come before the Office of the Provost. He also administers the Promotion, Tenure, and Reappointment processes for all UConn faculty.

Before moving into the Office of the Provost, Shoulson was Director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life and held the Doris and Simon Konover Chair in Jewish Studies. He is Professor of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages and Professor of English, and has affiliations with the Medieval Studies Program and the Middle East Studies Program.

A scholar of early modern literature and culture, his research focuses on intellectual, cultural, and literary encounters between Jews and Christians in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. His books include Milton and the Rabbis: Hellenism, Hebraism, and Christianity (Columbia UP, 2001); Hebraica Veritas? Christian Hebraists and the Study of Judaism in Early Modern Europe (U Penn P, 2004); and Fictions of Conversion: Jews, Christians, and Cultures of Change in Early Modern England (U Penn P, 2013).

Q: What does a typical work week look like for you?

A: There’s no such thing as a typical work week in the Provost’s office! My days and weeks are shaped by the academic calendar and other annual cycles that determine our workflow. Much of what I do takes the form of meetings, some in person, some online. These meetings often include folks from across the institution and one of the pleasures of my job has been getting to know and work with so many knowledgeable and dedicated people in so many different units. On any given day I might meet with departmental, school, or college leaders to work on various academic initiatives; representative faculty to develop programs or address institutional needs; administrative staff to refine our operational infrastructure; or folks from outside of UConn with whom we are collaborating or partnering to broaden our institutional reach.

Q: What is an important project/initiative you’re working on right now?

A: Since the PTR/PR process is one of my primary responsibilities, I am always looking for ways to ensure that it functions as consistently, equitably, and fairly as possible. Our faculty deserve nothing less. We’ve been working with our deans and department heads to ensure there is clarity and transparency around expectations and standards. We’re currently in the midst of implementing a new digital platform that will help us manage the process consistently and, we hope, with fewer administrative burdens on all involved. And I am working with colleagues in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to strengthen our work around equity, inclusion, and justice in these processes. These are ongoing efforts, and they sit at the heart of our commitment to academic excellence and fairness.

Q: If you could solve one problem at UConn right now, what would it be?

A: For the last several years, I’ve been working with an array of institutional partners to address the serious challenge of food insecurity, in particular on our regional campuses. Put simply, students who can’t rely on regular access to affordable, nutritious food are much less likely to succeed academically and to take full advantage of all the wonderful opportunities we have at UConn. If I could solve one problem right now, it would be the ongoing presence of food insecurity amongst our students, not only on the regional campuses, but also at Storrs; not only amongst our undergraduate population, but also for our graduate and professional students, where these problems are also far more prevalent than they should be.

Q: What is your favorite UConn sports moment?

A: I am a big UConn basketball fan, both women’s and men’s teams. My arrival at UConn a little over ten years ago coincided with that amazing streak of consecutive championships by the women’s team and the miraculous year UConn won both the men’s and the women’s titles (2014). But my love for the team began back in 1990 when I had the chance to see the men’s team play in a regional semi-finals game at the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands against Clemson. Scotty Burrell hit Tate George for a full-court pass that he converted for the game-winning shot with one second on the clock. It remains the most exciting sporting event I have ever witnessed in person and has made me a Husky basketball fan for life. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth 40 seconds of your time at this link!

November 30: Town Halls on Student Fees
December 1: Reaffirming UConn's Commitment to Diversity in Admissions: UConn's Response to the U.S. Supreme Court Cases (SFFA v. Harvard/UNC)
December 9: Last day of fall semester classes
December 10 & December 11: Reading Days
December 12: Final examinations begin
December 15: Reading Day
December 18: Final examinations end
December 21: Semester Grades Due

Reaffirming UConn's Commitment to Diversity in Admissions
UConn's Response to the U.S. Supreme Court Cases (SFFA v. Harvard/UNC)

Please join us for a presentation and panel discussion on the impending decisions of the Supreme Court on the SFFA v. Harvard/UNC cases. University leaders and scholars in the areas of admissions and diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education will share insights on the issues at hand and anticipated decisions, how the outcome may affect UConn, and how we plan to respond. View the event flyer.

Provost Office Awards

Nominations for these awards are now open. Visit our website for details on nomination materials, deadlines, and past winners.

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – October 2022

We are officially past the midpoint of the fall semester, and things are in full swing. In the last newsletter, I mentioned that the Provost Office would be organizing and defining our current priorities. I’m pleased to share the 2022-2023 Provost Office Plan, which describes what initiatives we are prioritizing and how we’ve framed our thinking. Click here to view the full 2022-2023 Provost's Office Plan.

There are some major ongoing projects this year that require significant time and attention, like the implementation of the Interfolio Review, Promotion and Tenure module. This is a big undertaking, but will result in a more efficient and smoother process for PTR/PR review.

Another major project is the work happening around assessment of academic programs. It’s evident that we need to develop better understandings of outcomes and student learning objectives for our programs. This is not only to support student success, but to address needs of the university for our institutional accreditation.

We’re also working on some more specific and targeted projects, like documenting faculty leave guidelines and an updated faculty compensation policy. We’ll share more about all of these things as we make progress on each of our outlined initiatives for the year.

Of course, there may always be new things that come up throughout the year. I’ve learned to always expect the unexpected in the Provost Office, and we’ll be flexible as new initiatives arise.

All best,

Anne D'Alleva
Interim Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

New Bulk Minor Curricular Action Request Form (TRUCK)

The University Senate Curricula and Courses Committee has approved an expedited process for numerous small course revisions in support of a unit’s curricular changes. The process involves using a form, Temporary Relief for Untying Curricular Knots: Bulk Minor Curricular Action Request Form (TRUCK), that is meant to provide temporary relief to the CAR system for bulk changes to a curriculum.

Please note the following:

The TRUCK cannot be used to propose new courses, only course revisions;
“Numerous” is defined here as 5 or more. If you are revising fewer than 5 courses, use the Curricular Action Request form for each course;
“Small” is defined here as largely editorial or cosmetic changes that do NOT significantly change a course’s name, content, level, number of credits, or general education components. Any changes that fundamentally alter any of these five components of a course must use the traditional Curricular Action Request form;
This is “temporary” since Courseleaf, a new curricular management system, will be implemented within the next two years by the Registrar’s Office. TRUCK will sunset when Courseleaf is officially fully implemented;

The TRUCK form has been developed with consultation from several bodies in the curricular process, and the Senate has been in close consultation with the Registrar’s Office about potential unintended consequences of using this process. Instructions, a letter of intent form, and the actual TRUCK form are available on the Senate website. Contact Karen McDermott (karen.mcdermott@uconn.edu) or Suzanne Wilson (suzanne.wilson@uconn.edu) with any questions.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice Programming Opportunities

On November 9^th and 10^th, in partnership with the Humanities Institute, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, and CETL, the Office of the Provost will host a presentation by Dr. Marissa Greenberg, Associate Professor of English at the University of New Mexico focused on caucusing in the classroom as a justice-oriented pedagogy that centers students’ complex identities in their education experience.

Wednesday, November 9^th, 2022
Presentation: “Leveraging Affinity and Alliance for Justice, Inclusion and Deep Learning” 3 – 4 p.m.
Humanities Institute Conference Room and livestream via WebEx
Most familiar from political organizing, caucusing in the classroom mobilizes affinities and builds alliances to foster deep learning for all students. Dr. Greenberg shares strategies and tactics for caucusing and describes her experience using this pedagogy to show how it makes interventions where they matter most

Thursday, November 10^th, 2022
Workshops: “Making Room for Caucusing in your Classroom”
Faculty Session: 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Graduate Assistant Session: 2:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Humanities Institute Conference Room, space limited
In these workshops, Dr. Greenberg builds in her presentation on caucusing to guide faculty and graduate instructors through incorporating caucusing into their courses. She will address practical considerations, like learning objectives and time management, as well as emotional and professional risks associated with this pedagogy. Each instructor should bring the syllabus for a course that they are interested in revising to make room for caucusing. Participants from across all ranks and disciplines are welcome.

RSVP to the presentation and/or workshops here.

Pop-Up Classes

One new Pop-Up course, Exploring the Entrepreneurial Perspective, is running for 7 weeks during the 2^nd half of the fall semester (Dates: Monday, October 17^th through Friday, December 9^th). We are also reoffering one of our most popular Pop-Up courses during this same time period, U.S. Anti-Black Racism.

New York Times Subscriptions for Storrs Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate Student Affairs (USG) has purchased a year-long subscription to the New York Times for all UConn Storrs Undergraduate students. For faculty who may assign any New York Times articles in your syllabus, please remind your students of this resource. Click here to view information on how students can access their subscription. https://usg.uconn.edu/academic-resources/

Interfolio Information Session

On November 15^th, the Provost Office is holding a virtual information session to share an introductory presentation to the community on the use of the Interfolio Review, Promotion and Tenure (RPT) module, give an overview of the implementation plan, and address common questions we have been receiving. If you are in any way involved in PTR/PR, we strongly encourage you to attend. Details on the info session can be found here.

Husky Harvest

Access to affordable healthy food is a necessity for UConn students to succeed. Over the last few years, Senior Vice Provost Jeffrey Shoulson has been working with a task force to analyze and address food insecurity on our regional campuses. A crucial first step in addressing this issue is establishing food pantries on our Avery Point, Hartford and Waterbury campuses, and extending service at the food pantry operating on our Stamford campus. We are proud to share that we have partnered with Connecticut Foodshare to create Husky Harvest, with locations at each of our regional campuses for students to access meals on campus, and to bring home for themselves and their families. Husky Harvest locations on the regional campuses are expected to open in November.

Edward C. Marth Mentorship Award

The AAUP UConn Chapter established the Edward C. Marth Mentorship Award to recognize the leadership and dedication of Edward Marth, former Executive Director of the AAUP UConn Chapter, to both encourage and reward outstanding mentoring of graduate students by UConn Graduate Faculty members. Recipients of the award have had direct and significant impact and involvement with graduate students, outstanding commitment and effectiveness as a mentor of graduate students at UConn, and have demonstrated unusual effort to provide consistent mentoring of graduate students during the course of their careers. Recipients will be Graduate Faculty members who have extraordinary records of excellence and effectiveness in activities such as facilitating smooth transitions for both entering and exiting graduate students; showing sensitivity to students' academic, personal, and professional goals and needs; being accessible to students; playing an active role in coaching graduate students through the graduate school experience and connecting them to appropriate intellectual and professional networks; and, guiding graduate students toward intellectual and professional independence. Nominations are due November 21, 2022, and more information is available here.

Faculty Recognition Celebration Event

The Office of the President and Office of the Provost hosted the inaugural Faculty Recognition Celebration on Tuesday, October 18^th to honor the achievements of faculty who have received national and international prestigious awards and recognitions from professional organizations and entities external to UConn. University Professor Dr. Cato Laurencin was the keynote speaker and shared insightful examples of excellence and leadership from his own career with those in attendance. Click here to view the database of prestigious awards and honors won by our faculty.

Women’s Leadership Forum Event

In partnership with the Women's Center, the Office of the Provost established the Women’s Leadership Forum which is a collective of UConn leaders who identify as women invested in the development and success of other women in leadership positions at UConn and UConn Health. Invitations are extended to leaders in managerial-level academic or administrative positions. The first event of the fall took place earlier this month and featured opportunities for networking and a panel discussion on “Sharing your Leadership Story: A Conversation with Women Leaders”, led by Fany Hannon, Michelle Williams and Kiki Nissen.

Dean of the School of Social Work Search

As many of you may know, Dean Nina Heller of the School of Social Work plans to step down from the deanship at the end of the 22-23 academic year. Dean Heller has served as dean for the past 7 years and has led the school through challenging times such as the covid-19 pandemic while continuing to foster life-transformative education for students. Under her leadership, the school implemented a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism (DEI/AR) Program, completed its strategic plan, has maintained its ranking as the #1 Social Work School in the state of Connecticut, and has moved the school to the top 12% nationally. The Office of the Provost will undertake a national search to identify candidates to lead the School of Social Work, to be chaired by Kent Holsinger, Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Dean of the School of Nursing Search

A national search is underway to identify candidates to lead the School of Nursing following the planned retirement of Dean Deborah Chyun at the end of the 2022-23 academic year. This searched is chaired by Jason Irizarry, Dean of the Neag School of Education and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction. Listening sessions took place earlier this month and applications will be open in the coming weeks. Click here to learn more about the status of this national search.

Humanities Institute Director Search

The search for the next director of the Humanities Institute has kicked off and is being chaired by Jeffrey Ogbar, Professor of History and Director of the Center for the Study of Popular Music. The search will be conducted internally and the position is open for applications through November 10, 2022. Click here for more details including search committee membership, position description, and how to apply.

Highlighting Interdisciplinary Scholarship at UConn

Fostering collaborative and interdisciplinary scholarship and research is at the forefront of our mission as an R1 flagship University. There are intersecting ideas and synergies across departments, schools and colleges, and centers and institutes. Each month we plan to highlight a center or institute to share their message and raise awareness around their work. This month, we are spotlighting the Institute of the Environment.

Established in 2019, the Institute of the Environment (IoE) has a mission to advance research, education, and engagement concerning the environment and sustainability. It is a broadly inclusive organization that comprises more than 150 faculty members and four administrative units: the Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering, the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History, the Natural Resources Conservation Academy, and the Office of Sustainability. Programs of the IoE focus on issues regarding the environment and sustainability, and enhance synergy, collaboration, and cooperation across all facets of the University including the arts and humanities; biophysical, engineering, and social sciences; health and agriculture; and law and policy. IoE is dedicated enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all endeavors and programming.

The IoE engages faculty members, staff members, and students to raise awareness and address some of the most pressing challenges that confront society in the 21st century. These challenges represent “wicked problems” that include climate change and biodiversity loss, air and water pollution, habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as energy and food security, to mention only a few. Each of these challenges is complex, intimately interwoven with human activities, and requires multidisciplinary collaboration to understand underlying causes of problems, and to develop comprehensive solutions that are effective and just, ultimately leading to sustainable systems that enhance human-wellbeing for all segments of society, including future generations.

The work of the IoE starts internally, through collaborations with the University’s operational units to ensure that our institutional commitments to sustainability and green infrastructure are essential values that guide decision-making. The Office of Sustainability (OS) leads, collaborates, advises, and advocates for sustainable goals and actions across the campuses of the University of Connecticut. The OS staff, Sustainability Interns, and EcoCaptains work with senior administrators, students, faculty and staff members to set and achieve strategic sustainability goals in the areas of climate action and resilience, energy and buildings, waste reduction and diversion, water resources, food and dining, grounds, purchasing, transportation, open space and natural resource stewardship, and the intersection of these issues with environmental and social justice. In addition, the OS develops outreach and engagement programs that use experiential learning to raise awareness and improve performance around sustainable practices and behaviors. As a consequence of leadership by the OS and the commitment and dedication of all components of the university, UConn has been nationally and internationally recognized for its performance with respect to sustainability and for being a green campus.

The Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering (CESE) engages in cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research to solve complex and emerging environmental challenges. CESE leads and catalyzes research involving its 12 core faculty members from departments within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the School of Engineering, and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In general, CESE supports multidisciplinary research that bridges the basic and applied sciences, and provides technical expertise and laboratory infrastructure in the areas of organics, nutrients, metals, and emerging or persistent contaminants (e.g., forever compounds [PFAS, per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances], harmful algal toxins, polychlorinated bisphenols [PCBs]). Activities supported by CESE strengthen the scientific understanding of complex and evolving natural systems, monitor environmental quality, inform sound stewardship, and enlighten policy. Taken together, such activities provide guidance for long-term sustainability.

The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History explores how natural history shapes the lives of people and how in turn, people shape the environment. Through public events and exhibits hosted at UConn and throughout Connecticut, the CSMNH shares UConn’s world-class scholarship directly with students and the public, striving to give new types of learning experiences to people of all ages, and to interpret the scholarship generated by faculty and staff members, as well as by students, in ways that make it relevant and useful to the lives of everyone. By engaging collaboratively across the many disciplines at the University, the CSMNH inspires creative and novel perspectives about the relationship of humans with the natural world. A new exhibit, “Right Below Your Feet, a Beautiful Evolutionary Success Story”, will open in the Wilbur Cross Building on Wednesday, October 26 at 3:00 PM. It features a group of organisms called bryophytes, about 20,000 species of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, and highlights the evolutionary success of the group as well as its incredible beauty.

The Natural Resources Conservation Academy represents a consortium of scholars and educators from the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, the College of Education, and the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering. The mission of the NRCA is to engage diverse teen and adult participants in natural resources conservation through place-based, experiential outdoor education, and to facilitate community action through collaborative partnerships that contribute to local environmental solutions. Signature programs include the Conservation Ambassador Program, Difference Maker Mentors Program, the Conservation Training Partnership, and the Teacher Professional Learning Initiative. It has had broad success in reaching 537 participants from 141 schools and 158 local organizations in 163 towns and producing 233 community projects.

Events and News

The IoE in collaboration with its constituent units have developed a number of exciting opportunities to engage faculty members, staff members, students, and the public this semester.

Environmental and Social Sustainability Small Grants (ESSSG).— The Office of Sustainability and the Institute of the Environment is funding a program to support student-faculty projects that enhance environmental sustainability and campus-wide engagement with sustainability issues at the University of Connecticut and in Connecticut communities through research, authentic community engagement, campus operations, or education. Projects must increase both environmental and social sustainability at UConn, and address one or more of UConn's strategic sustainability goal areas (climate change, energy and buildings, waste, outreach and engagement, water resources, food and dining, purchasing, transportation, or grounds, open space and conservation areas) and one or more related social challenges (fostering inclusion of diverse perspectives, addressing systematic inequalities, environmental justice, social and health inequity, community development, etc.). Project activities can occur at any of the UConn campuses or extend to Connecticut communities outside of the University campuses. Special consideration is given to interdisciplinary projects that advance equity and justice or incorporate the arts and humanities.

Mini-Grants in Support of Environmental Research (MiSER).—In collaboration with Institute of the Environment, the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering is conducting a Mini-Grant Competition to provide financial support for faculty members at UConn to enable a reductions in the cost of analyses conducted in CESE’s Environmental Chemistry Laboratories (i.e., analyses of nutrients, metals, and organics) that directly relate to one or more of the following objectives: (1) To support the development of new environmental proposals to state, federal, or private sector funding agencies; (2) To enhance environmental scholarship and outreach; (3) To enhance the quality of graduate student research; or (4) To enhance collaboration by environmental faculty members with CESE’s Environmental Chemistry Laboratories. The application deadline is October 29, 2022.

Multidisciplinary Environmental Research Awards for Graduate Students (MERAGS).—As part of its mission to enhance multidisciplinary scholarship, the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, in collaboration with the Institute of the Environment, is funding projects to support multidisciplinary environmental research by graduate students. These awards provide support during the Spring and Summer Semesters to encourage multidisciplinary collaborative research and scholarship related to the environment by graduate students (either Master’s or Doctoral students) and faculty members at UConn. Proposed research or scholarship can include any disciplinary facet of the university (humanities, social sciences, biophysical sciences, engineering sciences, fine arts, law, etc.) with a focus on environmental issues. The application deadline is November 17, 2022.

The Living Building Philanthropic Initiative.—Join us on an exciting and innovative philanthropic journey to raise funds to construct a distinctive “Living Building” to house the Institute of the Environment, with ample exhibition and research space for the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History. Our proposed “Living Building” is purposefully designed to blur the perceived separation between humans and nature, and to enhance the sense that humans are part of the environment. Through creative architecture and design, living buildings enhance their surroundings by surpassing goals of environmental mitigation

by elevating building goals to embody environmental regeneration. Meeting a set of performance standards set forth by the International Living Future Institute, Living Building design, construction, and space-use “make the world a better place.”

Our living building will be “from the people of Connecticut for the people of Connecticut,” reflecting our shared environmental and cultural heritage. The building will act as a highly visible gateway for environmental programming involving research, education, and outreach that reflects the University’s commitment to sustainability and the environment. The elements that characterize Living Buildings are fully aligned with UConn’s core values of innovation, global engagement, diversity, and leadership. Indeed, the IoE Living Building is the perfect venue to showcase UConn’s status as a leading University: it will engage diverse communities across the state, create transformative experiences for students and lifelong learners, and generate new resources and knowledge through discovery. The first of its kind in the State of Connecticut, the building will be tangible evidence of the University’s commitment to advancing innovation and design.

This unique building and its associated programming will advance the mission of the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History (CSMNH) and its associated Office of State Archaeology by highlighting Connecticut’s rich natural and cultural

heritage. It will be a destination for individuals of all ages from across the state and region, inspiring wonder and expanding appreciation of the natural world by providing visitors with truly life-changing opportunities to use our public spaces to intimately explore scientific specimens and exhibits.

By creatively combining state-of-the-art exhibit and education space with the sustainable characteristics that are inherent to Living Buildings, we will create an inspiring educational space for all that will help advance the missions of the Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, the Office of Sustainability, and the Natural Resources Conservation Academy, as well as to promote environmental sustainability and responsible stewardship of the natural world.

The Living Building will synergize interactions among IoE units and enhance collaborations among diverse faculty members, students, and environmental professionals in multidisciplinary scholarship and educational pursuits. The positive environmental impacts of a Living Building will provide an effective platform for reaching Connecticut communities by telling meaningful stories that resonate with visitors from across the state and nation. Indeed, the Living Building will act as a living laboratory to highlight sustainable practices (energy conservation, water recycling). Our collections and programming are designed to inspire the public by creating opportunities for compelling community engagement. By embedding exhibit and educational space within a beautiful, functional Living Building, we will enrich the experiences of visitors by engaging and inspiring them to think deeply about and care for the natural world. By creating a Living Building, the people of Connecticut will gain a special landmark that will function as a transformative space to experience, discover, and support the natural world.

Academic Affairs Spotlight

Michael has served as vice provost at UConn since September, 2020. In this role, he oversees faculty recruitment, retention, and onboarding; faculty and academic staff development and recognition; faculty and academic staff equity and access; and student success and equity initiatives. Prior to this role,

Michael has held roles as department head of Dramatic Arts at UConn, artistic director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and faculty director for the Schola2rs House Learning Community. Michael is professor of dramatic arts and teaches theatre history, dramatic literature, and playwriting, and his full-length and one-act plays have been featured both regionally and internationally.

What does a typical work week look like for you?

Except for my standing meetings with direct reports and other university stakeholders, it is hard to define what a work week looks like. There are issues that pop up and need to be addressed from speaking with students and their parents, to bias incidents in units across our campuses to responding to questions around academic policy. And then there are the programs and initiatives like the Husky Book Bundle, Faculty Leadership training, which is a new initiative, that I need to plan and implement. And then there is the Life Transformative Education initiative.

What is an important project/initiative you’re working on right now?

I would say the many projects associated with LTE, planning a series of conversations with academic program assistants in the spring, and the Second Book Project for Associate Professors that we are planning for this spring are just three initiatives I am working closely with our Project Coordinator Nisha Hardnett that I am deeply excited about.

What are you most looking forward to as the academic year progresses?

I am always excited about moving the needle supporting student's academic success, supporting faculty retention, and staff professional development. And honestly, I simply get geeked up when students arrive back on campus in the fall.

If you could solve one problem right now at UConn, what would it be?

That every person on this campus feels valued and appreciated, feels seen and heard.

What is your favorite UConn moment?

This year we had a great time working with Nisha Hardnett and the Transfer Student Organization to put together a welcome event for transfer and campus change students. Over 140 students and of course the ice cream was on point!

November 8, 2022 – Election Day
November 9&10, 2022 - Caucusing in the Classroom events with Marissa Greenberg
November 11, 2022 – Veteran’s Day
November 15, 2022 – Interfolio Information Session (Click here for details)
November 21, 2022 – Nominations for Edward C. Marth Mentorship Award Due
November 24, 2022 – Thanksgiving Day

Provost Office Awards

The Provost Office facilitates the following awards: Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Award, Provost’s Outstanding Service Award, Provost’s Award for Excellence in Community Engaged Scholarship, and Alumni Faculty Excellence Awards.
Nominations for these awards are now open. Visit our website for details on nomination materials, deadlines, and past winners.

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – September 2022

As we move forward in the academic year, I’m finding that the work in the Provost’s Office largely falls in four main categories:

Our annual and ongoing responsibilities around major academic processes, like PTR or budgeting for the schools, colleges, and library.
Short- and medium-term projects/initiatives that we undertake to improve the quality of the work that we do at the University and that we typically finish within the year.
Long-term projects, which are often highly collaborative and which we may or may not be leading ourselves. Examples of this are large building projects like Science 1 or supporting a school or college in starting a new academic program.

And, of course,

Urgent situations, whether large or small scale – perhaps a student or faculty member with a pressing problem, or, in the past two years, managing the pandemic response.

At the moment, our office is focused on organizing and defining the second category at the moment – we are finalizing our inventory of current projects and plan to share a summary of them with you in the next newsletter. You can expect to hear more about these projects in the coming months, both through direct engagement and consultation, and via this newsletter. For example, you will read further down about the first Executive Leader Onboarding session, an initiative undertaken in partnership with several other University leaders and departments.

This connects to two other things I’ve learned about the work of the Provost’s Office. First, the work is highly collaborative, in ways that are both prescribed by our by-laws and policies and also an organic outgrowth of our institutional culture. There’s hardly a decision we make without extensive consultation and engagement across the university.

And, second – there’s no shortage of work to be done!

I’m so appreciative of the dedication and work ethic of everyone in the Provost’s Office, and their willingness to take on new projects whenever there’s an urgent need, regardless of how highly committed they are already. Please do always feel free to reach out with a concern or an idea – you’ll find willing listeners here.

All best,

Anne D’Alleva
Interim Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Mid-Term Resources & Reminders

The middle of the semester is always a good time to evaluate progress, whether it’s student performance in class or on our own work as faculty and staff. Engaging in formative feedback and submitting mid-term grades are important tools to support the success of our students.

Formative Feedback

Mid-term formative feedback surveys can be a useful tool for instructors to hear anonymously from their students on course materials, lectures, assessments, and other elements of course design. We encourage all instructors to implement a mid-term formative feedback survey in their courses. These surveys can be valuable resources to make mid-course adjustments, as well as to broaden student engagement.

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the Office of Budget, Planning and Institutional Research offer resources to develop and distribute formative feedback surveys. In all cases, these are designed to be private (for instructors’ personal use only, not to be shared with department heads or other administrators). If you are interested in utilizing formative feedback, you can begin with a resource guide prepared by CETL.

Mid-Term Grades

Sharing mid-term grades with your students is another important part of reviewing student progress, which can have positive impacts on your students’ engagement in coursework. University Senate By-Laws state that by the end of the sixth week of the semester, instructors shall submit midterm grades for students in 1000- and 2000-level courses who have earned a grade of less than a C or U, or an N grade up to that point.

We encourage all instructors to share mid-term grades with their students in all levels. This feedback on progress will help students make adjustments and access resources as necessary to stay on track academically and assess their trajectory in the course to make decisions earlier on potential withdrawals or pass-fail designations in courses. This is also an opportunity to refer students of concern to academic support resources like the Academic Achievement Center (AAC).

We are sharing guides here with different options to submit grades to PeopleSoft. Informing your students of their grade or posting mid-term grades in HuskyCT is helpful but posting grades in PeopleSoft is necessary to ensure this information regarding student progress is available to staff at the University who provide academic support. Grades can be submitted beginning on Monday, October 3 through Thursday October 27. Instructors can submit grades three different ways into StudentAdmin:

For any instructors who have yet to administer any assessments in their course by which to determine a mid-term grade, now is a good time to administer an assessment to ensure you and your students know how they are progressing in the course and mastering the material.

Finals Opt-Out Reminder

Several years ago, the University Senate passed a by-law change regarding final assessments in all undergraduate classes. The change enabled all faculty and instructors in undergraduate courses to choose a variety of assessments of student work, stating that the final assessment does not necessarily need to be an exam. The change also eliminated the approval of the department and the dean of the school or college for faculty who choose not to offer a final examination.

If you are not delivering a final exam in Fall 2022, we ask that you fill out a brief form to notify the Registrar that you are opting out. We are asking for those who use another method of assessment (portfolios, projects, etc.) to let us know so that the room and/or time may be available for other instructors during the assessment period. It is also important that instructors recognize that due dates for these alternative forms of final assessment should not fall on days designated as reading days. As always, all due dates should be indicated on the syllabus at the beginning of the semester.

Finally, please note that it is prohibited by Senate By-Laws to give your final assessments during the last week of classes. Exams during the last week of classes puts an undue strain on students who are trying to attend and participate in their other courses during that time.

Class Absences due to Illness

Faculty Office Hours

With the new academic year now under way and with our physical return to campus, we are writing with some general guidance to ensure that we are all providing the right kind of access to our students so that they receive the support they deserve throughout the semester.

As you know, faculty and staff who are student-facing are encouraged to be present and on campus. In the last two-and-a-half years, however, we have also seen how students have enthusiastically embraced alternative means through which to meet with their instructors and advisors, using the various virtual platforms we now have at our disposal.

We believe that a combination of in-person office hours and online availability is going to be the most effective way to maximize student access to their instructors. It is good practice to designate a minimum of 1-2 hours per week of regular in-person office hours, which can then be supplemented by online appointments as requested. Faculty play a critical role in student success by being available to students to answer their questions, offer guidance, and serve as mentors.

Pop-Up Classes

Following the success of pop-up courses on topics like anti-Black racism and the COVID-19 pandemic, UConn is offering two new pop-up courses this fall: Confronting Anti-Asian Racism and Climate Crisis: Take Action. Pop-up classes are taught online in a multidisciplinary and integrated fashion by faculty from various schools and colleges.

Interfolio Update

In the last newsletter, we announced that UConn has purchased Interfolio’s Review, Promotion, and Tenure module to digitize our PTR/PR workflows. On November 15^th, our office will hold a virtual info session to share an introductory presentation to the community on the use of the module, give an overview of the implementation plan, and address common questions we have been receiving. If you are in any way involved in PTR/PR, we strongly encourage you to attend. See details on the info session.

Outreach & Engagement Inventory

The Office of Outreach & Engagement has begun collecting information about ongoing outreach and community engagement projects led by the University community. The objective of this project is to create a centralized database of activities that can be used to broaden participation and make more public the work that is already being done within UConn. You may submit information at the Outreach and Engagement form. Contact Rosa Raudales, Director of Outreach and Engagement, with any questions.

Husky Book Bundle

We are excited to announce a partnership with Barnes & Noble Education (BNC) to introduce a new course material model, Husky Book Bundle, which will reduce the cost of materials for full-time undergraduate students and ensure they have the required textbooks and supplemental material for all courses before the first day of class. This model will be in place for the Spring 2023 Semester.

The Husky Book Bundle Program is an inclusive access textbook savings program that delivers student course materials at a reduced price. This model is easy and convenient for student use, provides an affordable rental option, and supports student success by ensuring every participating student is prepared for the first day of class.

Husky Book Bundle makes getting textbooks easier for students. Benefits include:

Students have their required materials on the first day of class and rent all their course materials from the UConn Bookstore for a flat fee of $285 per semester
Students save 35–50% on the cost of course materials each term
The flat fee will be included as a charge on their University Fee Bill
Students can use their financial aid to apply towards course materials costs
With immediate access to required materials, textbooks, and courseware, the barrier to student success will be removed including meeting accommodation needs for students with accessibility needs.
Students will have the choice to opt-out of the program and have the charge removed from their fee bill.
The bookstore will provide each student with a convenient package of required physical books, and digital materials directly delivered to the LMS (Husky CT) before the first day of class.

In late September, the UConn Bookstore will make announcements about the Husky Book Bundle Program to students. Faculty can contribute to the success of the program by submitting course material selections to the bookstore by the adoption deadline.

First Executive Leader Onboarding Session

UConn has launched a new Executive Leader Onboarding program to provide information and guidance to support executives as they take on leadership roles at the University. The first session was held on August 31^st and included individuals who have taken on an executive or senior leadership role in the past two years.

The Executive Leaders program involves a series of in-person and virtual onboarding sessions designed to:

Describe UConn’s organizational, operational, and political context as Connecticut’s public flagship institution
Facilitate a peer network of new executives
Inform about current system-wide goals and initiatives
Present UConn’s diversity, equity, and inclusion history, status, and aspirations
Identify and introduce key personnel important for new senior or executive leader success
Help leaders understand how decision making occurs at the institutional level, including who influences it and where the centers of (informal and formal) power resides
Provide a resource for discussing new executive driven questions

Topics addressed include, but are not limited to:

Organizational Structures -- How is UConn Organized and Why?
Governance Structure (BOT, Faculty Governance)
Government Relations (Dos and Don’ts)
Communications (Dos and Don’ts)
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion -- Supporting the vision
Policy Development and Compliance Issues at UConn
Human Resources: practices, resources, and understanding union relationships

Dean of the School of Nursing Search

As many of you may know, Dean Deborah Chyun of the School of Nursing plans to retire from the University at the end of the 2022-23 academic year. Dean Chyun has served as dean for the past five years and has led the school through unprecedented growth in enrollment, responded with agility to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the nursing profession and educational experience, and maintained the quality and rankings of nursing programs at UConn. The Office of the Provost will undertake a national search to identify candidates to lead the School of Nursing, to be chaired by Jason Irizarry, Dean of the Neag School of Education and Professor of Curriculum and Instruction.

Waterbury Campus Director Search

The search for the next Director of the UConn Waterbury Campus continues with second round, on-campus interviews happening the week of September 26-30. Each candidate will give a virtual public presentation, where they will present briefly on their vision and qualifications to lead the Waterbury campus. Read more information on public presentations, candidate details, and about the search in general.

Health & Wellness Reminders

Student Health and Wellness (SHaW) continues to provide resources for our students’ overall health and wellness. With the emergence of new illnesses such as monkeypox, please remind students that SHaW is available and ready to help. All eligible UConn Students are able to be vaccinated for monkeypox in Connecticut. Learn more about monkeypox vaccination at the Connecticut Department of Public Health website. Storrs-based students who want to be vaccinated by SHaW can contact 860-486-2719 to see if they are eligible. For more information on student protection against monkeypox, refer to the SHaW’s Monkeypox webpage.

SHaW also continues to provide up-to-date COVID-19 information and resources for UConn students at SHaW COVID-19 Website.

As a reminder, information regarding the university’s COVID-19 guidance can be found at covid.uconn.edu

Academic Affairs Spotlight

Gladis has served as vice provost at UConn since March of 2021. Prior to joining the Provost Office, Gladis served as dean and professor of mathematics education at the Neag School of Education. She is a well-respected scholar with an extensive publication and national service record. She has led a number of collaborative STEM education projects involving school district personnel as well as university faculty in the arts and sciences and in engineering. She has also provided service at the national level, including having served as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the largest professional organization for mathematics educators, and the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. Gladis currently serves on the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE)’s Board of Directors.

What does a typical work week look like for you?

Because of the nature of my Provost Office portfolio, each week can be quite different. However, a staple is that I am in quite a few meetings during the week. Because of the boundary-crossing nature of my role, the players with whom I am speaking can include leaders and staff members internal to and across the UConn and UConn Health. In addition, I collaborate with individuals external to the University (e.g., state department, industry, etc.).

What is an important project/initiative you’re working on right now?

I am working on several initiatives that have moved from last year’s development stage to implementation this year. First, I am excited about implementing the inaugural Executive Leader Onboarding program, a university-wide effort supported by the President’s Office to support the successful integration and effectiveness of new or recently hired senior leaders. Through a series of university-level onboarding opportunities, these new leaders, including those new to UConn or those hired from within UConn, will learn about all aspects of the UConn enterprise, including areas not directly related to their specific areas of role responsibility. In addition, current university leaders lead sessions to share information about their units and provide insights to support their colleague’s success.

I am also very proud to facilitate the faculty awards and honors work. UConn has outstanding faculty members doing fantastic work and achieving accolades for their accomplishments. However, we didn’t have a university-wide approach for showcasing and celebrating these accomplishments. That is no longer the case. Working with UConn and UConn Health units, we have developed a system for gathering information and showcasing Faculty Awards and Honors. We also plan to celebrate award winners moving forward and work with units to encourage faculty nominations for prestigious awards. Collectively, we enhance the University’s reputation by showcasing our faculty excellence.

I am looking forward to advancing my work in these and other areas. For example, we are already developing an online searchable database of faculty award and honors, which is an improvement over the word document currently posted on the website.

What are you most looking forward to as the academic year begin?

Because many of the tasks I worked on last year were in development, I am looking forward to further progress in several areas. For example, I chaired the Academic Integrity Taskforce to address a long-standing and unaddressed issue related to how UConn defines academic integrity and addresses student misconduct. I had the pleasure of working with a dedicated group of representatives from the University Senate, Graduate Faculty Council, Community Standards, The Graduate School, OVPR, Undergraduate Student Government, and Graduate Student Senate. I look forward to supporting efforts to move their recommendations forward, hoping for full adoption and implementation.

If you could solve one problem right now at UConn, what would it be?

I’m not sure if everyone would agree that this is a problem, but I often think about this as I engage in my work. How can we take a ONE UConn (i.e., a system-wide approach to benefit the greatest good in the University community, including faculty and staff from UConn and UConn Health)?

I would solve the problem of decreasing the inherent suspicion associated with using a ONE UConn approach. I believe it is possible to approach the work from this perspective while simultaneously honoring disciplinary differences and existing governance structures. For example, in my presentation to participants of the Executive Leaders Onboarding program, I framed “ONE UConn” as a philosophy, a goal, a practice, and a leadership approach that aims to improve outcomes, rather than hinder the activities of any specific unit. My view is that taking a ONE UConn approach broadens our perspective about what might be possible and encourages us to ask questions like the following: How does what I do impact other units, other schools/colleges, the University? Are other units doing this? Can we learn from or adopt strategies used by other units? Is it okay for one unit to do this but not another? Does our decisions promote equity? How might we expand possibilities if we all decided to use this approach? How do we minimize inequity and increase (personal and community) accountability by using such an approach? What are the implications and consequences of this approach?

I acknowledge that a ONE UConn approach may not work in every circumstance. However, asking questions from a ONE UConn perspective might lead us to enhance how we do what we do in ways that are thoughtful, meaningful, equitable, and inclusive.

Important Dates

September 26-27 - Rosh Hashanah
September 26-29 - Waterbury Director Candidate Public Presentations
October 5 - Yom Kippur
October 10 - Indigenous People’s Day
October 11 - Sukkot
October 27 - Midterm Grades Due

Provost Office Awards

Nominations for these awards are now open. Visit our website for details on nomination materials, deadlines, and past winners.

Emeritus Status Nomination Deadline

For individuals who do not meet the conditions for automatic Emeritus status (1. rank of Associate Professor or full professor or equivalent titles for clinical, in-residence and extension (CIRE) at University of Connecticut, and 2. at least five years of service) may become emeriti by vote of the Board of Trustees or the Health Center Board of Directors following recommendation of the Emeritus Committee and the President. The Committee meets twice yearly to consider cases. The next deadline to submit materials to the Committee is November 1.

Timely Topics

Timely Topics, hosted by The Graduate School, is a series of opportunities to engage with subject matter experts on topics relevant to those who support and advise graduate students and programs.

Every session is available to all UConn faculty and staff and provides information and tools that will help you best support your students and program. View the fall 2022 schedule.

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – August 2022

Monday marks the first day of a new academic year and I am thrilled to welcome students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members back to our beautiful campuses. In my first few months as interim provost, I have had the opportunity to experience so much of what makes UConn a world-class university. I’ve often said that UConn’s greatest strength is its people, and I’ve seen that truth in action many times already. We’ve created this monthly newsletter to organize and expand communication from the Provost’s Office. Many of the routine communications and special announcements that we formerly sent as individual emails will now be included here. We’ll also provide additional information and resources to better serve our university community and keep everyone well informed of the work that we do in the Provost’s Office. Please look for these newsletters in the last week of the month, and know that we’ll post them to the Provost’s Office website as well.

In the coming months, I hope to meet many of you, and to continue to serve as a support for academic excellence and the success and well-being of our UConn community.

Warmly,

Anne D’Alleva
Interim Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Academic Resources for Instructors

As we embark on the start of a new and busy semester, below are links to several resources that are available to faculty to ensure a smooth start to the academic year:

COVID 19 & Fall 2022

Over the past two years, we have faced numerous challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but UConn’s faculty, staff, students, and community partners have shown incredible teamwork, resilience, and commitment to health and safety, that has carried us through to this point. This year, more than 91% of classes are scheduled to be held in-person, including undergraduate and graduate courses, lectures, discussions, labs, seminars, and hybrid courses on all our campuses. We have also learned how to effectively offer online learning opportunities and continue to offer online modalities when based on sound pedagogy and in the interest of academic programming. While we are all excited to return to campus this fall, it’s important to remember our campus safety guidelines, and to know the resources available to you as we foster the UConn experience for our students.

Information regarding Students

Consistent with efforts to minimize outbreaks of COVID-19, all University students on our campuses who participate in any on-campus activities for any reason are required to be fully vaccinated, and report vaccination compliance to the University. For more information on student vaccination policies and procedures, visit the SHaW website here. Given the high vaccination and booster rate among residential students in Storrs, students who test positive will be treated similarly to those who have other significant viral respiratory illnesses, like influenza. This means students will be encouraged to go home, or self-isolate if staying on campus. There will still be limited isolation beds available for students determined medically necessary by SHaW. If a student’s roommate tests positive for COVID, they may choose to isolate with their roommate, or relocate. If they choose to relocate, they can either go home, or request a temporary room assignment through Residential Life.

Information for Faculty & Staff

Faculty and staff who are student facing are generally expected to be present and on-campus to be available to our students and community. Below are links to several resources and guidelines you may find useful to refer to:

In addition to physical health and safety, it’s important to recognize the significant effect the pandemic, and other world events have had on the mental health of our students and community. UConn is a safe space for everyone, and we are continually reviewing and improving our support systems for mental and behavioral health services. Below are links to resources available to both students, and faculty and staff.

Student Mental & Behavioral Health Services:

Faculty & Staff Mental & Behavioral Health Services:

Employee Assistance Program

UConn’s highly skilled leaders in University Safety and at UConn Health continue to monitor conditions across our campuses, Connecticut, regionally, nationally, and internationally. They are evaluating our health and safety on a daily-basis and will provide updates to guidance as needed.

Religious Observances & Accommodations

In accordance with our mission of meaningful inclusion, we ask that all faculty and staff be mindful of upcoming religious observances that may impact student participation when planning events or setting deadlines. We recommend you refer to the religious observances calendar for upcoming dates and that you ensure familiarity with the religious accommodations policy when working with a student on an accommodation request.

Faculty Consulting

Faculty members are state employees; this means your participation in outside consulting activity is tightly regulated by state statute. Prior approval through the online request system is required before beginning any activity. All paid activities related to your professional expertise (including grant reviews, talks, and similar academic activities), and unpaid work with faculty affiliated companies, fall within the faculty consulting policy. Consulting is work that you are doing outside of your role as a state employee; further information is provided in other sections of our Faculty Consulting website on limitations related to consulting activity.

We are here to help you understand the process and policies; it is your responsibility to adhere to them. To help you, individual advice is always available. Please see the contact details for UConn (Storrs/regionals) and UConn Health if you need individual assistance. If you have submitted a request and you have limited time before the activity will begin, please reach out for help by emailing sarah.croucher@uconn.edu.

At the end of the Spring 2022 semester, we announced the launch of InfoEd, our new faculty consulting system. Consulting requests for the current fiscal year should be submitted into this system, available on the Forms section of our website.

Provost Fund Guidance

The “Provost Fund” is a program that identifies a pool of university resources to be used for faculty salary increases for the purposes of retention, compression and inversion equity, and special achievement. The university may consider requests for salary adjustments for retention, equity and special achievement through processes outlined in this memo. Contact provost@uconn.edu with any questions.

Opportunities for Faculty

American Association of Colleges and Universities Memberships

UConn is an institutional member of the AAC&U, and that membership includes all faculty. Individual faculty memberships provide access to exclusive online content, invitations to events, and other networking opportunities. Learn how to create a free individual membership account here.

Radcliffe Fellowship Application 2023-2024

Radcliffe fellows are exceptional scientists, writers, scholars, public intellectuals, practitioners, and artists whose work is making a difference in their professional fields and in the larger world. A fellowship at Radcliffe is an opportunity to step away from usual routines and dive deeply into a project. Applications in humanities, social sciences, and creative arts are due by September 8, 2022, and applications in science, engineering, and mathematics are due by September 29, 2022. Find details and application information at the Radcliffe Fellow website.

Development Opportunities
CETL: Teaching Workshops and Seminars
CETL: Implementing Equitable and Inclusive Practices
ODI: Training and Workshops

Academic Affairs

Interfolio – Review, Promotion and Tenure
We are pleased to announce that UConn is adopting Interfolio’s Review, Promotion, and Tenure module to create a unified and seamless process to support UConn’s excellent faculty. As we implement the platform in the coming year, faculty and administrators across our campuses will have access to a single, streamlined platform for managing the review, promotion, and tenure process. This is an exciting change that will lead to greater transparency, equity, and ease in the faculty review process. Implementation of the Interfolio Review, Promotions, and Tenure module is part of our ambition to strengthen systems and adhere to best practices across the many specialties and academic cultures that comprise our university. The system will help address long-standing inconsistencies and manual processes in the review, promotion, and tenure process.

A collaborative team from the Provost Office, along with partners from Interfolio, have begun the set-up, template construction, and data integration process, and we expect to launch the new system for the 2023-2024 PTR/PR cycle. Over the next few months, you will receive relevant updates and information about the Interfolio platform and the implementation process. For more information, please visit the Interfolio @ UConn webpage. Please note this is not applicable to UConn Health employees.

Interfolio – Dossier
Dossier is Interfolio’s online platform for academics to collect and curate scholarly materials, request, and receive confidential letters of recommendation, and prepare for upcoming evaluations. As a faculty or staff member who is a user in Interfolio, you can use Dossier to store your CV, publications, and other important career materials for easy reference. You can then use Dossier to share your documents for review by others, to be included in review and promotion submissions, and to review documents shared with you by your colleagues.

Dossier will be available to all faculty members and academic staff who administer the PTR/PR process in the fall 2022 semester. There is an instructional guide with information on how to access your account available on the Interfolio @ UConn webpage. Please note this is not applicable to UConn Health employees.

Community Success & Wellness

Red Folder Initiative

While students often begin semesters with high levels of excitement, they can also carry some concerns about their ability to succeed in their coursework. Their stress levels often increase as the semester proceeds and the demands on their time and productivity increase. Students may also experience stressors from other areas of their lives at any point in time that can impact their ability to focus and be present in their classes. When students are struggling, a supportive conversation can go a long way in helping them achieve success at UConn.

The goal of conversations about concerns beyond academics is simply to demonstrate care by assisting students in connecting with campus resources. We’re providing the “Red Folder” as a guide for faculty, staff, student leaders, and others who interact with UConn students to recognize when they may be struggling, respond effectively, and refer them to campus supports. Bookmark the Red Folder page of the Student Health and Wellness website for information on campus resources and crisis support services.

Faculty Honors and Awards
Faculty at the University of Connecticut are known nationally and internationally for their excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. As a highly visible measure of this, our faculty are frequently recognized for their excellence and expertise as recipients of many internal and prestigious national and international awards. Each achievement is richly deserved and further elevates the international reputation of UConn as a top research institution. To further recognize our excellent faculty, the Office of the Provost has developed a webpage to highlight such awards and honors. Please visit the Awards & Honors webpage to learn more about our faculty and details on how to submit award information to be published on our page. This page is scheduled to be updated once every semester and faculty are encouraged to submit their recent external awards and honors for recognition.

Personnel

UConn Humanities Institute Personnel Update

After serving as Director of the Humanities institute (UCHI) for the last 9 years, Dr. Michael Lynch will be stepping down at the end of the 2022-23 academic year and will take on the role of Provost’s Professor of Humanities. In his time as director, Dr. Lynch has guided the Institute through enormous success, including receipt of several grants, establishing the first ever New England Humanities Consortium (NEHC), and expanding the NEHC Faculty of Color Working Group. Under his leadership, UCHI quadrupled its space, significantly expanded its fellowship program, tripled the amount of conferences and colloquia it sponsors, increased its donor funding, and raised its public profile to become an internationally known research center. Throughout his tenure as director, Lynch maintained an active research profile himself, publishing books discussed in venues ranging from Fresh Air, The New York Times, Washington Post and the New Yorker; and he continued to speak to a wide range of audiences, including TED, SXSW, the Collège de France and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

Dr. Lynch is a tireless advocate for the humanities. His work focuses on truth, democracy, and the ethics of technology, and he is currently writing a book on truth in politics. You can learn more about Dr. Lynch and his research and publications on his website. Dr. Lynch has been a faculty member at UConn for 18 years and will continue to contribute to the academic mission in his new role.

Details regarding the search for the next director of the Humanities Institute will be announced soon. In the meantime, reach out to provost@uconn.edu with any questions.

Waterbury Campus Director Search Update
The search for the next director of the Waterbury Campus is underway and chaired by Indrajeet Chaubey, Dean of College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. The application period has closed, and review of candidates has commenced. Additional details will follow in the coming weeks.

Academic Affairs Spotlight

The Office of the Provost and the units that report in academic affairs are staffed and led by an outstanding group of talented and dedicated colleagues. This month, we would like to spotlight our newest member, Amy Gorin, who recently joined us as Interim Vice Provost for Health Sciences.

Amy is a professor of Psychological Sciences and previously served as director of the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP). In her role as vice provost, Amy is working to facilitate interdisciplinary connections and alignment among schools and colleges, UConn Health, and our many campuses. Amy is also interested in the mental health of our students, and will partner with SHaW on creating and expanding resources for faculty and academic staff in order to support student success and wellness. To read the full interview with Amy, click here.

What does a typical work week look like for you?

A typical week for me is split between the Storrs and Farmington campuses. Right now, I am learning as much as I can about all of our health science units, touring research and educational spaces, and getting up to speed on opportunities and challenges that exist around cross-campus collaborations from the perspective of faculty, deans, and other administrators. I am also kicking off a NIH grant that involves the development of a new mobile app for couples-based weight management, so I am working closely with my research team to get that off the ground.

What is an important project/initiative you’re working on right now?

My first meeting this morning is about a new, state-sponsored initiative to grow our social work and nursing programs to meet the health care needs of Connecticut. UConn plays an essential role in training our healthcare workforce and if we secure funding from this new initiative, it will allow us to further strengthen these critical pipelines.

What are you most looking forward to as the academic year begins?

I love the energy from our students. I live close to the Storrs campus and with the windows open, I can hear the marching band practicing in the weeks leading up to the fall semester. Our campus and our town comes alive when the students are back.

What is your favorite UConn sports moment?

This is an easy one. By far, my favorite UConn sports experience is the 1999 Men’s Basketball Final Four in Tampa, being there with my dad who is a superfan, and cheering on the team as they upset Duke. Perfection.

IMPORTANT DATES, DEADLINES & EVENTS

Monday, August 29^th – First Day of Classes

Monday, September 5^th – Labor Day (no classes)

Monday, September 26^th & Tuesday, September 27^th – Rosh Hashanah

Wednesday, September 28^th – Board of Trustees Meeting

Quick Links

2022-2023 Academic Calendar

Religious & Cultural Observance Dates

Upcoming University Events

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – June 2023

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVOST

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Updates from the Provost's Office

Synchrony JEDI Research Faculty Fellow

Academic Impressions

NEWS & UPDATES

South Campus Infrastructure Construction Starting

Fall Opening

Ship to Home Guidelines from Purchasing

UConn Stamford Launches Eatery Meal Plan

School of Fine Arts Dean Search

EXCELLENCE ALWAYS

2022-2023 Board of Trustees Distinguished Professors

Provost’s Outstanding Service Award

IMPORTANT DATES, DEADLINES & EVENTS

Dates

Provost Summit for Student Success

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – May 2023

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVOST

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

University Senate Bylaw Changes

Read more here

NEWS & UPDATES

Travel Expenses for Trips of 30 Days or Longer

Anti-Black Racism Course Requirement

Laura Curran Named Dean of UConn School of Social Work

Provost Office Leadership Update

Clinical Placement Coordination Director Announcement

Institute of Materials Science (IMS) Director Reappointment

CLAS Dean Transition

EXCELLENCE ALWAYS

PAECES Award Winners

IMPORTANT DATES, DEADLINES & EVENTS

Dates

Faculty Consulting, Storrs/regional campus faculty - year begins May 23

Executive Leader Onboarding

Assessment Institute

Center & Institute Directors Retreat

Provost Summit for Student Success

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – April 2023

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVOST

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

UConn's Newest Living/Learning Community Launching Fall 2023

Interfolio Review, Promotion & Tenure (RPT)

Reading Days

Final Exams

UNESCO ChatGPT Quick Start Guide

NEWS & UPDATES

Victoria Vaughan Dickson Named Dean of UConn School of Nursing

CLAS Dean Juli Wade

School of Fine Arts Dean Search

New Training for State Employees: Understanding Domestic Violence

EXCELLENCE ALWAYS

Celebrating Promotion & Tenure of 96 Faculty

2023 Commencement Speakers and Honorary Degree Recipients

Executive Leader Onboarding

IMPORTANT DATES, DEADLINES & EVENTS

Dates

Spring 2023 Commencement Ceremonies

Save the Date: Staff Technology Day Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Upcoming Governor's Council on Women and Girls Panel re Firefighters

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Office of the Provost

Provost’s Office Monthly – March 2023

MESSAGE FROM THE PROVOST

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Provost’s DEIJ Faculty Fellow Program

Senate Bylaw Amendment Approval

Senate PTR/PR Forums

Religious Observances Reminders

Reading Days

Final Exams

NEWS & UPDATES

Library Dean Announcement

Provost's Office Personnel Update

Faculty Salary Equity Taskforce Report

Save the Date: Staff Technology Day
Tuesday, June 6, 2023