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2022-2023 Faculty Development and Leadership Programs

Supporting faculty excellence and career success.

Career Development and Support Programs

Oct. 10 - Parenting Children and Teens with Mental Health Challenges by The Family Institute

Earlier this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics sounded the alarm when it declared a national state of emergency in child and adolescent mental health. An opinion poll by the American Psychiatric Association found that more than half of adults (53%) with children under 18 in their household say they are concerned about the mental state of their children. If you know a child that may be struggling or want to understand ways to support our children, please join The Family Institute at Northwestern University on Oct. 10 for an in-depth discussion on how to address the children’s mental health crisis.

Oct. 18 - SupportLinc EAP: Faculty Informational Session

Attend this informational session to learn about our new Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider, SupportLinc, and the available services to help support you as a faculty member at Northwestern.

The EAP program for faculty, staff and household members (including children and dependents up to age 26 living outside of the home) provides a network of emotional and mental health support services, including short-term counseling, to help address everyday life challenges in a confidential, professional and supportive manner.

Hosted by the Faculty Wellness Program and HR WELL.

Oct. 27 - How to Have More Time for Research and Writing

Although a day will never be more than 24 hours long, professors can adopt strategies to achieve their most important goals. This workshop is appropriate for tenure-eligible, tenured and non-tenure-eligible faculty members who want to have more time for research and writing.

May 8 - The Sandwich Generation: Childcare and Eldercare Resources

Learn about resources and share strategies and experiences with your faculty colleagues on the challenges of balancing the dual role of parenting as well as eldercare. Facilitated by Angelica Viramontes, Dependent Care Specialist, HR WELL.

May 10 - How to Create a Productive and Engaging Writing Practice

Maintaining a steady pattern of productive writing is challenging even for the most motivated writers. This workshop will cover habits and structures that will help you hold on to your identity as a researcher and writer while still balancing your internal and external responsibilities.

Participants will learn to:

-Write in regular, moderate sessions rather than "binges." 
-Plan short and long-term writing and research goals that are specific, rather than vague.
-Use metaphors to reframe the process to something more energizing than "pushing a boulder up a hill."
-Employ structures to create oases of focused time.
-Engage in relational crafting to build support and accountability for research and writing goals.

 

Presenter Biography: Rena Seltzer is a leadership and faculty coach and dynamic trainer with over nineteen years of experience coaching academics across the span of their careers.

May 10 - Building Networks of Support for a Successful Academic Career

Successful researchers benefit from a robust network of connections in a variety of arenas inside and outside of academia. Advantages include opportunities for fruitful collaboration, access to information, both social and instrumental support, and the ability to build a national and international reputation. For those who network easily, this workshop will provide additional tips and strategies. For those who are "schmooze-adverse," the workshop will identify methods to build connections in ways that suit your personality and style.

This workshop will support participants to:

-Understand the difference between operational, personal, and strategic networks
-Cultivate relationships with both senior scholars and peers to match various needs for instrumental assistance and support
-Communicate effectively with editors, program officers, and other academic gatekeepers
-Assess your own professional network by creating a Network Ecomap™ and using it to develop a strategy for strengthening and adding connections
-Build and sustain diverse networks

Presenter Biography: Rena Seltzer is a leadership and faculty coach and dynamic trainer with over nineteen years of experience coaching academics across the span of their careers.

May 11 - Looking 101 with The Block Museum

Drawing on the eight dimensions of wellness framework, The Block Museum of Art will provide an intellectually stimulating, behind-the-scenes close looking session in community with your peers. Looking 101 offers an opportunity to observe, analyze and express ideas about works of art. The Looking 101 program will be followed by lunch and continued conversation.

Essential Skills for Leading Departments

Sept. 8 - Provost's Chairs Welcome

The Office of the Provost invites all Department Chairs to our Provost's Chairs Welcome Program, taking place on Thursday, September 8, 2022, in the Guild Lounge of Scott Hall (601 University Place) on the Evanston campus.

Oct. 12 - Managing Staff

The Essential Skills for Leading Departments lunch series equips chairs with the knowledge and skills they need for success, including proactively working to enhance department culture and managing conflict to ensure the success and retention of faculty and staff, as well as of students.

This session will focus on understanding staff motivation, best practices for keeping staff engaged and productive, and where to obtain resources for various situations

Nov. 30 - Building a Thriving Community: The Role of Trust and High Quality Communications

The Essential Skills for Leading Departments lunch series equips chairs with the knowledge and skills they need for success, including proactively working to enhance department culture and managing conflict to ensure the success and retention of faculty and staff, as well as of students.

Participants will learn:

-Skills and tactics for building trust, communications, and community for faculty colleagues in your department
-The components of high-quality communications and best practices for creating connections and respectful engagement
-Chair’s leadership role in creating a thriving community in which people work together well. 
-How to rebuild community ties which have been broken during COVID and recreate expectations for respect and trust

Jan. 18 - Caught in the Middle: The Chair's Role

The Essential Skills for Leading Departments lunch series equips chairs with the knowledge and skills they need for success, including proactively working to enhance department culture and managing conflict to ensure the success and retention of faculty and staff, as well as of students. 

Participants in this session will learn skills and tactics for managing up, down, and across with peer faculty members. This event is open to Department Chairs only.

Facilitator: Sarah Klaper, University Ombuds

Feb. 28 - Improving Department Climate

The Essential Skills for Leading Departments lunch series equips chairs with the knowledge and skills they need for success, including proactively working to enhance department culture and managing conflict to ensure the success and retention of faculty and staff, as well as of students.

Participants in this session will learn skills and tactics for improving department climate and belonging for BIPOC faculty and other underrepresented faculty to increase satisfaction, success, and retention.

Facilitator: Michelle Manno, Assistant Provost for Diversity and Inclusion

April 5 - Managing Promotion and Tenure

The goal of the session is to facilitate discussion around the role of the chair in the promotion and tenure process, with particular focus on the chair’s role in providing mentorship and guidance to junior faculty, and guidance to promotion and tenure committees and/or senior faculty.

The Essential Skills for Leading Departments lunch series equips chairs with the knowledge and skills they need for success, including proactively working to enhance department culture and managing conflict to ensure the success and retention of faculty and staff, as well as of students.

Facilitator: Sumit Dhar, Associate Provost for Faculty

Mid-Career Faculty Institute

Oct. 28 - Mid-Career Faculty Institute Program

Designed to support the growth and success of tenured associate professors, the Mid-Career Faculty Institute is a yearlong program that begins with a one-day career development reflection and planning event. Tenured associate professors from all schools are eligible.

Feb. 1 & 2 - Amplifying Your Expertise: Lunch with the Office of Global Marketing and Communications

Office of Global Marketing and Communications representatives will meet with a small group of colleagues over lunch to provide guidance and resources, and answer your questions about developing thought leadership, communicating expertise, and media training.

April 28 - Mid-Career Faculty Lunch with Provost Hagerty

Designed to support the growth and success of tenured associate professors, the Mid-Career Faculty Institute is a yearlong program that begins with a one-day career development reflection and planning event, followed by a series of cohort lunches to continue discussion and learning with peers.

New & Early Career Faculty Programs

Sept. 16 - New Faculty Welcome

The Office of the Provost invites all new faculty to our New Faculty Welcome, taking place on Sept. 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Guild Lounge of Scott Hall (601 University Place) on the Evanston campus.

Nov. 1 - How to Advance Your Research at Northwestern

New faculty are invited to attend an in-person panel on how to advance their research at Northwestern. Participants will learn about various offices and resources offered at Northwestern that can assist in furthering their research, including University Libraries, Office of Undergraduate Research, Office of Foundation Relations, and the Office of Global Marketing.

Feb. 13- Navigating Tenure: A Faculty Panel Discussion

Join us for a faculty panel discussion on navigating tenure. Moderated by Associate Provost for Faculty, Sumit Dhar, four faculty members representing a variety of disciplines and schools will discuss general tips for navigating the tenure process and learning where to obtain information and resources. Lunch is provided.