Shift to Remote Work
2020: Year in Review
Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement
Climate Guide/Remote Work Addendum
In December 2019, with the guidance of the Provost’s Advisory Council for the Enhancement of Faculty Diversity, we published the Guide to Best Practices for Departmental Climate. We developed this new guide to inform faculty, department chairs, and administrators who seek to gain a better understanding of the importance of academic workplace climate and its impact on productivity, job satisfaction, and faculty retention.
In March of 2020, when university operations abruptly shifted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we consulted with an expert on remote work to produce The Guide to Best Practices for Inclusive Remote Work in the Academy, which provided a practical framework for faculty and administrators to adapt the ways in which we teach, conduct research, and perform service, all while maintaining a climate of inclusive excellence.
Building (a remote) Community
Faculty Slack Workspace
With the shift to remote teaching, and the additional strain of the pandemic itself, we knew that providing opportunities for faculty to connect (with each other and with administrators who support their work) was essential. In March, we set up a Slack workspace for faculty to share resources and chat informally, and 352 faculty have joined us there.
Social Media
We also increased our social media footprint, with a focus on using twitter to promote events and to celebrate faculty news and accomplishments. Since March, our number of Twitter followers has more than doubled.
Remote Programming
New Faculty Orientation
Our next challenge was New Faculty Orientation: how could we build upon the success of last year’s first all-campus program while delivering content remotely? We teamed up again with the Center for Teaching and Learning to produce 15 self-paced online modules in Canvas.
Faculty Development Sessions
Our remote context provided opportunities for us to share our programs with a wider audience. We hosted eight sessions this calendar year, including new sessions on understanding copyright, parenting on the tenure track, networking in a remote context, using academic Twitter to build an online brand, and supporting students during difficult times.