An in–person conference offering a wonderful opportunity to learn from national experts and engage with peers on the important connections between faculty thriving and student well-being.
VICE PROVOST OF FACULTY AFFAIRS
The VPFA welcomes and orients new faculty to DU; coordinates faculty development programs across campus; serves as a central resource for information about faculty and faculty policies; supports deans and department leaders with searches, hiring, retention, and advancement; assists faculty with grievances; offers programs to orient new academic leaders; supports programs to enhance teaching; and works with departments, colleges, and other offices to enhance faculty experiences. We work with academic leaders across campus to enhance DU’s efforts to support faculty.

ADVANCING EQUITY IN FACULTY WORKLOADS & REWARDS
Our next steps in “Advancing Equity in Faculty Workload and Rewards” acknowledges both the long existing challenges with recognizing all the work that faculty do that is essential to our public good mission and the specific workload equity challenges around service and teaching across rank and series. Equity in faculty evaluation and career advancement is an area that requires greater institutional attention. Additionally, as we work to recruit, retain, and ensure the success of a diverse faculty, our ability to count what matters–not simply what is easier to count–is essential to advancing equity in faculty workload and rewards.
R1 OUR WAY
In January 2022, DU was reclassified as a “Very High Research Activity Institution” (R1). Most of its faculty are excited about the reputational and material benefits, as well as the possibilities for graduate education and contributing to the knowledge of the world. Their concerns about this transition, however, center around anxieties that DU’s commitment to the “teacher-scholar” model, where innovative research and transformative teaching mutually inform each other, may shift to one in which “scholars” are seen as mutually exclusive from “teachers” and valued more highly. According to the COACHE Faculty Satisfaction Survey and the 2020 “R1 Report” administrated by the VPFA and Faculty Senate, in addition to concerns about how teaching will be valued (and evaluated), faculty worry about their own and their colleagues’ workloads, especially in terms of teaching, mentoring, and student support. The transition to R1 has the potential to exacerbate concerns articulated in the COACHE data, such as that the worst parts of teaching at DU are “teaching load” and “service load.” It also connects to our identified areas for improvement: leadership, service, promotion, and departmental collegiality—all of which are addressed in the new multi-year initiatives below.
News and updates
Upcoming COACHE Survey
Dear Colleagues, On behalf of Dr. Renée Botta, Dr. Kate Willink, and myself, we wanted to follow up and provide more information about the upcoming faculty satisfaction survey...
In Memoriam: Dean Peter Buirski
Dear colleagues and students, It is with deep sadness that I write to share with you the passing of Dr. Peter Buirski, former Dean of the Graduate School of Professional...
Welcome Back & Invitations for Your Participation
Dear Colleagues, Welcome back and a very Happy New Year to you! I’m writing to share with you three important opportunities this winter: 1) the fast-approaching Ideas to Impact...
Email from Provost Mary Clark
For the past few years, DU has explored the importance of “Advancing Equity in Faculty Workload and Rewards.” It is critical that, while acknowledging the diverse...
The Cruelty of Faculty Churn
By: Emily Brenner, Graduate Research Assistant The University of Denver was recently featured in an article discussing the faculty churn that is taking place in many universities...