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
Welcome Sarah Watamura: Chairs and Directors Fellow
Sarah Watamura, Ph.D., is professor and chair of the Psychology department in the College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences. Watamura joined the faculty in the tenure series...
‘23 Provost Conference on Relationship-Rich Education: Faculty Thriving and Student Learning: Come “Think and Drink” in January!
Looking for a way to “warm up” before the Provost Conference on Feb 2 and 3? Join us for three think-and-drink events in January—bite-sized engagements led by faculty and staff...
Join Us at the Winter Provost’s Conference February 2–3, 2023!
This two-day event will celebrate and explore the interdynamic relationship between faculty thriving and student learning. Headlining the event are Peter Felton, Director of the...
Upcoming Opportunities with 4D
Check out these opportunities to connect with 4D and colleagues. 4D Mentorship Collaborative The newly established 4D Mentorship Collaborative is a community of university...
Celebrating DU Growth at the Inaugural “Decades Dinner”
Over 30 faculty members and campus leaders came together on January 4th to celebrate faculty marking ten-year milestones at DU. As they entered the reception, carillonneur Joey...
SoTL Faculty Fellows Winter Retreat
Congratulations to the inaugural SoTL Faculty Fellows for a successful fall quarter, culminating in the Winter Retreat! Since August, fellows have engaged in thoughtful and...