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Faculty Development Programs
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion provides support and opportunities for faculty development and success from the point of recruitment to retirement in collaboration with the Office of Provost, Deans, Department Chairs, and colleagues across our campus. Our efforts are grounded in the scholarship of diversity, equity and inclusion and leverage the expertise and deep commitment of faculty across campus.
ESCALA
ESCALA Educational Services is an equity-based professional development for faculty and staff at Hispanic Serving Institutions. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion has supported faculty participating in the following courses and programs since 2021:
Certificate in College Teaching & Learning in HSIs This is an innovative program designed by and for faculty in Hispanic Serving Institutions. Faculty receive both workshop time as well as individualized coaching as they make culturally responsive changes to their work with Latinx students.
The 35-hour course includes:
- A 3-day virtual retreat in summer with faculty from other HSIs
- 6 hours of 1:1 coaching with a trained reflective coach
- Canvas-based resource library and videos
As a result of the course, faculty complete an equity-based, research-driven classroom intervention and present their work to MSU Denver community at the conclusion of the program. ODI supported 3 faculty summer of 2021 who presented their work spring 2022 and will support a cohort of 5-6 faculty for summer of 2023.
Culturally Responsive Teaching STEM in HSIs (STEM Mini) The mini course creates a space for STEM faculty to explore research-based methods to increase Latino/a/x student engagement while promoting students’ culture and identity. Through scaffolded activities and reflective questions, faculty conduct equity exercises to analyze and improve their own course material. ODI supported 2 faculty in Summer 2022.
Culturally Responsive Facilitation in HSIs/HSOs (CRF) The program teaches faculty and staff how to embed our principles of culturally responsive facilitation that we routinely demonstrate in our educational courses and have spent the past 10 years refining and testing in HSIs across the U.S. This facilitator training program provides tools to structure and hold dialogues with colleagues that are inclusive and Latinx-centered. ODI will support 1 faculty in Spring 2023.
National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD)
How to Activate Your MSU Denver Sponsored Membership
- Fill out fields: “username,” “firstname,” and “lastname” and click “Continue”
Important: You will not need to provide payment since MSU Denver has an institutional membership. - Another screen “Step 2: Member Information” fill in form appears”. Fill out the required fields including selection of a password and click “Submit”. Important: Required fields are indicated with a red asterisk. All other fields are optional.
- At this point, your screen will display “Thank you for registering. You will receive an email when your sub-account is ready.” There is a button to view your invoice receipt. You can ignore this button since you are joining as part of an institutional membership.
- You will receive a confirmation email when your membership becomes active. It will take approximately 24 hours for your membership to be reviewed and for you to fully begin using your NCFDD membership.
Thriving in the Academy
MSU Denver faculty have access to professional development resources focused on enhancing scholarly productivity and successfully navigating life in academia. These resources are available online through an institutional membership in the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD), courtesy of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The offerings include self-paced resources for individuals and scheduled collaborative-style workshops and events for groups of participants. Below are previews of the range of resources offered along with easy-access links to account activation.
Resources Overview
The professional development resources available online through the NCFDD site generally align with one of the following areas:
- Core Curriculum
- Inclusion and Equity
- Writing Productivity
- Navigating Academia
- Teaching Effectiveness
Samples of associated titles are provided below to illustrate the topics available in each area. All faculty are welcome to explore the entire site in depth to understand better the wide range of resources and topics available on-demand and learn about events scheduled in the upcoming months.
In addition, faculty can:
- Sign up for the “Monday Motivator,” a weekly email that provides positive energy, good vibes, and a productivity tip that reinforces ideas presented in the Core Curriculum webinars.
- Browse the “Professor-ing” podcasts, offering eight (and counting) 30-40-minute videos on all things entailed in professor-ing.
- Explore additional resources curated in the Recommendations and Referrals section.
Core Curriculum
This is a collection of 10 webinars selected by the NCFDD as critical skills to help faculty in any discipline thrive in the academy. Each recording of a live event is between 1 hour and 1.5 hours. It is also possible to register for upcoming live webinars scheduled throughout the year. Examples of webinar topics include:
- SKILL #2: How to Align Your Time with Your Priorities
- SKILL #6: The Art of Saying No
- SKILL #7: Cultivating Your Network of Mentors, Sponsors, and Collaborators
- SKILL #8: Overcoming Academic Perfection
Inclusion and Equity
Among the collection of guest webinars and multi-session courses are titles of particular interest to those seeking to strengthen their knowledge and skills to contribute to a more inclusive and equitable campus culture. Sample titles include:
- “Cultivating Compassion and Collectivism: A Multi-Week Course to Facilitate Healing from Racial Trauma”
- “Bracing for and Embracing the Fall as a Blkademic”
- “Turning Chutes into Ladders for Women Faculty: A Roadmap to Equity in Academia”
- “Re-Thinking Mentoring: How to Build Communities of Inclusion, Support, and Accountability”
- “Parenting and Productivity”
Scholarly Writing Productivity
Among the collection of guest webinars and multi-session courses are a variety of resources and support opportunities for being more productive and successful in academic publishing. Sample titles include:
- 14-Day Writing Challenge (more information)
- “How to Develop a Daily Writing Practice”
- “Building A Publishing Pipeline”
- “From Project to Publication—the Art of Manuscript Revision”
- “How to Craft and Submit a Winning Book Proposal in 4 Weeks”
- “Scholarly Journal Writing: An Editor’s Perspective”
- “Everything You Need To Know About Grant Writing”
Navigating Academia
Among the collection of guest webinars and multi-session courses are titles and topics important to advancing in academia. Sample titles include:
- “Preparing Tenure and Promotion Materials”
- “Navigating Faculty Career Transitions: Getting to Mid-Career and Beyond”
- “Moving from Associate to Full Professor”
- “Managing Multiple Roles: How to Be a Faculty Member and an Administrator”
- “Resting to Rise: Reduce Burn Out, Find Your Joy for Writing and Life, and Create a Just Academia”
- “Protecting Your Boundaries and Well-Being”
Teaching Effectiveness
Among the collection of guest webinars and multi-session courses is a modest list of titles that center on teaching-related topics. Sample titles include:
- “Teaching with Empathy and for Equity at the Graduate Level”
- “Empowered Teaching Toolkit” (multiple topics)
- “Strategies for Centering Instructor Identity in STEM Education”
- “Creating an Inclusive Classroom: Students with Disabilities”
For information about MSU Denver’s institutional membership, please contact the Office of Diversity and Inclusion
If you have technical questions or concerns, contact the NCFDD Membership Relations staff.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (313) 347-8485 ext. 3.
Tenure Track Supper Club
The Tenure Track Supper Club (TTSC) at Metropolitan State University of Denver is a faculty retention program that utilizes mentorship as a tool in the retention of minority faculty. The program was originated by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in 2011. Given the disproportionate retention rates of African American faculty at the university, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion developed the Faculty Success Mentorship Program for African American faculty. Over the years, the program has grown to provide all tenure track faculty of color with the tools necessary to increase their capacity to earn tenure. The program now welcomes tenure track faculty from all underrepresented populations and introduces them to tenured faculty who help them build on skills that they have in order to increase their chances of earning tenure.
Goals of the TTSC
This program is voluntary and focuses on current junior faculty from underrepresented populations, who are between 1-5 years in their tenure track journey. This program is designed with the overarching goal of providing tenure track faculty with the intellectual and structural tools to increase their capacity to earn tenure. This key element of the mentorship program is beneficial to those who may be in their 4th and 5th years. Other goals of the TTSC are to:
- Increase the concentration of faculty support networks
- Increase the number of faculty mentorship relationships across the institution and promote interdisciplinary dialogue
- Understand the tenure process at Metropolitan State University of Denver
- Develop self-imposed goals to increase chances for tenure and promotion
- Increase the number of faculty earning tenure
- Increase opportunities to create systemic change at MSU Denver
The TTSC is not a one or two-year mentorship program, but a program that typically will last six years, ending when the mentee has successfully earned tenure. The mentee’s earning of tenure will be the only measure of success for the mentor and mentee relationship and the mentorship program. Many attendees have returned and assumed positions as mentors to current tenure track colleagues. The transformative nature of the mentorship program provides tenure track faculty with the opportunity to create systemic change at the institution.