Faculty Mentoring Program

Faculty Mentoring Workshops

Faculty Mentoring Program at UTD Kick-off Event

The FMP kick-off luncheon and orientation was held on Tuesday, January 13, from 11:30am-1:30pm in McDermott Suite. All 24 mentees and their senior mentors participated in the event, where Dr. Magaly Spector and Provost Wildenthal discussed the importance of mentoring for UTD’s mission and mentees and mentors had the opportunity to meet and share their experiences and advice with each other through breakout group discussion.

Don’t Perish: Research and Publication (FMP)

Presented by the Faculty Mentoring Committee
Tuesday, February 17, 2009, 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m.

Workshop
This workshop brings together senior faculty who have been exceptionally successful in publishing. Panelists will discuss how to identify good topics for research, how to target appropriate outlets, how to get your work known before you submit, and how to handle rejection and revise-and-resubmits.
Implementation Session
In this session mentees will help each other develop a concrete publication/writing schedule for their current and planned projects. This schedule will include projects, possible outlets (and backup outlets), and allocate research, writing and revising time for each project over the next few years. These schedules can then be discussed and refined with their mentors and other senior faculty.

Show Me the Money (FMP)

Presented by the Faculty Mentoring Committee
Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m.

Workshop
This workshop brings together senior faculty who have served as Program Directors at the NSF, NIH, DOD, and other granting agencies, as well as those who have been exceptionally successful at obtaining grants. Panelists will discuss where to send different types of grant requests, how and when to talk with the granting officers and how grants are reviewed and evaluated.
Implementation Session
In this session mentees will help each other with grant activities. This might involve presenting a description of a research project and brainstorming about the appropriate granting agency for funding, bringing a rough draft of a grant application for feedback from the group, or working through the “pieces” of a grant. Representatives from the Office of Sponsored Projects will be on hand to offer guidance .

In the Classroom: Teaching (FMP)

Presented by the Faculty Mentoring Committee
Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m.

Workshop
This workshop brings together education experts and previous teaching award winners to address common issues facing inexperienced teachers. Panelists will discuss methods to improve course design, better engage students in and out of the classroom, teach inclusively, manage office hours, and handle difficult students or difficult situations.
Implementation Session
In this session mentees will interact with their peers and staff from The Office of Educational Enhancement to develop plans and consider solutions for current teaching challenges. Mentees will also evaluate their teaching strengths and weaknesses, and develop plans for self-improvement as well as requests for future teaching assignments which reflect these strengths and weaknesses.

Networking and Publicity: Other Professional Activities (FMP)

Presented by the Faculty Mentoring Committee
Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m.

Workshop
This workshop brings together consummate networkers who will offer their suggestions for achieving success in additional professional activities. Panelists will discuss how to identify (and get invited to) academic conferences, how to get invited to give academic talks, how to increase the impact of your research through media and community exposure or corporate contacts, and other networking activities.
Implementation Session
In this session mentees will interact with their peers to identify professional networking opportunities they would like to engage in. For example, participants can identify conferences they feel they should attend, people in their field they should meet, and publishers they would like to look at their work. Participants will then form plans to achieve these goals.

Writing Skills and a Writing Routine (FMP)

Presented by the Faculty Mentoring Committee
June-July-August

Workshop
This workshop features an external speaker; a professional writing coach, who will discuss strategies and techniques for improving academic writing. While different disciplines require different writing styles (some verbose, some laconic), this workshop will focus not on what to write, but on how to write (e.g. when during the day is the most productive writing time, how many hours per day or days per week we should spend writing, how to avoid becoming distracted while writing). Implementation Session
Participants will form small “writing groups” at the workshop and will meet regularly (or as regularly as travel schedules allow) in order to make the most of their unstructured summer time to increase their scholarly output.

Clearing the Hurdle: Tenure and Promotion (FMP)

Presented by the Faculty Mentoring Committee
September

Workshop
This workshop brings together Deans and members of the Committee on Qualifications for a panel discussing what it takes to earn tenure at UT Dallas (and beyond). Panelists will discuss criteria for promotion, as well as suggestions for how to develop a portfolio of research, teaching and service to meet those criteria, the pros and cons of outside offers, and how to identify and develop potential letter-writers, and strategies for staying sane during the tenure process.
Implementation Session
In this session mentees will help each other develop goals and concrete plans for research, service and teaching productivity which will lead to successful promotion. These plans might include research projects to accomplish, courses to develop, grants to apply for, conferences to attend, or any other appropriate activities. These goals and plans can then be discussed and refined with their mentors and other senior faculty.

Walking the Tightrope: Balancing Your Professional and Personal Life (FMP)

Presented by the Faculty Mentoring Committee
October

Workshop
This workshop brings together senior faculty who have succeeded (and failed) at balancing their professional and personal lives. Panelists will discuss their strategies and offer perspectives on why they did or did not succeed.
Implementation Session
In this session mentees will interact with their peers to discuss the challenges they are currently facing in balancing their professional and personal lives, and offer advice and suggestions. Professional counselors will be available for consultation if needed.

Having Difficult Conversations: Scary Situations, Departmental Politics and Negotiation (FMP)

Presented by the Faculty Mentoring Committee
November

Workshop
This workshop brings together senior faculty to discuss how to professionally handle difficult or sensitive issues. Topics might include how to manage a relationship with a hostile senior faculty member, how to interact with your department chair, area head or Dean, how to ask for a raise, how to negotiate when you have an outside offer, how to request family leave, how to handle harassment or accusations of harassment.
Implementation Session
In this session mentees will have the opportunity to discuss some of the difficult situations facing them in a more private forum.

Updated: July 14, 2009