We are fortunate to have her in this role at MSU and with us today. And Marilyn, before you get started, I want to just say encourage everyone to put questions in the Q&A throughout the talk and then we'll address those at the end of your talk. Thank you, Kelly. And thank you all for joining today. And I hope that the conversation that we have is helpful to you. As Kelly mentioned, she talked with me and, and she and Britney talked with me both about talking about conceptualizing one's work. And what I will say at the very onset. Is, I have been impressed. I hope that you are impressed and feel like the information that is provided by your college. Is helpful to you. It actually in a comparative way which I try not to do often. It is some of the most clearly articulated ideas. Across campus. But my task today is to try and and lift it up just a little bit from college or your specific job expectations and talk about how you think about the work that you're doing and communicating it with others. So that that you can feel like you are succeeding. I hope you can share my screen. Is that the right screen? Okay, I'll go back and find the correct screen. Sorry. There we go. No, okay, thank you. And so anyway, I want to just kind of walk you through some of the ways I want to just kind of walk you through some of the ways in which institutionally it can be helpful to think about conceptually, it can be helpful to think about conceptualizing your work. I, I think that I am quite in keeping with the provost expectations. That's sort of the job that we have over in the office of faculty and academic staff development. But depending on which provost we have talking at the moment, I think they probably would say things a little bit differently. But so here we go. So in thinking about things but I want to spend a little bit of time and it will be a little bit of time just a short block to be talking about how do you think about what's expected. And first of all, the university philosophy for everyone with an academic appointment. It doesn't matter what kind you have. The philosophy is that you're going to succeed. You are hired to do a job with the expectation that you are capable of doing so, which I know is true. And that the goal is to help you succeed. That's why we're here. It is expected that you're going to know what is required of you to do so. And that's A little bit more challenging sometimes. And again, I know some of those questions are going to come up today, but also that you have more things perhaps spelled out in your college than is sometimes true but work categories sometimes confound what we think is required of us. Year year or term to term or over our time here as employees and contributors to MSU. It's expected that each of us is going to be able to connect our work. To the goals and values of the unit and of the university. We've got layers that go on here in a complex institution as you know. And not everything that each one of us does is going to clearly connect on every level to everything. That said, the expectation is that we will be able to figure out and narrate how the work that we do matters in in my unit we are asked often to talk about how are we contributing to the provost strategic plan. I'm sure that you all are asked to think about how are you contributing to the deans strategic plan and strategic goals. It's also expected that you will have leadership support to accomplish the aspects of your position. These are cyclical. Goes back to saying you need to know what it is that you are expected to do, especially if portions of your time vary from, again, appointment period to appointment period, but that also if you're in need of support. Whatever kind that might be. That you're supposed to be able to have conversations with your supervisors and other leaders in your college to find out how to gain the support that you need. It is not expected that we travel this journey by ourselves, though often I interact with people who feel like that's what they have to do. But the expectation is that we are all here together to go back to point number one. So that you will succeed. And then there is an expectation that regardless of the forms that you may be required to use or the processes within a given college. That each of us is able to tell our story effectively. And in observations over the last 4 years in this job and almost 15 as a department chair, I actually think that that is one of the more challenging aspects is how do I communicate to somebody who knows very little about what I do or only marginally about what I do. What that means and why am I doing it. So that takes me to thinking about conceptualizing your work. It involves thinking about and creating who you are as a scholar, as a professional, as a clinical. As an administrator and whatever is that rule, how are you thinking about that identity and what the work you do contributes to that. There is a what piece of this, of course, and the what is not as clearly articulated as we often want it to be. This is not a translate from my resume or CV and to some other document that says this is what I. Do because we're all assigned tasks. But what does it mean to teach a class? What does it mean to run a lab? What does it mean to be an academic advisor? It means very different things from unit to unit. So part of the what? Is being more explicit. About that for the reader, for your colleagues, for your your college leadership. If you're engaged in scholarly activity, for example, that's a very broad definition on campus. It is not just I published referee journal articles, but I'm communicating with the media. I'm communicating with my community partners. But that's a what? And so when you just say, well, I did scholarly work. I don't know what that means and perhaps there are readers of your materials that also don't know. When you are engaged in community, we use that word a lot here at MSU as you know. And we believe in, university and outreach engagement. But as you go around and you know this already. Colleagues on campus just find that really differently. And what it means and how long it takes and who's all involved in that. So that what part becomes really descriptive. Not just linear or quantitative. The why? Why are you choosing to do what you are doing in any area of your work? Yes, there are tests that are assigned. We don't always choose to spend our time in the way that we are. Assigned to do so. But on the other hand, We are pursuing aspirations and goals that we have professionally that we that matter to us as professionals in different fields. That we are differentiating between opportunities for certain reasons. That why piece is really important. Again, it doesn't show well in a list. And when people wonder, well, this is my job. So does it matter why I'm doing it? Yes, it actually does when people are looking at your portfolio for any kind of annual evaluation or promotion process. They need to know that these were things you took on voluntarily. That you stepped up to do and help and we certainly have experienced many things over the last several years. That are reasons why one would want to be more explicit. I did not come out of a health college, but in thinking about my own relationship to the last several years with the pandemic. I can only imagine how many of you stepped into spaces you were not necessarily planning to be involved in that we're part of your identity. And your why you were even doing that at all. And so again, thinking conceptually about the why of your work, what is it advancing, who benefits from it, why do you think it is important to be doing? And you all are often working as institutionally we are hoping to do. I'm grand challenges. You are playing a role in that. Why? Probably more than just you see it as something you were told to do. My guess is you are here fundamentally for something more important than that. And then the how? We all go about our work in very different ways, whether that's methodologically, whether we do it independently or in collaboration with others. And again, in the health colleges, in everybody's role. There is often more than one player involved. And so then how are you bringing along? People in your lab or your collaborators or the people in the community with whom you work. For those who are in academic advising positions, we keep changing the processes by which you're supposed to be working with your students. And many of you are participating in a workshops and professional development and strategies to employ those systems more effectively. So the how is all regularly changing. Most of us are not doing our work in the same way that we were doing it 5 years ago or 10 years ago. And so the how becomes important to articulate. You don't want someone to assume you never have a new thought in your head because of course that wouldn't be true. But all of that becomes part of how you are preparing yourself to be reviewed annually and or for a promotion processes. We talk a lot more recently about telling your story. The forms that we use here at MSU in my opinion don't necessarily encourage us to do that. And yet on the other hand, from the reader's perspective, whether it's your supervisor immediately or a committee that is reviewing you. The better you are able to articulate your story. The what, the why, the how of your work. The more likely it is that they will be able to see it for the true depth and breath that it is as opposed to a simple list. And then, and again, I think you all have really good material about this, but certainly something we can talk about, knowing how to show your story. I'm a qualitative researcher. And we often talk about. Showing, not just telling, but lists will tell. But I can show through evidence of Why it mattered? What was the impact of the work that I did? How did students achieve differently in my classes because of how I restructured an assignment. How did the clinical students with whom I am working achieve different understandings of their practice as a result of what we were doing. Those are all part of the evidence that can be provided that actually show. What it is that you're doing and why it matters. So quickly, when you're conceptualizing your work, you need to think about How you gonna describe yourself as a scholar slash practitioner practitioner slash scholar other words that you might choose to include in there that are those with which you identify as a member of the MSU community. You need to explain the context of your work. People don't do that very much. They rely on someone else to either do that. Or what their job descriptions. Indicates and again we often accept if you are on an annual appointment we don't review those job descriptions very often. So they really are words that have come to be agreed upon that somehow signal what it is that one does, they don't talk at all about the context. And going back to what may be going on in your lives. Everybody was affected by COVID and then in the pandemic in many different ways. But that changed what happened during that time either. You had to do more. You had to take a step away. Your participants, your subjects, your constituents, your community members were all affected by that. Just to say there was a pandemic is usually not enough to emphasize and explain how that shifted your work in whatever way it did. And you can see some other examples of that. Discussing why your work is important and to home. I haven't met a person yet. I've been here a while. Who works at MSU whose work is not imported. Do I notice it every day as a member of the community? I'm sure that I do not. But I also wouldn't understand the importance until I'm caused to think about it. And if you think about the readers of your material, they're caused by that too. Everybody's really busy. We don't always know. Why what we're doing actually matters. And again, to home. I put in here being sure to be thinking about diversity. Equity and inclusion, which is a core value of the institution. And when I was looking through your all's material. It is it is really nicely articulated how to think about that. And whether or not everyone and bodies say it on a daily basis, those principles and or is working to understand them better. We are all working towards that end goal of making the university a more inclusive, diverse and equitable environment. For everybody. And I'm, I think the directions that are given by your college are, actually wonderful examples. And then I would encourage you not to think about it as an extra. But as part of the work that that we all do, especially in a health college. Where by definition and you are working with diverse persons who have different basic needs and different health related needs and your students are coming to you wanting to tap into your expertise. So that they too can go out and be those clinicians of the future. And then I think it's important and we don't often do this very well. To demonstrate integration, we all find connecting points of the areas of work that we do. And again, you're making choices or you see how you bring your scholarly thoughts into your teaching. You take your teaching issues into your research. You're working in communities that evidence issues that need to be addressed and you bring that back into class or into your research. That is not evident to the reader until you make it so. But again, when I think about people who fare very well in in annual reviews and promotion processes, they are those who are able to think in holistic ways about the work that they are doing. You know, that doesn't all fit every moment of the day. But trying to think about how I connect these pieces for the reader so that they see me as a professional. Honing my craft, continuing to be a lifelong learner about what I'm trying to do and how I am able to be making the next measures of success. I say measures, I don't even like that word I don't think, because it isn't quantitative. Kelly said at the beginning. Promotion is not a checklist. Orms make it look that way, but it is about, deepening one's comprehension of the nature of the work that you are doing and being able to describe how it is that you are advancing your knowledge, advancing your efforts. And contributing in different ways as you move through the system to promotion at the highest rank. It is their goal. And not everybody always wants to be promoted to the highest rank I should say. Don't know what your college would advocate. Showing a cohesive trajectory, not everything works linearly, but we are often in helixes about the kind of works that we do. For promotion, part of the foundation of that is that you are able to articulate what is the baseline. You were hired. With a set of skills and knowledge expertise. The advancement comes as you are deepening and broadening what it is that you do and how you communicate it to others. I put on here highlighting the strength of your reputation. This is a, a reputation with a little R and perhaps in quotation marks. If you are on the tenure stream, the, what that means is largely tied to external opinions of who you are and what you do. Internally though there is a role to play in the ways in which one steps into the space of our college work and our university work that applies to everybody. If I sit behind my desk right now, I'm talking to you from my home office. Such as it is. But if I lived here in my self. Bye myself the whole time and I wasn't willing to step up to work on committees of my college, my department, the institution. Or offering. To be involved in different activities, I would have, I would just be Marilyn Amy, who is known externally to here. That is a way to build a reputation but it is not a very effective way anymore because we look for university members to contribute broadly. So I use reputation lightly, if you will. And say that those were in the fixed term appointments, academic specialists. You are doing Yeomans work here at the university in so many ways. And if I were to say, Kelly, I'm going to do this to you right now, I can go around campus and I can be talking to people who are very, supportive and working to support fixed term and academic specialists in particular and say, oh, over in CHEM, do you know Kelly Hodges and people will say. oh, I know Kelly, I know her work. Why is that? Because she is willing to step into the discussions on campus to learn to offer thoughts. That counts as part of building a reputation. So does the way in which our communities. Contribute to that, whether it's an internal community. We have learning communities of which many of you are part. We have different cohort programs that exist and leadership development programs that exist where you are participating. That build your reputation. The communities with which you work external to the university are again those with whom you are called upon because of what you know and how you're able to contribute. All of that is a part of building their reputation. Which is important for having people speak on your behalf, whether it's for an honorific. A teaching award or a leadership award of some kind, external supports when you're trying to put together teams for different research work or different teams to be in the community. When people know who you are and you are able to talk about that. That's really helpful to spreading the great work of CHM and the university, but it also comes back in support of you. Sounding boards are important, but so are, internal letters of support for different honors, different recognitions, different things that you may be aspiring to be noticed for. Or that others want to notice you for. We're trying to cultivate a culture of recognition. I think we have a ways to go on that myself, but part of that becomes more than who immediately comes to mind. We have so many gifted educators including in your college. And how that is known is part of what this is about. And finally from this. It's important, especially in aspiring to any kind of promotion that you'd be able to be self-evaluative. We're in not all perfect and we don't all do things well and everything we try doesn't go well. And when putting together either for annual review or a promotion process, it's important to be able to say, I tried this in its own work very well as a result. I'm gonna make a modification for the next time or what I really need is help to develop my skills over here. That's not a negative. That's saying I want to do better and I need opportunities or support in order to do that. Those who are doing the evaluation for annual or for promotive processes. Need to know what it is you need. And as we know in any culture, some people are very willing to run to the front of the line always and ask for things and other people are less they're not built that way to be the one who's first in line for everything. So, what we encourage and I hope happens is that on an annual basis or at least a periodic basis, I would like annual but periodic is good too that you are having conversations meaningful conversation with the people who supervise you or who are there to help you. So that you can be sharing. Where are you going? What are the next steps you want to be taking? Where do you see yourself 3 years from now? They can hear that. They can look to find ways to help and support you. They can connect you to others who may have similar aspirations. But part of being able to succeed in the system is the available you have the ability to be self-evaluative and reflect on where it is you're going. So Kelly, I'm watching the time and I have a couple slides and I'm just gonna. I'm not gonna actually do it, but they'll be here for you to see. To just talk about some things to think about with teaching, an obvious thing that most of us do in one way or another, the thinking about scholarship, I didn't say research because it isn't just that scholarship is really important. To the university writ large, whether it's, again, media outlets are so common these days, but also website development and ways in which people participate in lists serves. And community based documentation and strategies that came out there was a lot you all did a lot. During the pandemic to support what was going on for other people, but they were, web-based. Manuals and games and tactics and health notes that could be useful to other people. All of that is part of the scholarly activity of the university. It just is perhaps not traditional. And we are looking at 2030. We're not looking at 1985. So thinking broadly is really important. And the last note on here that I know so many of you are involved in regardless of your appointment. Are the future plans and the issues that need to be addressed both for you and for your area of work. And I would apply that. Again, you are picking on academic advisors for a moment. You're students are changing. What are the things you think need to be occurring in the future on their behalf and how are you going to get prepared to do that? Being able to say that, to think about that, be a reflective practitioner. Scholarship of teaching is a thing we used to do very well here that we don't do quite as much but every practice. Has its own version of its scholarly reflective. Tactics and I think we're really moving towards a place where that information can be valued also. But has to be understood. The university knows that academics are as diverse as is their work. You cannot go college to college here, even if you think that your area is similar. There will be distinctions and the university at large understands that even though the forms are one size fits all. Components of department of appointments. They take different forms. They actually can be discussed and reviewed once in a particular arrangement doesn't mean it stays that way till the end of time. But it is supposed to be reflective of the work you are being asked to do and some of the opportunities that you're hoping to take advantage of and developing our own careers here. The valuing of diversity equity and inclusion. Is core. We're working hard, I think, across the campus to embed it in our work. But again, coming from a medical school perspective. What you all do seems just directly tied to those principles in so many ways and it's not my area so I'm I'm only speaking from having read files and learn from y'all. And it's not a fourth. Area. It's right embedded in it. And then to close, the university wants you to succeed. We've been through a lot. In every day doesn't feel that way that anybody necessarily wants us to succeed, but as a principle of practice. Having worked now with, 3, in this role. I don't doubt for 1 min. That they want all of us to succeed. The strategies to do that become locally defined. But institutionally. You are expected and hoped to succeed. And what happens in your college is the driver. You're answering first if you will. To your college and your your units within the college. And if well documented and well understood, there is no reason for any provost to decide that somehow they're going to turn the tables on you. We are not a tenured in institution. We are not determined by how many people can be in each employment category where some of our counterparts actually are. And so a well. Articulated and documented case at the local level, supported by those in your college should be just fine. Thank you very much. And I do know that the vice president for vice president for academic affairs and the pro us both think that that is true. So I'm gonna stop. And hope to be able to answer questions or engage with you in conversation. Marilyn, thank you so much. That's, it's so nice to hear, a message that says that we believe in you and expect that you'll be successful. I think that resonates with how we like to think about it. And it's just great to hear you saying that that's an institutional value too. I want to remind everybody and encourage everybody to put questions in the chat for Marilyn. But I Thought I'd ask a couple just to get started while people think about what they might want to put there. Oh yeah. One thing I was thinking is you know It's all great, right, that people have diverse careers and we can kind of. Craft those for ourselves and we can kind of craft those for ourselves and that the university is generally responsive. And that the university is generally responsive. But it sounds like it's still the faculty members test to make whatever case they can. For the importance of their work without really knowing in advance. Whether that is case is going to be perceived as good enough by the various reviewers throughout the system, or at least there's a potential for it to feel that way, right? So what kind of things would you recommend to people to do? To get a sense of whether their case is going to be good enough, according to reviewers in their field, their department, their unit, and then you've sort of addressed the university. I think that is an excellent. Question Kelly and here's what my answer would be generally speaking and then again recognizing it plays itself out a little bit differently. First of all, I am a strong believer in annual conversations and I did not work in a department with a hundred 44. Instructors and faculty members. So I understand what I'm saying. But I think regular conversations are important because as an person who would be primary and doing an evaluation as a chair or as someone who is sitting on a review committee of some kind. If I don't know anything about you until I'm in that task. Then it really does become dependent on the faculty member to be or the, academic specialist or the fixed term person, whatever is their role. To be the determiner of that. If I'm coming to know you along the way. Then I can ask you different questions about that too. Like I don't understand what you're saying. We're all full of jargon, myself included, of course. And that becomes a problem when I'm only reading something for the first time. But so I think those those regular conversations, whatever that appropriately means, are very helpful for educating. Those around you about what it is. Yes, you as the person, the candidate needs to do that but it doesn't have to just be at the end. Second, philosophically, no one should be surprised. That their case is or is not going to be reviewed. Favorably would become then the operationally confusing term. What does that mean? Did everybody say it was fantastic or it only enough people say it was fantastic. But again, the review process, and I say that intentionally, it is a process. So when you are putting together materials or you're thinking about how you're going to communicate something. Reading it yourself is, of course, like anything else. It's never good enough. You really want to have people engage with you in that process. So that you have a good understanding of what it is you think you're communicating. And then you go, oh, I didn't realize nobody knew what I was talking about. That, yeah, if you don't have that communication that conversation until a benchmark decision. Then you're it's really not to your advantage. To do that. It that way. So I think there this is one of my colleagues, Kelly that, you know. I would have said that this is a rhetorical exercise. Communicating one's identity in one story is a rhetorical exercise. Like our students, we don't get good at writing the first time we do it. We need to think about what it looks like, how it's understood, what are we leaving out that we really should have included and those are often process pieces. I started a new class. I got a new grant. That's a time bound. Effort that has a product for sure, but the process is what I spent all of my time on this year. And if you if I'm only showing you the product. You don't know why I don't have a whole bunch of other products and categories you anticipated. And again, I think if we set up. Processes where people are less thinking only about the end result. But about the ways in which they can be supported. They feel like they're getting the review and information that they need. Then it is better and we're not uniform across campus so we're trying to be. When somebody goes up for a promotion at any level, reappointment or promotion, The past reviews are supposed to be included. Which means if you didn't have one, that would be a reason why you might feel very uncertain about how you stand in the system. But then others who are reviewing it up the line are seeing what kind of feedback you were given by those doing the evaluation. So back to the original. If the university expects you to succeed and believes you're getting the support to do so, It isn't just on the candidate. It is on those who were providing the feedback that was intended. To let you know how you were doing. If you hear great, great, great every time. And then. It doesn't turn out that way. In an evaluation. Though people doing the reviews are also accountable for that. If they suggest things that you should be working on to improve and you choose not to, that's a different story. But I think we're striving to be more consistent about that so that people do not need to be. So apprehensive in a way it is what it is. And on the other side, I think people think, oh, well, you know, oh, that wasn't so bad. On the way there, I absolutely appreciate why it is unnerving, but having having shepherded quite a number of people over time to successful advancement. It is not because they were not regularly having conversations with me and me with them. Because I knew what they were doing and I knew how to help them in and communicate it to others. So to the people on the call who are not in. Review or roles or leadership roles. I would say be annoying. Because Philosophically, the institution says you should have the support that you need. But everybody's really busy. There are lots of fires to put out. And if you stay to yourself, People will think that you're fine. A normal human response. And then when you're not, many people are culpable for that. That was a long answer. I'm sorry. That's really helpful. We have a question in the chat that's, it's a bit into some of the nitty gritty of appointment system. So if you want to take a run at it, the question is, is there a path? From fixed term to the tenure system. What I would say is, does it ever happen on campus? Yes it does. How does it happen on campus? Is tied to different units. And why I say that is because in the same way as continuous appointment has an economic component to it. So does so does tenure. And so how colleges navigate transition in roles. Or categories of employment is somewhat dependent on the structures of a given college. And here. In health colleges, I actually do know of some circumstances where this transition has happened. However, I actually don't know the mechanics behind it except that there were mechanics behind it. The institution writ large is very mindful of the number of tenure track appointments that it has. It is becoming more conscious of the number of fixed term and academic specialist appointments that has, especially cause the work they're very so much. Okay. And to allow for equitable and appropriate advancement opportunities. From a policy perspective there is examinations being made about what is possible, what should be possible, what is, historic and not relevant anymore, but. That's said, college is very and how they would implement that kind of a transition. So I would never speak on behalf of the College of Human Medicine about that. Thanks. Okay. Yeah. Follow up question about that. From Chris Negia, who's one of our tenure system associate professors in our college. There are precedents himself included in CHM from fixed term to tenure track and tenure. But the path was not formal or formalized and he says perhaps it could be. Anything more to say. Right. Chris, I, I would say, wow, get on that and make it be. I think that in some Oh, my opinion would be, that's all that it is, is that I think a college is setting up its structures. Will happen. More readily. Then the institution setting up the structures. There are there are rudiments of that that exist in institutional policies. But because of what it means in a given unit. I think it is more complicated discussion with UCFA. And the deans, etc, etc, to come to an agreement about that. But again, it, you're a perfect example. It happened here and it has happened in some other places. And my guess is if someone was to deconstruct it, they would see that the process was actually similar from place to place even though that may not be known. But, as the. Faculty and academic staff affairs offices. Going through policies that affect academic work. They are uncovering lots of holes because most of those have not been reviewed in many, many years. But to arrive at consensus and approval by governance is a slow goal. Which does not prohibit a college from getting there faster. Codification would be great and I do know that that's a goal. I'm not sure that this one would be at the top of the list of. Policies that need to be. Remedy from an equity perspective across campus, but it is an important one and I know it has been discussed. I just don't think we're going to get there. But it is an important one and I know it has been discussed. I just don't think we're going to get there quite too Let's check this one. Yeah. Yeah, I, was just in a meeting yesterday where I heard more about, the comprehensive policy review that the Provost Office has planned for all of the economic policies and I imagine that is not a thing we will see the end of and anytime soon, but. No, not any time soon. There's something like a hundred 80 policies that have to be reviewed. So no, but Jennifer Johnson's note in in here I think is a way that Jennifer Johnson's note in in here I think is a way that it does happen. And again, that's that has a longer term consequence that a college decides just like they do if they're gonna hire a person. To, do this, set of teaching experiences or they're gonna go. Course by course by course in their hiring. There are lots of sort of behind the scenes. I don't think they're intended to be that way but pieces of the puzzle that have to be put together before a change can be made. And I do think that Dean's. Work really hard at that and we've just had a lot of Dean transitions. So Jennifer, I think your point is exactly often how it happens because it's already sort of a available slot if you will. But again, it's not very systematic. Right, right, and in that case, what I don't know, everybody can see the QA, but Jennifer says, when she saw it happen is because there was a tenure track position open and someone interfered in a fixed term position applied and successfully competed for the position and I've seen that in my experience. To so that's not exactly a path but it's a way that it happens and one of the things that's happened there is The first step was to secure kind of the funding source for the track. Yup, yup. Right. And then once that exists, then just getting the best person in the job is kind of the task. It can be more complicated to think about any other way around I think. Right. One piece that goes with that puzzle, having worked with some people who have made that kind of transition from this, this, is that, how one understands how to put the materials together, how to put the materials together, how to think about the work. Is somewhat different because the assignment of work could be different and in working with a particular set of colleagues. They their question would have been a little bit different. It was like. Who will help me now that I am in? A tenure track faculty position or people have gone in the other direction as well. And, and left a tenure track position to become a fixed term or academic specialist in the same question. Well, now how I think about myself and the work that I do because it's not in whatever was the way I was used to thinking about it. And so movement is possible. It isn't always easy and paths. Per se except straight up the line and as clear as those are and are not. Pads across lines are not. Right. Readily evident. Okay. Okay. Yeah, yeah. And I guess I would say for our audience today in our college, a great place to start with that kind of question is our associate theme for faculty affairs, which for the time being is still, aply being filled by Nara Parmesan while he also takes on our senior associate team for research position, but not a new person in that role soon, I think. Absolutely. And anyway, that's a place to start, right, for both. Faculty who are interested in that question and I think also, you know, chairs leaders who are trying to figure out how to be supportive and responsive to people who are doing more good work in their units. Yeah. Absolutely. Okay. Okay. So I encourage people still to put questions in the chat if you have them. I have another one ready for you though Marilyn your office hosts an annual set of sessions about thriving as an academic. Yeah. MSU. And 3 of those are coming up pretty soon in February and registration is open I saw I imagine that today's topic is one of the things that you talk about that those sessions, but could you say a little bit more about what attendees at those sessions could expect? What else happens there? You're welcome. Oh, thank you for that. Well, and, and Kelly, you have, you have participated in, in those in the past. We do have a session I was trying to quickly get you, relevant dates. They are all on Wednesdays in February. The first that comes up on the seventh is for academic specialists. The . And the fourteenth, I believe. Is for fixed term faculty and the third is for promotion in to full professor if you are on the 10 track. And in those we try to provide again. A university level perspective, but more about how to conceptualize your work and pull together materials that will be relevant. But we also try to make sure that we have groups of people who both have been successful in the system recently so that the process they went through mirrors more of what current people might go through and then the voices of those who do the reviews. Because again, We don't get to review our own, so we have it has proven to be helpful to hear both success stories, if you will. And the strategies that were used there, but also what is it the people who do the reviews are actually looking to see. And we found some really good conversations about that and for the fixed term in the specialist sessions try to have people who have different kinds of appointments. Okay. Because we know that, you know, articulating your responsibilities if you teach full-time is very different if you're a fixed term faculty member than if you have part of your appointment is on the UNTF and part of it is administrative of one time or another or if you're a full-time researcher who is a fixed term faculty member, it doesn't read the same way. And for specialists, with so many different categories of work. While they're supposed to be a dominant thread, I think. Even more frequently, there are multiple responsibilities that might comprise a component part. And so again, as colleges prepare. Yeah. Processes that involve more of the people who are in a role to do those reviews. But in the meantime, My favorite example is those who do curriculum development work on a regular basis. If you're on the tenure track, that means you updated your syllabus this year, you know, sort of. Big deal. If your job as a specialist is curriculum development, it means so much more than that. But until those doing the reviews are educated sufficiently, which is an effort that is underway across campus, to know what it means to be an academic specialist whose job is curriculum development. It is. More of a challenge to feel like you are being reviewed. Properly. And equitably. So we try to tackle some of those things and then make ourselves available and those who are willing to help us deliver on those days so that people can. Ask the kind of questions that you're all asking today and that people need to ask in their own circumstances. And of course, this is Crofts University conversation. It is not germane specific to one's area of work because it does vary. Thank you for the plug though. I'd love to see you all there. Of course. Yeah, I plugged them all the time and maybe this is a good time to say that, we have recorded today and so we'll be sending out the recording and the slides and I'll also include the link to the sign of information about those sessions in case people are interested in spending some more time with you and your team and thinking about that. There's another comment in the in the chat was from the beginning from, again, from Jennifer saying I'm a tenure system professor, but attending to better understand how to help my fixed term academic specialist, but attending to better understand how to help my fixed term academic specialists and instructor colleagues. And I think that is lovely to see as I look through the attendee list today today I see a number of fixed term faculty and specialists, but I also see tenure system people. I see health programs people. I see health programs people. I see staff people from our units who are here. I see staff people from our units who are here that provide support in the RPT process people, I see staff people from our units who are here that provide support in the RPT process. And something. And so I'm just delighted of the diverse group that we have here today. So seeing no other questions and noting that we're getting pretty close to time, I think I will. It is. Pause us here and say thank you to you so much for sharing your time and your expertise and your warmth with us and helping us all feel like this is a doable task and that we individually and collectively here in our college are sort of headed in the right direction. That's really great to know. You absolutely are, Kelly. And I just wanna thank anybody who is, logged on to this. Your best support. Is in the college. That said, if you find that you need resources or you're looking for networks away from the college. Or, or, please just reach out. That's our job and FASTI is to help people succeed in the system and build fulfilling careers. And we can't, can't do everything. We do have lots of opportunities for connecting and for being parts of different opportunities and for finding others who are in similar circumstances. They are not going to be the same, but they could be similar. And sometimes that's a network to which one wants to belong. So. Please thank you so much for being here today. Let me know if I can be of help and Kelly, as always, I'm grateful to know you. Thank you so much. Thanks a lot. Have a great day, everyone. Bye.
12/06/23 - Conceptual Basis for Promotion
From Brittany Thayer March 13th, 2024
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