About the Office of Faculty Affairs

Faculty Advancement & Recognition

Faculty Affairs oversees the processes through which faculty advance through their career life-cycle. These include:

• Faculty Hiring Cycle: facilitates and supports a streamlined faculty hiring cycle
• Promotion & Tenure and Sabbatical Leave: oversees and monitors compliance with the university policies for faculty promotion and tenure and sabbatical leaves; leads the UCPT and UCSL processes
• Distinguished Professor selection and recognition: leads the UCDP process and hosts the Distinguished Professor lecture series
• University Teaching Awards: facilitates the faculty awards and recognition process, including the nomination process and selection committees
• Scholarly awards: facilitates the Keeler Family Intra-University Professorship, which fosters faculty engagement in support of innovative interdisciplinary course or research development, and the Big XII Fellowship, which provides funding for tenured and tenure-track faculty to travel to member institutions to work on collaborative projects in the exchange of ideas and scholarship

Faculty Relations & Policy

Faculty Affairs is responsible for developing policy and administering approval processes to ensure compliance with work expectations and conditions. These include:

• Approvals: provides final approvals in various processes that include external activity reporting, workplace leave, differential allocations, and additional pay
• Policy: oversees the integration of policy with the faculty role, engaging with policy development, review, interpretation, education, implementation, and adherance
• Governance: collaborates with governance on topics that intersect with the faculty role; serves in an ex-officio status on designated committees

Faculty Development & Growth

Faculty Affairs provides faculty and academic staff with the tools and opportunities needed to succeed and flourish at all stages in their careers. This includes:

• New Faculty Orientation: welcomes new faculty to KU, providing an introduction to offices, resources, and contacts integral to jumpstarting their career at KU
• New Faculty Foundations Series: provides monthly programming to support new faculty in establishing a strong foundation at KU; programs are designed to support new faculty from arrival through to preparations for the third year review process
• Faculty Learning Circles: small group, interactive learning experiences that foster connections and collective wisdom on specific topics; designed and facilitated by faculty members with a passion for and knowledge on the topic
• Senior Administrative Fellows: a 9-month leadership development program for faculty (competitively selected) in which they explore the landscape of higher education, learn more about KU and university leadership, and develop personal leadership skills
• Associate Deans, Chairs and Directors Essentials Series: the series provides two day-long workshops plus monthly programming focused on topics such as policy updates and impact, mentorship training, university updates and resources, crucial communication skill development, and more; the series also includes an annual workshop specifically for those new to the role
• NCFDD: offers support for faculty participation in the Faculty Success Bootcamp; supports KU's institutional membership
• KU Faculty Development Academies Week: taking place the week after finals every spring, delivering one-day workshops to provide professional development “deep dives” from KU experts