Dear Faculty,

As we approach spring break, this is a good time to check in with students, make sure they are on track academically, and remind them to get some rest, be safe and enjoy spending time with their family and friends over break. Connecting at this time is particularly important since our students continue to report high levels of anxiety, stress, and mental health challenges. Knowing this, you might consider starting each class with a little wellness—whether it is a breathing exercise or having them share something good or meaningful they did for someone, or someone did for them. I have found it an effective way to foster connection and engagement in the classroom.

There is a lot happening this semester for all of us, and I thought I would highlight some key activities that will likely be of interest to you.

  • The Honors College invites the UVM community to a special Teach-in on the War in Ukraine. Please join us for this Teams event from 6:00 to 7:30 pm on Monday, February 28 to hear from UVM scholars specializing in this region's history, culture, and geopolitics. Bring your questions about the current conflict and the conditions that led up to this moment.
  • The 2022 Campus Climate Survey (CCS) is live and will remain open until March 4. The CCS is a powerful tool to better understand the perceptions and experiences of students, faculty and staff; identify strengths and areas for improvement; and measure progress on key initiatives around diversity, equity, and inclusion. The data collected will inform the development of strategic plans across the university aimed at achieving a more equitable and inclusive campus environment. Survey responses are completely confidential; our Office of Institutional Research and Assessment adheres to the strictest confidentiality standards in this and all confidential surveys. Fully completed surveys offer the most useful data, but you are not required to answer every question. Please find 10 minutes to complete the survey and encourage your faculty colleagues, students, and advisees to do the same.
  • Please encourage your students to schedule a COVID test 48 hours before they expect to leave for spring recess and upon their return to campus. Students who test before break will be given two free COVID antigen rapid tests to use during break and just before they come back. You can find more information here. Please also congratulate your students on their response to our booster requirement—100% of students eligible for a booster are boosted.
  • There is a new exhibit in the President’s “Celebrating Diverse Voices” display on the 4th floor of the Davis Center. Sub Pelle Mea centers on the collaboration between UVM Assistant Professor Paula Higa and Boston College faculty and visual artist Debra Weisberg. Higa was driven to the human skin: both the physical nature of skin as well as its cultural and racial connotations. As a Latin-American woman immigrant and member of the BIPOC community, Higa experienced the benefits and privileges of being considered white in her native country, Brazil, and the drawbacks and burden of having beige skin and an accent when she moved to Vermont. Please stop by to see this important work.
  • Resilience and Adaptation, the UVM Libraries’ FY21 annual impact report is now available and reflects the work accomplished by Libraries’ faculty, staff, and directors over the last year.
  • CTL invites BIPOC faculty to a March 18 panel discussion, Teaching While BIPOC, featuring UVM faculty members Randall Harp (CAS, Philosophy), Thomas Macias (CAS, Sociology), Laura May-Collado (CAS, Biology) and Cynthia Reyes (CESS). Experiences, stories and strategies will be shared. This event is organized by the UVM BIPOC Faculty and Staff Group and is for BIPOC attendees only. The panel will be held at Allen House. Please email questions to Yolanda.Chen@uvm.edu.
  • Join the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) Spring 14-Day Writing Challenge and see how group accountability, tracking your time, and daily writing can improve your overall productivity. The challenge is free to all UVM members. Register today! Registration ends March 9 and the program runs from March 14–March 27, 2022.
  • NCFDD is also conducting the Summer 2022 Faculty Success Program, a twelve-week online program to help tenure track and tenured faculty with the skills necessary to increase research and writing productivity while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Priority (discounted) registration ends March 11. Please contact Jim.Vigoreaux@uvm.edu if you are interested in participating.

Reminders and Recent Communications 

  • A reminder to use the Academic Alert System to notify students and their advisors if they are falling behind, have unexcused absences, or are in danger of receiving a D or F in your class due to missed work or low grades on assessments.
     
  • As your students prepare for midterms, they may find this resource from the UVM Tutoring Center helpful. 
     
  • CTL invites you to a workshop presented by Dr. Saundra McGuire, author of Teach Students How to Learn. The workshop is the third of a series to help us make small changes in our courses to increase student performance and shape students’ attitudes about learning. Increasing Student Motivation: Strategies that Work. March 1, 1:30-3:00 pm.
     
  • Writing in the Disciplines and CTL are sponsoring a book group on Dr. McGuire's Teach Students How to Learn. The group meets on select Thursdays at 3:00 pm. Contact wid@uvm.edu for more information.
     
  • Faculty members who published a book or accomplished a similarly significant achievement in the arts in calendar year 2020 or 2021 are invited to share cover art (or the equivalent) for display on the Provost’s website. Staff members with publishing or performance responsibilities are invited to submit as well. We will gather information about your accomplishment via survey and need your response by February 28, 2022.

Thank you for your continued good work to advance our academic success goals and to achieve the strategic priorities for the university. You will be hearing more about the Art and Science consultation report and recommendations, and how we will integrate their findings with our current focus on integrative learning. Stay warm and safe as the cold temperatures continue and another snowstorm is blanketing the campus.

Warmly,
Patty