Dear Faculty,

There has been a lot of media attention the past two weeks regarding the OCR investigation, in particular impacting our campus community and affecting students, faculty, and staff whose Jewish culture, identity and religious practices are important to them. We have cooperated with the investigation and have submitted a comprehensive response. However, there is more work to be done within our UVM community.

This became clear to me when I met with students and with community rabbis for several listening sessions this past Friday. These students and religious leaders are asking for openness—openness to dialogue, to acknowledge that antisemitism exists, and that bias against any marginalized group should not be tolerated. As an institution, we recognize antisemitism exists and we reject it and all other forms of bias and hate-related activities. We also ask this of the UVM community.

This is a time when we must double down on our commitment to Our Common Ground values—responsibility, justice, openness, integrity, innovation, and respect. Students are asking for faculty to be aware of antisemitism in the classroom, for enhanced awareness about Judaism as well as other religious and cultural identities, and for reasonable accommodations during their high holidays. Creating a truly inclusive environment takes commitment and requires that we take concrete actions—such as observing our class attendance policy, which supports students in practicing the religion of their choice by providing them with reasonable accommodations concerning missed instruction, assignments, and exams. The diversity of our students includes a range of religious beliefs, cultures, and identities, and as faculty and administrators we have a responsibility to respect and honor these. 

You may also be aware that we have several Iranian graduate students who are suffering as their country is currently challenged by protests across numerous cities which have led to the loss of life and communications disruptions, including limited or no internet access. They are worried about their families and friends as the situation is unsettled and communication with relatives in Iran is extremely difficult. The situation is increasing student stress and disrupting their ability to focus on their research and educational goals. The Office of International Education (OIE) and the Graduate College have already been in contact with our Iranian students and scholars. Connections are invaluable in times of so much uncertainty. We have encouraged the graduate students to reach out to their professors, mentors, and advisors and to let them know the impact of the recent events on their work. We ask that you also please reach out to them and let them know you care about them and offer what support you can.

I am continually appreciative of how our faculty remain productive and engaged. Thank you for your resilience and care for one another and for our students.

I hope the information below is useful to you. 

  • We initiated these regular e-mails—the Faculty Digest—in the spring of 2020 to provide faculty members with critical and timely information related to our pandemic response. The digest began as a weekly publication and shifted to twice monthly in Fall 2021. Moving forward, we’ll be delivering announcements, events, and news to faculty and staff via Inside UVM, a single, consolidated digital newsletter distributed a few times each week. Inside UVM was launched on September 27. Please make sure to scan each edition for important information. I will continue to share messages directly with faculty periodically, but Inside UVM will be your new source for timely updates, announcements, deadlines, reminders, and more.
  • I recently announced that Cindy Forehand, Dean of the Graduate College, will be retiring at the end of June. I invite graduate faculty to join me, and Vice President for Research Kirk Dombrowski, in a discussion of how we can create a more unified vision for the Graduate College, enhance the Graduate College’s role in the research mission of the University, and consider the leadership needed as we work to increase our graduate enrollment, including growth in international student enrollment and new professional and/or interdisciplinary graduate program offerings. We’ll be meeting on October 12 from 3:00–4:00 p.m. in Waterman Memorial Lounge. If you cannot attend, please e-mail any feedback you’d like to share.
  • Mark your calendar for the Career Summit on October 12. Learn more about Career Center resources you can use to engage students and advisees in career exploration, meet the new Career Center Director, Sarah Heath, and learn how your program can encourage the success of all students! RSVP is recommended.
  • The Student Government Association will be sponsoring a Week of Kindness from October 17–21. SGA has planned a variety of activities and would appreciate faculty participation. Please mark your calendars and consider spending 10 minutes of class time to support an environment of kindness on our campus. Some ideas you might consider:

    • Tell your students you appreciate them.

    • Ask your students to share a kindness that someone recently extended to them or a kindness they extended to someone.

    • Start your class with a moment of appreciation for family, friends and colleagues.

    • Offer an opportunity for students to share ways they manage their stress.

    • Have students share something that excites them about what they are learning.

    • Create an opportunity for students to reflect on something that is going well for them or something for which they are proud.

    • Begin or end your class with a brief mediation or mindfulness moment.

    • Encourage students to participate in the Week of Kindness activities and join them in some of the activities.

    • Check out some suggested guided meditation and mindfulness activities.

Professional Development Opportunities

  • UVM’s Brightspace training is ramping up! Earlier this month, Desire to Learn (D2L), Brightspace's parent company, provided introductory webinars. All webinars were recorded and will be available next week for on-demand viewing. Next, starting on Oct. 6, The Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) staff and faculty associates are offering nine sessions of Brightspace "labs," focusing on either building content, assignments, or quizzes. Designed for faculty who have spent time experimenting in their sandbox courses or have attended/viewed a D2L-led webinar, each session is a combination of presentation; hands-on time for adding content, quiz questions, or building assignments in sandbox courses; and plenty of time for questions and group problem-solving. Please visit the CTL Events calendar for more information and to register.

  • The Writing in the Disciplines Program (WID) invites colleagues to join a book group discussing Asao Inoue's Above the Well: An Antiracist Argument from a Boy of Color, beginning in late October. Inoue's mix of argument and memoir encourages antiracist work in classrooms and beyond. For more information about this and other programming about supporting writing in your courses, visit the Writing in the Disciplines event calendar.

  • The Office of Community-Engaged Learning (CELO) is offering Identifying Students' Transferable Skills from Community-Engaged Learning, a workshop that provides faculty with materials for a unit helping students reflect on their experience, identify skills gained, and prepare to articulate them in professional settings. Tuesday, October 18, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. on Teams.  Email celo@uvm.edu to request the Teams link.

  • Leadership Workshop II for Chairs and Associate Deans will be held on October 26, 12:00–1:30 p.m. The workshop topic is The Challenges of Academic Leadership: 10 Strategies for Effective Response to the Challenges of Leading Your Peers. Panelists include:

    • Breck Bowden, Professor and Patrick Chair of Watershed Science and Planning; Director of Water Resources and the Lake Studies Center, Lake Champlain Sea Grant; and Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources

    • Paula Deming, Associate Professor of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Research, and Endowed Professor of Health Sciences in the College of Nursing and Health Sciences

    • Jane Okech, Professor of Counselor Education and Supervision and Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

    • LER Consultants Megan Boucher and Peter Blackmer will also be available to answer questions. Contact Jennifer Diaz if you did not receive a Teams invitation to the workshop.

Reminders and Recent Communications

  • The Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Dr. Jane Okech, invites all new UVM faculty members to participate in a series of six First Year Faculty Experience workshops that have the special objective of enhancing your sense of belonging at UVM and supporting your success in your new faculty roles and responsibilities. The first in this series of workshops is The Faculty Experience of Belonging at UVM on Friday, October 14, 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. in the Davis Center room 422, the Jost Foundation Room. Please indicate your intention to attend by accepting this invitation by Monday, October 10. You can read more about this workshop in the prior edition of the digest.

  • On September 22, I shared a message with students extending our support to Jewish students in our community and outlining steps we are taking to create and sustain a safer and healthier environment for them.

  • The SGA Catamounts Against Cancer club invites you to join them in the UVM Relay for Life Event. The relay will be held on November 5 from 12:00–6:00 p.m. on the Davis Center Green. This will be a great day full of music, games, family, friends, and remembering and honoring those who have fought cancer.

We are in the midst of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Please take this opportunity to reflect on the important histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic Americans.

And a reminder to all that there are several different religious holidays that occur in September and October. I encourage you to review the Interfaith Calendar and note the recommended accommodations.

As many of you know, this week marked the start of the Jewish high holidays. For those who celebrated Rosh Hashanah, I wish you a new year filled with peace, prosperity, and optimism for all the blessings in store, Shana Tova! And I wish you a meaningful fast for Yom Kippur.

Warmly,

Patty