Dear Faculty,

I hope you were able to hear Dr. Damon Williams speak this week as he shared his perspective on inclusive excellence – looking back at the work of Dr. Martin Luther King and looking forward to what is possible when we serve as change agents and innovate in our efforts to build a coalition of community. Dr. Williams reminded us about the importance of making a “commitment to community beyond self”—a provocative call to action that embraces our shared humanity and requires us to personally expand the impact we have on justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. Not an easy task but as Dr. Williams described we must “step into difficult moments” to have real dialogue and impact.

In his march for integrated schools in 1958, Dr. King stated, “Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.”  We still have much work to do, but if we remain accountable to our goals for DEI we will make an impact. As Dr. King also reminds us, "We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience." Higher education can and should have a role in creating dialogue across ideological perspectives on diversity so that we can make real change together.

Below you will find important information that I hope you will find useful.

  • As announced earlier today, Dr. Jane Okech has been appointed Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs effective July 1, 2022. Dr. Okech is the Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs and a Professor of Counselor Education in UVM’s College of Education and Social Services (CESS). Dr. Okech has been a member of our faculty since 2003 and has held important leadership positions in CESS including Counseling Program Coordinator, Chair of the Department of Leadership and Developmental Sciences, and Associate Dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs. Dr. Okech is an active teacher and scholar whose research focuses on the advancement of proficiencies in the practice of group psychotherapy and clinical supervision with diverse populations, recently co-authoring two books. Colleagues praise her ability to manage challenging situations and to support the success of faculty with different research and teaching profiles. I hope you’ll join me in congratulating Jane on this appointment. We’ll recognize Jim Vigoreaux’s distinguished service as Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs later this spring.

  • The KN95 masks available to the UVM community can be picked up at the Davis Center Information Desks on the first and third floors (Monday – Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sundays 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.). You are required to bring your CATcard to pick up your three masks. Please see UVM’s guidance for face coverings/masks. More information on the KN95 masks, including care and use, is available on UVM’s Higher Quality Masks page. If students in your classes are wearing cloth masks, please remind them that these free KN95 masks are available.

  • Faculty members are invited to submit proposals to the James M. Jeffords Grant Program for Policy Studies. Submissions are due by 4:30 p.m. on March 25, 2022. Funding decisions will be announced April 15, 2022. 

  • As we complete the drop/add period and your class rosters stabilize, please keep in mind that Academic Alerts can be sent at any point in the semester to alert students and their advisors of emerging issues. Frequent or extended absences, low test scores, missing assignments, or failure to follow up after an excused medical absence are all potential triggers for sending an academic alert. These alerts can be customized to include information on the specific issues of concern, and more than one alert can be sent to a student for the same class.

  • The annual UVM Student Research Conference (SRC) is scheduled for April 21 and will be an exciting hybrid event open to all UVM undergraduate and graduate students. The SRC Coordinator is currently seeking faculty from all academic disciplines who wish to highlight their research by moderating an in-person session. Showcase your research group and/or actively recruit students within your field to participate! If interested, please contact the SRC Coordinator, Vivien Enriquez, by February 7.

  • The Office of International Education is seeking hosts to join the Community Host Program for the Spring 2022 semester and beyond. This program matches UVM faculty and staff members with international students looking to build connection and community outside of the classroom. Students and hosts plan their own activities and determine how often they want to meet. Matches are made on a rolling basis. To learn more and to sign up, please email Sarah van Nostrand with a brief introduction.

Reminders and Recent Communications

  • The February 1 workshop on Optimizing Inclusive and Culturally Responsive Mentoring presented by Dr. Kelly Diggs-Andrews is fast approaching. Detailed information can be found here.

  • The final deadline for Fall Study Abroad is February 15. Students intending to study abroad should begin the GoAbroad process as soon as possible.

  • Thank you for attending the Spring 2022 Planning Teams Live Event on January 14. You can find the event recording and Q&A here.

  • On January 12, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Jim Vigoreaux issued a memo reiterating the modality change request process.

  • On January 11, Provost Prelock and Vice President Derr issued an update on COVID and related protocols.

As we come to the end of the second week of classes, I hope you are enjoying being in the classroom as much as I am. Students are engaged, eager to learn, asking questions and offering insights. What a privilege to be a part of educating our young people and at the same time, learning from them! You have the power to create opportunities for dialogue, build community, create a sense of belonging, and share a commitment to humanity both in and outside the classroom. Dr. King would be pleased, as he described “the function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.”

Warmly,
Patty