January 2017

Archived Content

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Welcome back! We hope that you enjoyed a peaceful holiday season with family and friends. The Office for Faculty Success extends well wishes to you as we all prepare for another great semester of shaping the minds of our 37,000-plus students. We wish you a great, productive, and successful 2017!

Reminder: Upload Your Syllabi (and Your Faculty Profile)

It is that time of year when all faculty must upload their undergraduate course syllabi to the Faculty Profile System as per HB 2504. These must be uploaded by January 25. This can be accomplished through the Faculty Information System link on the my.unt.edu portal. This is also a great opportunity to update your FIS profile.


Writing Workshop

Image result for writing workshopNeed to get some manuscripts out the door? If so, this workshop is for you. The workshop will be held on January 23 and features a panel including some of UNT's most prolific writers, editors and editorial board members from top journals representing a variety of fields will explore how to turn your fears and roadblocks into a programmatic framework for productive writing.

Seating is limited and registration is MANDATORY!

You can find more information and a registration link here.

Responding to Divergent Student Views

We live in interesting times, and as faculty members we sometimes find ourselves navigating controversial issues as we interact with students. For example, what are the best ways to facilitate a respectful classroom discussion about contentious issues such as those arising recently on the national political scene? As faculty members, how can we handle students who are disruptive in or outside the classroom? What should we do if we find ourselves in a situation that feels threatening? A panel of experts, including the Dean of Students, a representative from the UNT Police Department, and experienced faculty members will share their perspectives and address audience questions.

In order to make this discussion available to as many faculty as possible, this panel will be offered on three occasions:

Time: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Date: January 23, 2017
Location: BLB, Room 170

Time: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Date: January 25, 2017
Location: BLB, Room 170

Time: 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Date: January 27, 2017
Location: Discovery Park, Room NTDP #B185

Work-Life Balance Workshop (and Win a Free Massage)

Image result for work life balanceBalance is not a stationary position. Balancing the demands of a fast-paced and challenging workplace with one’s personal life is a continuous process. Here at UNT we hope our faculty will find balance in all aspects of life, thus becoming not only happier faculty members but more productive ones as well. This is why the Office for Faculty Success is pleased to host a Work-Life Balance workshop. The workshop, to be held on January 27, features a panel of experts who will address topics including:

 

  • proper diet and nutrition
  • the importance of healthy living and fitness
  • preventative self-care
  • sleep
  • resources available to faculty through UNT's Employee Assistance Program
  • and more

Seating is limited and registration is MANDATORY!

A gift certificate for a one hour massage at Soma Massage Therapy in Denton will be awarded by raffle at this workshop. Any full-time faculty member who is present at the time of the drawing is eligible.

You can find more information and a registration link here.                                                                                                                                                                                       

Image result for retirementRetirement Workshop: Back by Popular Demand

Image result for againIt's never too early to begin planning for your well-earned retirement. Our fall retirement workshop was standing room only. So please join us at an encore workshop on February 2 that will address any questions faculty members contemplating retirement may have. We'll hear the wisdom of recent UNT faculty retirees, and representatives from Human Resources and UNT's Retiree Association (UNTRA) will present exit strategies and answer any questions that you may have about retirement transitions. You can find more information and a registration link here.

 

Getting Engaged Internationally

 Are you considering the possibility of leading students on a study abroad experience? Looking for avenues to further research collaborations with colleagues in other countries? Thinking about hosting a J-1 scholar in your department? These and other topics will be explored by experts from UNT-International at a workshop on February 6. All are welcome and registration is free but MANDATORY!

You can find more information and a registration link here.

Faculty Focus

 Andrés Cisneros, Associate Professor in the Chemistry Department, joined our faculty from Wayne State University last summer, and is already making a big splash. Prof. Cisneros, a computational chemist, has collaborated with several of his students and with colleagues at other universities on papers reporting the discovery of cancer biomarkers that will likely advance diagnosis and treatment of prostate and estrogen-driven breast cancers. Professor Cisneros and his team just learned that they’ve been awarded a $200,000 grant from the NVIDIA Foundation to continue and expand this work. Other current research involves DNA modification, method development, and application to various systems including inorganic peroxide-based energetic materials (this latter, according to Prof. Cisneros, translates to “things that go boom”). Professionally, he is very proud of his doctoral students, one of whom recently received offers of post-doctoral fellowships from three different prestigious universities. Prof. Cisneros is an avid fencer, having competed in high school and at college. He is the proud father of two, and proud husband of Talia Weltman-Cisneros, Assistant Professor in UNT’s Spanish Department.

 Lecturer Spotlight

Prior to assuming a faculty position as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education in 2014, Uyen Tran-Parsons (in picture, lower left) served as the Director of Programming for UNT’s Multicultural Center. Her work in student affairs has informed her approach to teaching. She is keenly interested in a practice-based pedagogical approach. She is also is a believer in reaching out to her students when opportunities arise, rather than waiting for them to approach her. Several of her students remarked on the value to them of this hands-on approach in letters supporting her successful nomination for the Texas Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators’ 2016 Faculty Member of the Year Award. Professor Tran-Parsons also co-leads UNT’s Global Leadership Through Service Learning, a study abroad experience for students that has so far visited China and Mexico. Through this program students work together on projects such as providing English-language instruction in villages in China while learning about leadership through a strengths-based approach.

January Give-Away

 Congratulations to Elliot Dubin of Hospitality and Tourism Management, winner of last month's giveaway! In honor of our January 27th Work-Life Balance Workshop, this month's giveaway is a gift certificate for a one hour massage at Soma Denton. For a chance to win, please register here by January 31st. Happy news: those who attend this workshop will have a chance to win an additional gift certificate. Please see the link to the event registration page noted above.

Changes in the Office for Faculty Success

 We are delighted to welcome Professor Pamela Padilla, who will be joining us as an Academic Affairs Fellow for the spring 2017 semester, splitting time between her responsibilities as a faculty member in Biological Sciences and Academic Affairs. Prof. Padilla is a noted educator and a scholar in genetics. Welcome Professor! She replaces Prof. Debbie Rohwer, who in October assumed a new role as a Fellow in the President’s Office.

 

 

Important Dates 

FacultyConnect: Productive Writing Strategies for Faculty

January 23, CHEM 352, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Responding to Divergent Student Views and ‎Strategies for Managing Difficult Students

January 23, BLB 170, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.;

January 25, BLB 170, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.; OR

January 27, Discovery Park #B185, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.

Deadline for Faculty to Upload Undergraduate Syllabi for Spring Semester

January 25

FacultyConnect: Achieving Work-Life Balance

January 27, Pohl Recreation Center (2nd floor conference room), 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

Preparing for Retirement Workshop

February 2, BLB 155, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

FacultyConnect: Pathway to Promotion for Tenure-System Faculty

February 3, Union 385, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Getting Engaged Internationally

February 6, CHEM 352, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

FacultyConnect: Pathway to Promotion for Lecturers

February 17, BLB 010, 1:00 – 2:00