Dear Colleagues:
I wanted to update you on our opening-of-school activities. We begin the year with New Faculty Orientation on Wednesday, August 16. Matriculation Convocation will be held on Saturday, August 19. Fall Faculty Conference events will be held during the week of August 21. All full-time faculty are expected to be present for each of these Fall Faculty Conference activities.
Below is information on these and other upcoming activities. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR RSVP BY COMPLETING THIS FORM BY MONDAY, August 7.
Wednesday, August 16, 8:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m
New Faculty Orientation, Fondren-Jones Science Center, Room 100
All new tenure-track and visiting faculty are required to participate in Orientation. New part-time faculty are strongly encouraged to attend. Dr. Sergio Costola, Dean of the Faculty, will facilitate a program designed to ensure that new faculty get off to a good start. A portion of the session will focus upon aspects of course syllabi. Please do not finalize your syllabi before attending the New Faculty Orientation, but do have a copy on hand for reference.
Saturday, August 19, 3:30 p.m.
Matriculation Convocation - Robertson Center
As you may know, the purpose of the Matriculation Convocation ceremony is to formally welcome the entering students to Southwestern and to provide them with a sense of the expectations we have for members of our community. Attendance by tenured and tenure-track faculty is required. Visiting and part-time faculty are invited to attend, but not required. Faculty robing will take place at 2:45 p.m. on the first floor of the Robertson Center in the main hallway between the racquetball courts and the locker rooms. Academic regalia will be available in the first-floor lobby beginning at 2:15 p.m. If you do not have your own regalia, please complete this regalia form as soon as possible.
Monday, August 21, 1:00–5:00 p.m.
Fall Faculty Conference Day 1 - McCombs Campus Center Ballroom
Please arrive between 12:30 and 12:50 p.m. so you will have enough time to check in and get your name tag and other meeting materials.
| 1:00–1:05 p.m. | Welcome and introductions | McCombs Campus Center Ballroom |
| 1:05–4:00 p.m. |
Faculty Workshop |
McCombs Campus Center Ballroom |
This workshop is designed for faculty to start a new type of discussion about mentoring by describing the common problems that pre-tenure and post-tenure faculty members experience and why traditional mentoring programs fail to meet those needs. Participants will learn about an alternative framework for mentoring that focuses on needs assessment and shifts the idea of mentoring from a relationship between two faculty members towards building a broad network of support, community, and accountability. Participants will learn:
- An alternative framework for mentoring focused on needs assessment
- How to work towards providing faculty at different stages of career development with meaningful mentoring relationships and experiences
- Differences in mentoring needs between pre-tenure and post-tenure faculty
- How to provide effective mentoring for under-represented faculty
| 4:00–5:00 p.m. | Faculty Reception | Howry Center |
Thursday, August 24, 12:30–5:00 p.m.
Fall Faculty Conference Day 2
| 12:30–1:30 p.m. | State of the University Address to Faculty and Staff, Dr. Laura Skandera Trombley, President | Alma Thomas Theater, Fine Arts Center |
| 1:30–1:45 p.m. | Break | F.W. Olin Center Lobby |
| 1:45-2:00 p.m. | Welcome from Dr. Sergio Costola, Dean of the Faculty | F.W. Olin Center, Room 105 |
| 2:00–3:00 p.m. |
Mentoring Workshop Follow-Up |
F.W. Olin Center, Room 105 |
| 3:30–3:45 p.m. | Break | F.W. Olin Center Lobby |
| 3:45–5:00 p.m. |
Faculty Panel on Proactive Advising moderated by Dr. Jennifer Leach, Director of Advising and Retention |
F.W. Olin Center, Room 105 |
Committees are being populated and chair appointments will be finalized by the first week of classes. The full committee book will be available the first week of classes on the Academic Affairs webpage.
For information about Welcome Week for our new students, click here.
As stated in the Faculty Handbook, all faculty are required to submit original transcripts to the Office of Academic Affairs (Cullen 150) from all institutions from which a college degree was earned. If you have not previously done so, especially new faculty who were hired prior to completion of your PhD, please make arrangements now for your transcripts to be sent to:
Ms. Barbara J. Jean
Southwestern University
PO Box 770
Georgetown, TX 78627
I am looking forward to a new academic year and to working with you in making it a success.
Best,
Sergio Costola
Dean of the Faculty
Professor of Theatre