SUBJECT: January Updates from the Provost Office

Dear Colleagues,

Happy new year and happy new semester! I hope you enjoyed a nice and relaxing break and that your classes are off to a good start! Thank you to all faculty and staff who participated in and helped make Commencement a fantastic ceremony, and thanks to those who helped greet our students back last Monday and Tuesday. We truly appreciate your time in making our students feel special and welcomed!

Below, please find some important information and event dates:

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day (no classes), Monday, January 20
  • As has been our tradition, the week of January 20, the university will celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. Everyone is invited to participate in service projects, talks, and workshops and engage in a much-needed peace rally with our neighbor Henry Ford College. For more information, please visit our website to learn more about UM-Dearborn's Week of Events and to sign up for volunteer opportunities.   
• Faculty Awards Deadline, Monday, January 27
• Graduation & Retention Summit, Friday, February 21 
• Spring Break, Saturday, March 1 to Sunday, March 9

Faculty Awards:

Nominations for the six campus faculty awards are now open! Please find the time to nominate members of the UM-Dearborn faculty whom you believe are deserving of such recognition. Your nominations are essential in our efforts to solicit the strongest possible pool of candidates for consideration by the selection committee. Nominations are due Monday, January 27. 

• Collegiate Lectureship Award
• Lecturer Excellence in Inclusive Teaching
• Distinguished Academic Citizenship Award
• Distinguished Research Award
• Distinguished Research Team Award
• Distinguished Teaching Award

Timed Assignments in Online Courses:

To provide clarification and ensure students electing ONLN courses can complete their work around their schedules, the Digital Education Subcommittee has added the sentence below to the definition of asynchronous learning on the website describing course modes. Please note that this change is effective Winter 2025:

Faculty must give students at least a 24-hour availability window for any timed tests, quizzes, final exams, or similar assignments for courses scheduled with the ONLN modality.

SURE Application:

Experience+ is excited to announce the call for the 2025 UM-Dearborn Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) applications is open! Visit the SURE website for more detailed information and to submit an application.  Applications will be accepted through January 24th.

Faculty Workshop – Every Semester Needs a Plan:

The Provost’s Office is pleased to offer this faculty development session, in collaboration with the NCFDD, at the beginning of the Winter 2025 semester so that faculty can identify personal and professional goals, create a strategic plan to accomplish them, and identify the types of community, support, and accountability needed to make this your most productive and balanced semester ever. This event will be held on Tuesday, January 14 from 2:30pm-4:00pm in the Active Learning classroom in the Mardigian Library. Please use this registration form to sign up if you are interested in attending.

Engage Detroit Grant Program:

The Provost Office will support the launch of the Ann Arbor Engage Detroit grant program. An informational session will be held on January 14 from 9:00 AM to 10:30 AM on the Ann Arbor campus, providing details about the grant and tips for a successful application. Interested participants are encouraged to RSVP. Please keep an eye out for upcoming application information and deadlines.

Faculty/Staff/Student Classroom Use: 

As a kind but important reminder, please do not occupy seemingly open classroom space without confirming a room registration with the Registrar’s Office. We have unfortunately had incidents last semester where faculty, staff, or students occupied a classroom without an advanced reservation only to learn that the room did have an authorized use for that time. In addition there are safety concerns when we expect a space is not occupied only to learn that there are members of our campus community in those spaces and in some cases, in need of services or support. Work with Department administrators to secure one-time classroom space as needed.
 

With all my best wishes,

Gabriella 

Gabriella Scarlatta

Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs