SUBJECT: March Updates from the Office of the Provost

Dear Colleagues,

I hope you are enjoying the semester. I wanted to bring to your attention the three Fall 2025 Recruitment Faculty Engagement opportunities in which I hope faculty will be able to participate. Enrollment Management looks forward to partnering with faculty to engage with prospective students. If you are interested, please complete the survey. I thank you in advance for your participation and time!

Following are a few reminders and announcements.

The Provost’s Faculty Book Showcase
The Office of the Provost is excited to announce the launch of The Provost’s Faculty Book Showcase, a celebration and recognition of the achievements of our faculty who publish professional books. The Showcase will feature faculty from a range of disciplines, celebrating their advancements in knowledge, research, and creative activity. The goal of the Showcase is to expose the university community to the breadth of faculty research and increase student awareness of the importance of these endeavors. Please join us for our first event this afternoon, March 20, to hear from Professor Paul Draus about his new book Forging Identity: The Story of Carlos Nielbock's Detroit - from 4:30 to 6 pm on the first floor of the Mardigian Library. For more information regarding this program or to submit a publication for our next event, please visit our website.

Assessment Week
Want insights on how to approach the Program Assessment report due this summer ? Have questions about assessing your learning goals? Need a refresher on the report template? Join the Assessment Subcommittee for the SEVENTH annual Assessment Week March 24 - 28, 2025! Assessment Week has you covered with both synchronous and asynchronous content. There will be office hours, a virtual workshop, and in person writing sessions at the Hub for Teaching and Learning. Visit the Assessment Week 2025 webpage to read more. 

Experience+ Student Research Celebration
Join us for the third annual celebration of independent research and conference travel grant awardees from Experience+, at the EXP+ Student Research Celebration on April 1st, 5 to 6 pm on the first floor of the Mardigian Library. For more information about these grants, visit the Experience+ grants page.  Please RSVP by March 25th.  We hope to see you there!

Supporting Students’ Mental Health Training - Faculty and Staff
This training is designed to equip you with the tools and strategies needed to recognize, respond to, and support students who may be facing mental health challenges. With increasing demands on our students’ emotional and psychological well-being, it’s important for us as educators and staff to be well-prepared to offer compassionate and effective assistance.

Date: Monday April 7, 2025
Time: 2 to 4 pm
Location: RUC 1225

This training, limited to 25 individuals per session, will be offered several times throughout the year. Your role in promoting mental wellbeing is crucial, and we believe this training will provide valuable insights and practical approaches for ensuring our students thrive academically and personally. Please RSVP by completing the Google Form.  If you have any questions or require additional information, feel free to reach out to Sara Byczek (sbyczek@umich.edu). 

Wolverines@Work Campus Student Employee Celebration
This event formally recognizes the invaluable contributions of our campus student employees and their supervisors. Their dedication and hard work play a crucial role in advancing the mission and success of our campus community. Join us in celebration on April 11 at 10 am in Kochoff Hall, Renick University Center.  Please RSVP by April 3 as space is limited.

Wolverines@Work celebrates National Student Employment Appreciation Week April 14-18
Our campus Student Employment Advisory Council has been hard at work curating some special moments of appreciation for our on campus student employees and supervisors in observance of National Student Employment Appreciation week, April 14-18.  Each day of the week will have a theme and programming. Visit the Wolverines@Work website for more details. 

Provost Walk and Talk 
Please join me for a stroll across campus on the dates below!  

• March 27 @ 12:30 pm
• March 31 @ 12:30 pm
• April 3 @ 12:30 pm
• April 10 @ 12:30 pm
• April 17 @ 12:30 pm
• April 24 @ 12:30 pm

AI Syllabus Statement passed in UCDC The campus syllabus template has been edited and updated with both required language and recommended policy language regarding generative AI. Thank you to the Generative AI working group for providing this guidance. The new template was endorsed earlier this semester by UCDC. Here is both a  Google Docs version and a Microsoft Word version as we are moving away from PDFs because of accessibility challenges. The template should be used by all faculty starting in Summer 2025. 

Small Changes Course Improvement Studio
This May, the Hub is once again inviting faculty to participate in Small Changes: A Course Improvement Studio. Past participants reported that the program helped them make small but meaningful changes that improved their courses’ organization and interactivity. Participants appreciated the accountability of the dedicated time and also the fact that they didn't have to do it alone! Faculty will receive $1000 upon completion and the expected participation, about 25-40 hours over the two weeks, will include both sync sessions and also asynchronous work time. More information, including the schedule, can be found in the program description. If spots remain, applications will be accepted until Wednesday, April 30th but the priority deadline is Wednesday, April 9. 

Winter Commencement, Saturday, April 26
Commencement will be held on Saturday, April 26, in the Fieldhouse. The schedule is below: 

• 9 am: CASL and COB undergraduate students (expected student participation - 300)
• 1 pm: CECS and CEHHS undergraduate students (expected student participation - 275)
• 5 pm: doctoral and graduate students from all colleges (expected student participation - 350)

Faculty,  please plan to attend. Students want to celebrate with you, introduce their family to you, and take pictures with you. Faculty presence at graduation is very important and much appreciated! If you need regalia, please visit this website (customer #21005049000, order #5288472) - orders are due by Friday, March 28. 

Digital Accessibility Updates
As noted in an email from Chris Casey on March 18, we heard you when you said that you need support to make accessibility changes in your classes. Please review his message regarding incentives for training, the opportunity to apply for student assistants to do some of the work in your Canvas sites, and human captioning services, to take some of that work off your shoulders. 

Thank you for reading this letter, we hope it is helpful, and, as always, please let us know if you have any questions or any suggestions.

All the best,

Gabriella 

Gabriella Scarlatta
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs