SUBJECT: October Highlights from the Provost Office

Dear Colleagues;

I hope that you have settled back into your teaching schedule and routines and that your semester is going well. I want to thank everyone for the tremendous amount of work and time taken to welcome our students back to campus for what I know will be another outstanding academic year. 

We are now more than a month into the new academic year and it is great to have been able to see so many of you at some of our campus’s first major in-person events in what feels like forever. The Faculty Research Awards, the Susan B. Anthony awards ceremony recognizing campus award winner Dr. Ellen Judge-Gonzalez and community recipient Dr. Ramona Cox, the CASL Browsing Fair, CECS Blue Carpet Welcome Day, the Chancellor’s and Mayor Hammoud’s Town and Gown Bike Ride, and of course, all of last week’s Homecoming and Alumni gatherings, just to name a few. Yes, our campus has been very busy and a site of restoration! I want to thank all of the faculty who have made these events possible and a success! We all crave meaningful connections that only these in-person events and gatherings can bring. I want to again state my commitment to working with you all on making the University of Michigan-Dearborn a vibrant and wonderful place to work, learn, and teach. 

With that said, my office and others have been busy with fall activities and planning, and we want to update you on some of these efforts.

Important events:

• Fall Career Fair: Thursday, October 6, 10am to 3pm
• Campus Open House: Saturday, October 8, 10am to 1pm
• Benefit Open Enrollment: October 17 to October 28
• Chancellor’s Town Hall: Wednesday, October 19
• Vaccine and Covid bivalent shots: November 7 and 10 in Kochoff Hall 
• Chancellor’s Thought Leaders Talk, Desmond U. Patton: Thursday, November 10 (TBD)
• PBL-Palooza: November 4 and 7 (see below)
• Friendsgiving Week: November 14 to 18
• Fall Break: November 21 to 25

Future of Work (FoW) September Report

The FoW Task Force began its work in May of 2022 and has been meeting bi-weekly throughout the summer. The group has been working on developing principles and recommendations intended to create an institutional framework to aid UM-Dearborn colleges and units with decision-making. In addition, the group will identify key success indicators necessary, post-pandemic, to sustain workforce excellence through the balance of flexibility, accountability and inclusivity.  A September Summary Report can be found on the Future of Work Task Force Website and includes a “Decision Tree’ for employees and managers and a set of resources specifically for staff, faculty, and leadership. The group administered a staff survey in early September (results included in the September Report) and will be sending out a faculty survey in October. In addition, staff focus groups will be held during the last two weeks of October and feedback can be provided at upcoming Provost Listening Sessions.  A final report will be shared in November. 

Supporting Students’ Mental Health Updates

CAPS is here to help you in supporting students' mental health. Check out the faculty and staff support page that lists several resources for faculty and staff including the faculty tool kit for supporting students mental health. Not only does CAPS offer FREE individual counseling for students, but also hosts therapy groups and support groups. CAPS also recognizes that questions and need for support may happen outside of the traditional Monday to Friday business hours, so has partnered with Protocall Services to provide the UM-Dearborn community a personalized crisis line. If faculty or staff are concerned about a student over a weekend or after 5 pm, they can call this number and be connected to a licensed mental health professional who can provide tailored guidance. The number for this service is 1-855-275-1715. 

Provost Listening Sessions

We hope you are able to join us for a Provost Listening Session! Please sign up for one of the dates below. 

• Staff
  • Thursday, October 13th, from 1 - 2 PM
  • Wednesday, October 19th, from 3 - 4 PM
  • Thursday, November 3rd, from 11 AM -12 PM
• Faculty
  • Friday, October 28th, 1 - 2 PM
  • Tuesday, November 8th, 3 - 4 PM

Student Communications Request Process

As a reminder, our campus has a process for messaging to students. Please note that this process excludes communications faculty may send to their students or staff may send to students with whom they are working. For all other student communications where a sender is looking to message to a specific group of students, please follow the process detailed on the Current Student Communications Request webpage. 

As a reminder, faculty and staff can request information about upcoming programs to be included in the Dean of Students’ Weekly Student Update (see previous examples). If you are interested in submitting something, please fill out the request form by Thursday at 5 pm, to be considered for inclusion in the email. 

MyEmma and MCommunity
For anyone who has opted out of receiving messages in MyEmma and would like to opt back into the emails that are being sent from the Provost in MyEmma, please click on the link below and re-subscribe: MyEmma Resubscribe. You should then get an email after re-subscribing that confirms you have opted back in.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Terry Ebenhoeh at [email protected].

PBL-Palooza

Please join us for PBL-Palooza on November 4th and November 7th: Friday, November 4th will be a virtual session, highlighting some of the incredible PBL projects happening across campus, with presentations by faculty and the Office of Metropolitan Impact. Monday, November 7th will be an in-person poster-fair style session where you can meet with offices (such as the Office of Academic Success, Experience+, Instructional Designers, and more!) to learn about how we can partner together to incorporate PBL across campus. There will be space to ask questions and enjoy snacks while you think about how to successfully create these opportunities in the classroom! Keep an eye out for registration links in the next two weeks!

Mid-Course Student Feedback
Being transparent with your students creates a collaborative and positive environment. You can gather immediate student feedback on your own by customizing this template form. Another option is to request a mid-course student feedback sessions facilitated by a Hub consultant. The process is confidential. Even if you gather your own feedback, you can request a working meeting with a Hub Instructional Designer to talk it over in a confidential and non-evaluative setting.

Early Warning Program
Take advantage of our campus's early warning program which is designed to help to support student learning and success by identifying students who are in need of additional help.  All faculty can submit an alert. This link is also accessible on the Faculty and Staff website, under “Grading and Course Resources” or the Early Warning webpage. The early warning information you all share gives our wonderful staff members the opportunity to provide students with the individualized support services to help them be successful on our campus.

Friendsgiving Initiatives 

In collaboration with the Office of Student Life, we will be facilitating “Friendsgiving” initiatives the week of November 14-18 for all students, with emphasis towards international students and those unable to travel home for the Thanksgiving recess.  More details regarding ways faculty and staff can contribute will be shared soon!

Thank you all for everything you do and best wishes!

Gabriella