Faculty Affiliates Program

The Office for Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) Faculty Affiliates support the advancement of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) capacity building at the University of Connecticut. In 2021-2022, ODI piloted this program with 5 faculty members. In 2022-2023, ODI will sponsor up to 3 faculty affiliates, in an updated, more robust program that aligns with ODI’s new strategic plan.

The ODI Faculty Affiliates provide additional support within and across the university to “advocate for access and equity, to welcome and celebrate the experiences of historically excluded and racially oppressed individuals and groups and to transform climate and build a more welcoming and inclusive community” (ODI Mission Statement). In addition, ODI Faculty Affiliates collaborate to support ODI’s efforts in at least one of three strategic areas: 1) graduate student support and development; 2) faculty and staff support and development; 3) DEIJ research, policy, planning, and implementation. These specific strategic areas are described below.

ODI Faculty Affiliates: Purpose and Description

The establishment of the ODI Faculty Affiliates Program provides infrastructure to and resources toward creating a sustainable capacity-building model for diversity and inclusion across academic colleges/schools and campuses at UConn. Toward that end, the ODI Faculty Affiliates will be positioned to serve as a resource and platform for innovation and transformation at a local level, with support (both in terms of resources and training) from the University at-large.

Each ODI Faculty Affiliate commits to a minimum of one academic year to the role. The position may be renewed at the discretion of ODI and the Faculty Affiliate’s dean. Potential candidates (preferably at the rank of associate or higher) can self-nominate but must have a support letter by their academic deans.

Benefits to the Institution:

Faculty Affiliates will serve as DEIJ specialists providing support to strategic efforts to advance DEIJ planning and development within and across academic units. The Faculty Affiliate will, through their affiliation with ODI, leverage university-level insights and resources to support institution-wide and unit level DEI efforts and response.

Benefits to the Faculty Affiliate:

ODI will provide the Faculty Affiliate with compensatory resources, including but not limited to DEIJ focused onboarding, trainings, and professional development, cohort meetings and support, a small budget for ODI related programming, one course buyout per semester, a summer salary of $5,000 for Summer 2022, $2,000 of professional development support, and access to an ODI graduate assistant to support work related to this role. This intentional experience will be structured to support potential readiness for future leadership opportunities.

Three Strategic Areas of Work

In addition to the area-focused DEI responsibilities, each ODI Faculty Affiliate will build a portfolio of activities based on their unique interests, expertise, and engagement in one or more of the three strategic areas of work.

Graduate Student Support and Development:

The Faculty Affiliate will work with ODI on a specific graduate student support and development effort particularly in support of historically excluded and/or racially oppressed graduate students at UConn. This might include student support, student services, student programming, trainings or workshops, or committees. More specifically:

• Work closely with the Graduate School to align Graduate School DEIJ efforts with ODI DEIJ efforts.
• Host events for engaging racially oppressed, first-generation, and international graduate students.

Faculty and Staff Support and Development:

The role of the ODI Faculty Affiliate working in this strategic area is to support ODI’s role in faculty and staff outreach and support specifically for historically excluded and/or racially oppressed faculty and staff. This Affiliate will provide unique insight and aid to faculty and staff through consultations, workshops, and trainings as well as work with the university-leadership team to address these issues. In addition, this Affiliate will work specifically on the following outreach efforts: faculty and staff welcome & social networking; faculty and staff of color town halls. More specifically:

• Gather and implement feedback improving faculty and staff welcome & social networking, as well as faculty and staff of color town hall events.
• Address the specific DEIJ related needs brought up by staff.

DEIJ Research, Policy, Planning and Implementation:

The Faculty Affiliate focusing on research and policy will contribute to antiracist scholarship and praxis. This responsibility includes providing units with specific support, resources, and tools to build capacity in the areas of DEIJ research, planning, and policy. More specifically:

• Engage University DEI Council in University-wide strategic planning & implementation.
• Support further Integration of DEIJ in research and teaching.

Application Process

Interested faculty (preferably at the rank of associate or higher) should nominate themselves by submitting a letter of interest (2 pages single-spaced) in response to the following prompts:

• Of the three strategic areas of work (graduate student support and development; faculty and staff support and development; DEIJ research, policy, planning, and implementation) which ones (1-2) would you identify as your area of interest and expertise?
• Beyond the scope of this program, what are some of the long-term possibilities for the work you would like to engage in related to DEIJ?
• What are some potential indicators of success for your participation in this program?

In addition, each nomination must be accompanied with a letter of support from the person’s respective academic dean addressing the following questions:

• How has this faculty member contributed to the advancement of DEIJ in your unit and/ or UConn more broadly?
• How might this faculty member benefit from participating in this leadership development opportunity?
• Describe your support of this faculty member for the ODI Faculty Affiliate program.
• What do you see as some potential opportunities for supporting efforts to advance DEIJ that would benefit your unit based on the applicant’s proposed focused area and strategic area interests?

Please note that ODI will select only three total Faculty Affiliates for 2022-23 and at most, only one per strategic area. Both the nominee’s letter of interest and the Dean’s letter of support can be emailed together (if possible, as one PDF) to Diversity@uconn.edu. Please put “Faculty Affiliates” in the email subject line. Deadline for submission of nominations: May 6, 2022. ODI will make decisions and communicate them by May 13, 2022.

Resources

All ODI Faculty Affiliates will receive the following during the 2022-23 academic year:

• One course buyout per semester (two in total across the academic year) in order to support the time commitment of the work associated with the role.
• Summer salary of $5,000 for Summer 2022 to allow for preparation time ahead of the academic year related to the fellowship.
• $2,000 of professional development support, intended for activities that will benefit the fellowship (e.g., participating in conferences or workshops related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice).
• Access to funding to support ODI-programming efforts.
• Access to an ODI graduate assistant to support the Affiliates’ work related to their role.
• DEI and leadership training.

ODI Faculty Affiliate Expectations

In addition to area focused efforts to advance DEIJ, ODI Faculty Affiliates will be expected to participate in bi-monthly meetings with ODI representatives; participate in training and development opportunities hosted by ODI; and submit a mid-year and annual report detailing their activities, accomplishments, and overall impact. The hours may range as the semester work unfolds, but on average the Faculty Affiliate will commit to ~10 hours a week throughout the academic year to ODI during their time in the role.