Faculty Development

The Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion offers a variety of professional development opportunities to support faculty success and satisfaction at UC San Diego. These include:

On-campus seminars and webinars
Institutional membership with the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD)
Sponsored participation in the NCFDD Faculty Success Program
Faculty Affinity Networks
Summer Writing Retreats and Boosters
Funding opportunities

Click here to join our mailing list and keep up to date on events and opportunities. Read on to learn more about our programs and upcoming events.

The New Faculty Academy

The Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion and the Teaching and Learning Commons Engaged Teaching Hub have collaborated to pilot the New Faculty Academy at UC San Diego. The New Faculty Academy is a suite of workshops designed to support the professional development and integration of early career faculty while building a community of colleagues across campus.

Faculty who are new to campus and joined within the last few years are welcome to participate. While faculty at all ranks may find the information useful, this program was especially designed with early career faculty in mind. All sessions will be held in person, with remote access options for those who need it. Faculty may attend any and all sessions, and are encouraged to register in advance to reserve their spot.

In-person location for all sessions is Halicioğlu Data Science Institute (HDSI) Room 255.

Session 1: Getting Started with Effective and Equity-Minded Teaching

Date: Tuesday, October 24, 2023, 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Presenters: Paul Hadjipieris & Joey Relaford-Doyle, Education Specialists, Engaged Teaching Hub, Teaching + Learning Commons

Description: In this kickoff workshop we will focus on the essentials of effective and equitable teaching in the college classroom. Specific topics will include identifying learning goals, aligning assessments and teaching practices, and ensuring that all students are supported and empowered to succeed in your classroom. We will share concrete, manageable strategies to support your success and well-being as you begin teaching at UC San Diego.

>>Session Slides

Session 2A: Launching a Successful Research Practice (for non-STEM Faculty)

Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024, 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Presenters: Faculty Panel - Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Description: Building and maintaining an active research agenda as well as a cohesive and productive research team or group are often components of a successful research practice. In this session, we will share strategies for launching a successful research practice, including how to prioritize projects and publications, how to secure resources, how to effectively manage multiple projects and people, and how to delegate work tasks.

Session 2B: Launching a Successful Research Lab (for STEM faculty)

Date: Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Presenters: Faculty Panel - STEM

Description: Most new faculty start with limited knowledge and training about the responsibilities of managing a research lab. In this session, we will share the responsibilities of being the leader of a research lab, and the skills and competencies needed to effectively manage multiple projects and people. Topics will include managing your start-up funds, purchasing equipment, selecting competent and motivated lab team members, building a cohesive, productive and inclusive team, and delegating responsibilities.

Session 3: Developing a Network of Mentors, Sponsors, Collaborators and Mentees

Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2024, 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Presenter: Victor Ferreira, Professor of Psychology and Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Description: In this workshop, we will cover the different types of relationships important to your academic career, and strategies for cultivating a broad network of mentors, sponsors, collaborators, and mentees. Participants will have an opportunity to reflect on their current needs for mentorship, support, and connections, and identify ways to expand their existing network to meet those needs.

Session 4: Establishing a Consistent Writing Practice

Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Presenter: Christine Sharp, Director of Writing and Communication Services, Teaching + Learning Commons

Description: In this workshop, we will discuss the importance of establishing a consistent writing practice to increase your writing productivity and decrease feelings of stress, anxiety, and guilt. We will share some of the common challenges among new faculty with regard to writing, as well as new tools and ways of thinking about writing to help you develop a healthy, consistent routine that will allow you to meet your department’s expectations for tenure and promotion.

Session 5: Strategies for Tenure and Promotion

Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2024, 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Presenters: Victor Ferreira, Professor of Psychology and Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Cindy Palmer, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Personnel Services

Description: Tenure and promotion at the University of California is a complex and policy-bound process with multiple reviews, checks and balances. Knowing the critical details that will set you up for a successful tenure can be daunting for new faculty. In this workshop, we try to demystify the process and share tips on how early career faculty can best prepare and avoid common pitfalls. The workshop will cover common challenges and allow plenty of time for discussion.

Faculty Workshops and Events

Upcoming Events

Past Events

Demystifying Tenure & Promotion: Strategies for a Meritorious File
Presented by AVC Victor Ferreira
Friday, May 12, 2023
Workshop: 11am - 12pm (hybrid)
Networking Lunch: 12 - 1pm (in person only)
Raza Resource Centro Conference Room
Pepper Canyon Hall 1st floor (Rupertus Ln and Russell Ln)

Please join AVC Victor Ferreira for a special hybrid workshop to review the tenure and promotion process, and get tips on how to best prepare and avoid common pitfalls, particularly for early career and underrepresented faculty. The workshop will cover common challenges and allow plenty of time for discussion. Come prepared with questions and let's dispel myths together.

View the recording | Download the Slides

5 Lessons Learned on Advancing Racial Equity in Faculty Evaluation
A talk by Dr. Damani White-Lewis
Friday, February 24, 2023
10 - 11:30am

Dr. Damani White-Lewis will present five lessons learned through his research and extant scholarship on embedding racial equity and decision-making principles across different evaluative junctures throughout faculty careers. He will describe how these lessons translate into practice for faculty, department chairs, deans, and articulate the threat of neglecting these principles in critical evaluation areas.

Misconceiving Merit in Academia
A talk by Dr. Mary Blair-Loy
Friday, January 13, 2023
12 - 2pm

Join us for a talk by Professor Mary Blair-Loy about her latest book, Misconceiving Merit: Paradoxes of Excellence and Devotion in Academic Science and Engineering, about the cultural ideas of merit in academic science that produce unfair and unequal outcomes, followed by a panel discussion.

Demystifying Tenure & Promotion: Strategies for a Meritorious File
Presented by AVC Victor Ferreira
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
11:30am - 1:30pm

AVC Victor Ferreira shares tips on how to best prepare for the tenure and promotion process at UC San Diego, including how to avoid common pitfalls and write a compelling self-review. Facilitated by: Victor Ferreira, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor, Faculty Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Professor, Psychology
Download the Slides

Presumed Incompetent II: Empowering Women of Color to Succeed in the Academic Workplace
Presented by Professor Carmen G. Gonzalez
Friday, February 4, 2022
9 - 10:30 a.m.

Drawing upon the insights of Presumed Incompetent II: Race, Class, Power, and Resistance of Women in Academia (Utah State University Press, 2020), this webinar will discuss the subtle and overt patterns of workplace subordination encountered by female faculty of color in order to identify concrete strategies that may be adopted by faculty and administrators to overcome entrenched institutional inequities. All members of campus, including faculty, researchers, administrators, staff, and students are welcome to join.

Framing the Impact of Covid-19 on Your Promotion File
Friday, November 5, 2021
9 - 10 a.m.

Join AVC Frances Contreras and AVC Cindy Palmer for a conversation about how to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on your scholarly productivity and achievement.
View the recording | Download the Slides

Research Development at UCSD: Allies for Your Quest for Research Funding
Friday, June 4, 2021
1 - 2:30 p.m.

Join FDI for a conversation with the Research Development team at UC San Diego, a central research-development unit in the Office of Research Affairs. Learn about how RD helps faculty craft more persuasive, competitive proposals and available resources.

Please note accessing these resources requires an SSO login with ucsd.edu credentials. View resources on Creating Compelling Proposal Graphics | View Institutional Support and Commitment resources

Modeling Emotional Boundaries for Students: Strategies for Healthy Academics
Friday, April 23, 2021
1 - 2 p.m.

During the pandemic, there’s been an increase in students disclosing difficult information and wanting emotional support. Many faculty – and in particular women and faculty of color – have had to shoulder this emotional burden. Join FDI and Crystal Green, PhD, LMFT, for a discussion about how to respond to students with empathy, confidence, and care; strategies for healthy boundaries and self-care; and available resources.

Download the handout | View the recording

Post-Tenure Pathfinders
Friday, April 16, 2021
9:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Learn why and how to chart your own path after winning tenure. Facilitated by Anthony Ocampo, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology California State Polytechnic University-Pomona.

Racial Inequities in NIH Grant Funding
Friday, March 19, 2021
10:30 - 11:45 a.m.

Analysis of NIH grant success rates published in 2011 showed that grant applications submitted to the National Institutes of Health by African-American or Black Principal Investigators (PIs) were less likely to be funded than applications submitted by white PIs. A follow-up study in 2019 showed a similar pattern. Dr. Michael Taffe reviewed the findings and implications for biomedical research disciplines.
View the recording

Tenure & Time Management: Manage Your Time so You Can Publish and Have a Life Beyond Campus
Monday, March 22, 2021
9:30 - 11:30 a.m.

This NCFDD workshop is specifically designed to provide participants with concrete skills to succeed as a junior professor. Facilitated by Anthony Ocampo, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology California State Polytechnic University-Pomona.

Demystifying Tenure & Promotion: Strategies for a Meritorious File
Friday, February 26, 2021
10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

AVC Frances Contreras shares tips on how to best prepare for the tenure and promotion process at UC San Diego, including how to avoid common pitfalls and write a compelling self-review. Facilitated by: Frances Contreras, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor, Faculty Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Professor, Education Studies
Download the Slides | View the recording

Truth Without Tears: African American Women Deans Share Lessons in Leadership
Thursday, November 5, 2020
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Moderated by: Vice Chancellor Dr. Becky R. Petitt

Truth Without Tears is an insightful portrait of black women leaders in American colleges and universities. Both former deans, the authors draw extensively on their personal experiences to account for the challenges and opportunities facing women of color in educational leadership positions.

The ART of Inclusive Communication 2.0
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Training provided by: The National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC)

The ART of Inclusive Communication 2.0 is an interactive, dialogue focused workshop, where we take a deeper dive into how we can all be actively working to make our communication, our lives, and our organizations more inclusive and antiracist.

Demystifying Tenure & Promotion: Strategies for a Meritorious File
Monday, May 18, 2020
10:00 - 11 a.m.

Facilitated by: Frances Contreras, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor, Faculty Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Professor, Education Studies
Download the Slides

The Artful Conversation
Thursday, May 14, 2020
11:00 a.m. - 1 p.m.

The Artful Conversation helps participants learn how to communicate their needs with people in a way that helps build the relationship, rather than hurts it. This will be an interactive online webinar and faculty will gain a deeper understanding of how others perceive and process conflict and how to adapt their style to work more effectively with those around them.

Facilitated by: The National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC) in partnership with the Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion

Supporting Students Through this Transition
Thursday, April 30, 2020
10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

Facilitated by: Frances Contreras, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor, Faculty Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Professor, Education Studies
Download the Slides | Download the Handout

Being a Scholar and a Parent in a Remote Work Environment
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Noon - 1:00 p.m.

Facilitated by: Frances Contreras, Ph.D.
Associate Vice Chancellor, Faculty Recruitment and Retention
Professor, Education Studies
Download the Slides | Download the Handout

NCFDD Membership

UC San Diego is an institutional member of the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD). NCFDD provides online access to mentoring, tools, and support needed to be successful in the Academy. It focuses on helping academics achieve extraordinary writing and research productivity while maintaining a full and healthy life off campus.

For more information or to activate your account click here. Select UC San Diego as your institution to register for free.

If you are a Department Chair and want to learn how to maximize the benefits of NCFDD membership to build a stronger and more productive department, check out these tips.

NCFDD Faculty Success Program

The acclaimed Faculty Success Program (FSP) is an intensive 12-week virtual boot camp offered by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD). It combines empirically-tested methods, coaching, peer support, and online tools to help academics thrive in their careers and achieve work-life balance.

The boot camp is intended for faculty who want to:

Set achievable professional and personal goals and create a realistic plan to meet them
Establish a consistent and sustainable daily writing habit
Develop a publication profile that exceeds their institution's promotion criteria
Better manage their time spent on teaching, service, research, and writing
Prioritize their physical and emotional health

➤ How the Program Works

Participants will be assigned to a small group led by an NCFDD-Certified Coach. Every week, participants will complete self-directed modules and coach-guided homework, and meet with their small-group to discuss their goals and progress. Participants will log on to the FSP platform, WriteNow, to check in and track their daily progress on writing, research, and personal goals. By the end of the program, participants will have developed the skills and habits they need to move forward with increased research and writing productivity and a better work-life balance.

➤ FSP Schedule

FSP participants should anticipate spending 1.5 - 2 hours each week watching the weekly training videos and completing the homework assignments.

Additionally, FSP participants will meet with their small group and coach for a 75-minute call every week at a recurring time. Participants are asked to select one of the following times.

Tuesdays - 9am-10:15am PT OR 12pm-1:15pm PT
Wednesdays - 9am-10:15am PT OR 12pm-1:15pm PT

Take a look at a sample schedule of a typical FSP participant.

➤ C-FDI Sponsorship

While most NCFDD tools and webinars are free for members, the Faculty Success Program has a registration fee of $4,650. This C-FDI award covers the fee for eligible faculty to encourage and facilitate participation. However, there are a limited number of sponsorships based on the availability of funds.

Anyone willing to pay their own registration fee can enroll in the Faculty Success Program on their own or through our office. For those interested in enrolling separately, C-FDI can assist to ensure that you receive the institutional priority registration discount.

➤ Eligibility

All Academic Senate faculty and non-Senate faculty at UC San Diego with expectations for teaching, service, and research (with a heavy emphasis on publication) are eligible to apply. Non-senate faculty must have a long-term contract or permanent position. Priority will be given to applicants who actively contribute to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

➤ Award Requirements

Participants are expected to complete the 12-week program and participate in weekly calls and exercises.

Within two quarters following the program, participants are also expected to implement an activity that shares program insights with other scholars and/or graduate students. Examples include:

Hosting a webinar or brownbag for your department
Giving a workshop on relevant planning and time-management techniques
Organizing a weekly or monthly writing group for faculty

➤ Apply to Spring 2024 Program by October 4, 2023

Program Dates: January 21 - April 13, 2024
Deadline to Apply: October 4, 2023

Applications are collected through UC San Diego's InfoReady system, you will need to log in via SSO to apply.

Note: If you are not already an NCFDD member, please make sure to activate your account by going to www.facultydiversity.org/join and selecting UC San Diego as your institution (for FREE access). Being a member is required to be enrolled in the boot camp and doing it ahead of time will facilitate registration.

For inquiries, please email vcedi-faculty@ucsd.edu.

Faculty Writing Retreats

Summer 2023 Faculty Writing Retreat

WRITE WITHOUT DISTRACTION + GET SUPPORT + BUILD COMMUNITY

September 6 - 8, 2023
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. daily

Professional success in academia depends largely on one’s writing and research productivity. Yet faculty who prioritize teaching, mentorship, and service can struggle to find the time to write and stay on course with publication goals. Writing retreats can offer support and increase writing productivity, as well as connection and well-being.

At the C-FDI Faculty Writing Retreat this summer, faculty will have the opportunity to join a supportive writing space in a beautiful setting and make progress on scholarly writing projects. Participants will have plenty of time to write without distraction while building a diverse community of UC San Diego scholars. The retreat will be facilitated by Chrissy Sharp, Director of Writing and Communication Learning Services at the Commons, in collaboration with the Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion, and incorporates many of the strategies for writing success taught by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity’s Faculty Success Program.

For inquiries, please email the Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion at vcedi-faculty@ucsd.edu.

➤ Program Details

Location: The Martin Johnson House

Cost: Free

What's Included: Facilitation, writing consults, meals, and support for dependent care

Eligibility: All Senate and Non-Senate Faculty, Project Scientists, Project Researchers, and Academic Coordinators are eligible to apply.

Application Timeline: Deadline: July 23, 2023

Notification of Admission: August 1

➤ Daily Schedules

Participants can expect

Breakfast, lunch, and coffee/tea throughout the day
Daily reflections and writing intention setting
Focused writing sessions with optional pomodoro
Structured and unstructured breaks
Optional writing consults to discuss a writing project or process issue

Faculty are expected to be fully present for the scheduled period. Exceptions can be made for dependent care responsibilities. However, please do not schedule other meetings or appointments during the retreat.

➤ Application Process

Please complete an application by July 23, 2023.

Applications are collected through UC San Diego's InfoReady system, you will need to log in via SSO to apply.

➤ Support for Dependent Care

In support of broader and equitable participation in the writing retreat, we are offering financial assistance to those with dependent care responsibilities who would need to pay for caregiving services in order to participate. The maximum support is $300.

For the purposes of the Writing Retreat, eligible dependents for dependent care support are:

A healthy child (≤ 12 years) who resides with the applicant and for whom the applicant is a primary caregiver;
A child/adolescent (≤18 years) who is physically or mentally disabled, requires assistance with daily activities, resides with the applicant, and for whom the applicant is a primary caregiver;
A disabled adult/elder (e.g. spouse, parent, parent-in-law or grandparent) who spends at least eight hours every day in the applicant's home and for whom the applicant has responsibility.

Please note that pets are not eligible for dependent care support. Caregiving services provided by a spouse, partner or immediate family member are not eligible for financial assistance.

Faculty Affinity Groups

FDI Faculty Networks

Looking for community, networking opportunities, or mentoring? Join one of these two affinity networks for historically underrepresented faculty:

Faculty of Color Network
Women’s Faculty Network

The Networks meet quarterly and for special events, including the annual Faculty of Color Reception in the fall and the Women’s Faculty Reception in the winter.

Women in Health Sciences

The Women in Health Sciences (WIHS) Committee at UC San Diego is an organization dedicated to creating a fair and equitable environment for women as well as promoting networking and career development.

Women in Health Sciences

Membership is open to all, including non-faculty and all gender identities.

Funding Opportunities

Do you have an amazing idea that will help transform educational access? Are you organizing a cultural celebration on campus? EDI provides grants (up to $15,000) and co-sponsorships to faculty and staff who propose innovative programs and events that advance the goals of the EDI Office.

For additional information and to apply, click here.