Charting Your Path as an Assistant Professor Workshop

These workshops are designed to provide junior faculty with the knowledge and skills that can enhance their careers at Illinois.

Charting Your Path as an Assistant Professor Workshops are highly engaging, hands-on workshops that feature a range of topics from opportunities for enhancing their ongoing research activities, to resources and strategies for achieving work-life balance, to understanding the promotion process at Illinois, to making the most of mentoring relationships, and many others.

The Public Engagement Research Option (PERO) for Promotion and Tenure

Tuesday, September 10, 2024
8:00 – 8:30 AM – Breakfast and networking
8:30 – 10:00 AM – Workshop
Levis Faculty Center, Room 210 (919 W. Illinois St, Urbana)

Learn about the new Public Engagement Research Option (PERO) at Illinois. In this overview of PERO, information on what PERO involves and a step-by-step timeline will be provided. Attention will also be devoted to helping faculty decide whether PERO is appropriate for them.

Session Facilitator:

  • Eva PomerantzProfessor, Psychology and Director, Center for Social & Behavioral Science

Resources:

Making Teaching Evaluations Work for You and Your Students

Wednesday, February 12, 2025
8:00 – 8:30 AM – Breakfast and networking
8:30 – 10:00 AM – Workshop
Location: TBD

Teaching evaluation should do more than provide documents for a promotion or tenure decision. Teaching evaluations should help you as a course instructor improve your teaching through a sharing of best practices, encouraging experimentation, identifying needs, and mobilizing resources to meet those needs. Join us for an interactive discussion of our new teaching evaluation guide, tools, and resources that are aligned with the campus-wide definition of teaching excellence.

Session Facilitator:

Registration Link: Coming Soon

Archived Series

2023-24

University 101: Peeking Behind the Curtain of Campus Systems and Processes

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Description:

  • Why does it take so long to make a change on campus? 
  • What does a “decentralized” campus mean and how does it impact you as an early career faculty member?
  • Why is it so difficult to require _______ for the whole campus?
  • What is the difference between our campus and the ones located in Chicago and Springfield?
  • How are salaries and raises determined?
  • Who decides on retentions and how are these managed?

Whether or not you are new to campus this year, this session is for you! In this highly interactive session, we will pull back the curtain on the “ins and outs” of our campus. We will share insights on how our university functions, including a look at structures, policies, and decision-making processes. 

Understanding the intricacies of how things work at Illinois can be empowering as you learn to navigate campus processes more efficiently, make informed decisions, engage with others responsibly, and take full advantage of the many resources and opportunities our university has to offer.

Demystifying the Academic Research Enterprise: Becoming a Successful Scholar in a Complex and Competitive Environment

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Speaker: Dr. Kelvin K. Droegemeier, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and Special Advisor to the Chancellor for Science and Policy

Drawing on his experience and deep knowledge as a decades long researcher, administrator, and policy expert, Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier discussed what the new generation of scholars need to master to be successful in academia. In this highly interactive session, Dr. Droegemeier shared his insights, answered questions, and challenged participants as they considered their roles, responsibilities, and opportunities in the context of their individual scholarly program and personal circumstances.

Dr. Droegemeier’s book is available for download through Box or through MIT Press. Please note that if you choose to purchase a hard copy of the book, all proceeds are donated to student scholarships at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Resources:

See the series archive for topics in previous academic years: