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4th Edition Faculty Affairs Spotlight

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Happening in Faculty Affairs

The Fall Semester is in Full Swing!

We are beyond excited to see our faculty back, engaging with campus life, and pursuing "faculty excellence" - excellence, we look forward to continue highlighting across our communication platforms. Amongst a number of new and expanding features on the Faculty Affairs website, never miss a communication from Vice President for Faculty Affairs, Dr. N.K. Anand, by checking the "News" tab on our homepage. Stay in the know about what's happening in Faculty Affairs.

Your Faculty Evaluation Will Change This Spring -

Beginning this spring, all faculty evaluations will be conducted through Interfolio. This allows faculty to enter all professional achievements into one system, in which much of the information auto populates from different sources across the University. You can also use this information to create NIH biosketches, NSF information, or your vita. Learn how to enter your information through our Quick Guides or by viewing the Faculty180 Training video.

To best prepare for this change in evaluation procedures:

  • Talk to your Department or College/School about support, their implementation timeline, and any academic unit-specific information they may require
  • Attend the trainings in your College/School and use the training guides available to you within the Faculty Affairs Intranet
  • Start updating your personal "Profile" and "Activities" - this information will feed directly into your evaluation document

Welcome New Faculty & Academic Leaders -

Last month, we welcomed and oriented 300+ new faculty members and academic leaders to begin serving Aggieland this Fall 2022 semester. Highlights of the New Faculty and New Academic Leader Orientations included:

  • Connecting New Faculty to the Texas A&M and Bryan/College Station Communities
  • Presenting Resources and Opportunities for Creating a More Inclusive Learning Environment and Supporting Student Success
  • Opportunities to Network and Directly Engage with Campus Leaders, Academic Divisions, and University Service Providers
  • Introduction of the Traditions and Customs of Aggieland

Faculty Focus

School of Nursing Fellowship Inductees -

School of Education & Human Development Notable Award Winners -

Academic Leader Special Recognition -

Dr. Ramalingam Saravanan, Professor and Atmospheric Sciences Department Head, was awarded the Louis J. Battan Award by the American Meteorological Society for his book The Climate Demon: Past, Present, and Future of Climate Prediction.

Mark Your Calendars

  • National Academy of Sciences Inductee Reception (September 23rd) - Honoring Dr. Donald Darensbourg, Dr. Karen Wooley, Dr. Marcetta Darensbourg and Dr. Ronald DeVore on their 2017 through 2022 inductions into the National Academy of Sciences.
  • SEC Emerging Scholars Meeting (September 27th - 29th) - Five Texas A&M graduate students will accompany academic leaders for SEC-sponsored professional development and networking opportunities at the University of Missouri.
  • State of the University Address by President M. Katherine Banks (September 28th) - Annenberg Presidential Conference Center @ 3pm
  • Faculty Promotion & Tenure Celebration (September 29th) - Celebrating the faculty who earned promotions and/or tenure during the 2020, 2021 and 2022 Academic Years. Faculty are strongly encouraged to invite their mentor(s) to celebrate with them.
  • 2023-2024 Faculty Development Leave (FDL) - Application Due October 5th @ 12pm (Note: Your College/School will have an earlier deadline)
  • External Prestigious Award Workshop (November 2nd) - Rudder Tower, Room 301

Amplify Your Impact

The Amplifying External Awards Program -

Nominations and support of faculty for external recognition is a critical part of retaining faculty and developing them for success. The Vice President for Faculty Affairs has committed to partnering with Colleges/Schools across the University to better position and incentivize faculty to earn prestigious external awards. That support includes:

  • Recognition for highly prestigious awards with a one-time merit incentive
  • Recognition of prestigious awards that position faculty for highly prestigious awards, or "Pathways Awards", with a one-time merit incentive
  • Support for relocation/travel expenses required as part of receiving Pathways Awards or highly prestigious awards, along with the potential for an expedited Faculty Development Leave process

Recognition of faculty within our campus community who are demonstrating excellence is a critical part of amplifying faculty awards and impact. Awards can always be added to the Pathways and highly prestigious awards categories by Colleges/Schools with evidence related to the award.

Join the Conversation -

Under the umbrella of the University’s partnership with The Conversation, several accomplished Texas A&M faculty members and researchers have authored-and-contributed to articles meant to provoke thought and dialogue about how we function as a society and global community.

To read more, simply click the Conversation logo or check the Faculty Excellence feature on the Faculty Affairs website homepage.

Campus News

Highlighting The Path Forward Approved Working Group Implementation Report -

Outlined as of Approved Date - May 23rd, 2022

Working Group 30 – The administrative management of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences’ (CVMBS) research grants – including MOUs, MOAs, NDAs, other agreements, along with proposal submission and management – will be assumed by AgriLife Research.

  • The proposal process for Sponsored Research Services managed accounts will not change.
  • All new submissions should route through AgriLife Research by August 1st, 2022.
  • New awards of previously submitted proposals will continue to be managed through whom they were originally submitted.
  • Existing awards will continue to be managed by their original awarding entity throughout the award lifecycle and/or renewal, with the exception of university awards which will be transitioned to AgriLife Research at the time of renewal submission.

The research facilities currently allocated to the CVMBS, however, will remain with the College because they provide significant growth and expansion opportunities – with strategic planning and investment.

Working Group 31 – Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness (HROE) will be reorganized into a one-stop human resources “service hub” structure capable of seamlessly aligning and delivering talent acquisition, onboarding, succession planning and payroll administration functions across the University System.

  • The service hub structure will:
    1. Leverage the strengths of the existing central HROE office staff and points of contact across Colleges and Divisions
    2. Providing HROE specialists, managers and directors to respond directly to the needs of the University’s unique constituency groups; HROE will keep current HR generalists physically located within the units they are currently assigned to in order for them to remain readily available to serve.
  • The infrastructure will initially feature 6 hubs and provide an industry standard HR generalist/specialist per employee ratio of 1:150. Each hub will be organized:
    1. Around customer [employee] groups with similar professional foci
    2. With respect to their physical location within the A&M System
      - Providing front-line support services with:
        Recruitment
        Welcoming/Departing
        Performance Management
        Payroll Processing
        Employee Support
        General Service Relations
  • New and enhanced automated business processes will play a role to help ensure consistency, efficiency and effectiveness, while being monitored by the Continuous Improvement & Quality Assurance team.

Note: The Division of Finance conducted an analysis of all current employees performing part-time HR duties, and identified positions to be transferred to HROE (Working Group 33)

Originally Released Monday, September 19th, 2022