Faculty Affairs

Professional Development

Professional Development

The Office of the Provost, in collaboration with the Faculty Development Committee has implemented a new faculty mentoring initiative. This program will focus on Mutual Mentoring, where faculty members work together on micro-grant-funded projects The program aims to strengthen faculty connections and professional development, which will ultimately benefit our students and institution

Program Objectives:

  1. Support the Formation of Peer Networks: Enable faculty across all departments and seniority levels to engage in passion projects as well as navigate self-identified areas for further development or expansion.
  2. Enhance Teaching Excellence: Facilitate the exchange of teaching strategies, pedagogical innovations, and shared best practices within the Hofstra community to increase student engagement, motivation, and achievement.
  3. Promote Research Collaboration: Create opportunities for cross-departmental and inter-departmental collaboration on research projects, technologies, and other resources.
  4. Foster Opportunities for Career Advancement: Provide guidance throughout career milestones, such as the process of tenure and promotion and transitioning into leadership roles.
  5. Support Opportunities for Professional Development: Enrich professional skills needed to integrate active learning strategies both within and beyond the context of the classroom.

Program Structure:
Mutual Mentoring Program Structure and Budget: Faculty will form groups of 2-6 based upon shared interests in a mutual mentoring project and will disperse accountability amongst members to contribute to the overall success of the group. Micro-grants are offered to fund the project. All expenses must follow the guidelines of the Hofstra University Business Travel and Employee Reimbursement Policies.

Eligibility: Full-time tenure-track faculty and full-time non-tenure-track faculty on continuing appointments are eligible to participate.

Evaluation Criteria:

  • Quality of the Project: The proposal offers distinct benefits and opportunities for faculty different from programs already offered through the department or institution. The proposal is detailed and there is a clear alignment between the proposed activities and the intended outcomes.
  • Feasibility: The proposal activities are well-planned and can realistically be accomplished within the grant period and provided budget.
  • Impact: The proposal describes the benefit of faculty development and provides substantial reasoning for the sustainability of the mentoring impact over time.

Examples of Mentoring Themes: Proposals could include one or more of these themes or may fall outside them entirely. Proposals do not have to include these themes to be considered or awarded.

  1. Getting to Know the Institution: Understanding the academic culture of departments, schools/colleagues, and the institution; identifying resources to support scholarship and skill building; creating a trusted network of junior and senior colleagues.
  2. Understanding Tenure and Promotion: Better understanding of the tenure and promotion process – both for promotion to associate and promotion to full professor ranks, learning more about the criteria for evaluating research and teaching performance, finding support in developing the promotion dossier, soliciting feedback on the quality and quantity of work through the annual faculty review.
  3. Developing a Support Network: Forging career-enhancing relationships with faculty who share similar interest, challenges, and/or opportunities. Particularly encouraged are networks that eliminate isolation, including those that support the diverse needs of underrepresented faculty, mid-career faculty, and faculty interested in future leadership roles.
  4. Excelling in Research or Teaching: Developing a research/writing plan, identifying sources of internal and external funding, soliciting feedback on manuscripts and grant proposals, or setting up and running a successful laboratory.

Application Process: There is a brief application available below. One faculty member per group will submit the completed application to provostawards@hofstra.edu. The application cycle will be open once per academic year.

Expectations:

  • Active Participation and Engagement: Participating faculty are expected to remain engaged in the project throughout its entirety.
  • Goal Setting: Faculty are expected to set specific, measurable, feasible goals.
  • Communication: Mutual Mentoring is contingent upon the efforts of the participating faculty to contribute to their group’s advancement with open and frequent communication.
  • Feedback and Evaluation: The success of the pilot program will be evaluated through participant feedback. Feedback collected will be used to inform program improvements and refinements.

Award Information:

  • Applicants will be notified by November 30 of the status of their proposals. 
  • Upon conclusion of the spring semester, awardees agree to provide a 500-word summary of their activities and a final budget of grant expenses. 
  • We may request your team to present their project to the campus more broadly at a future Hofstra event.

Senior Vice Provost Comila Shahani-Denning will support awardees’ mentoring activities through an initial “launch” meeting and a brief check-in halfway through the spring semester. Alison Zorn, Coordinator for Faculty Affairs, is also available to answer questions throughout the year.

Please contact provostawards@hofstra.edu with questions.

The Office of the Provost is launching a discussion-based series to support Hofstra University faculty in achieving personal and professional excellence. Through interactive monthly Zoom workshops, the series will enhance technical skills, peer connections, and well-being by addressing key aspects of academic life, including teaching, research, service, and work-life balance. Facilitated by Faculty Development Committee members, these sessions will provide a confidential space for faculty to gain new perspectives and strategies for daily implementation.

Session Dates:
September 20th: Teaching 12:00 PM
October 18th: Research 12:00 PM
November 15th: Service 12:00 PM
December 6th: Life at Hofstra 12:00 PM
February 7th: Competencies 1:00 PM
March 7th: Addressing Feedback and Critiques 12:00 PM
April 11th: Agency 12:00 PM
May 2nd: Belonging 12:00 PM

RSVP to provostevents@hofstra.edu to receive the Zoom link to attend.

Faculty Fellows

The Provost’s Faculty Fellows Program allows talented faculty to explore academic leadership roles and learn more about academic affairs administration through working with Provost’s Office staff both collaboratively and independently on projects that meaningfully advance Hofstra University’s strategic priorities. The Faculty Fellow for Graduate Studies will report to the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and the Faculty Fellow for Research will report to the Vice Provost for Research and Sponsored Programs. The Faculty Fellows will also be mentored by the Provost and will participate in Provost Office leadership team meetings.

The Hofstra University Faculty Fellows for 2024-2025 academic year:

Andrea Nerlich, PhD (Faculty Fellow for Graduate Studies)
Professor of Counseling and Mental Health Professions
School of Health Sciences

Jessica Santangelo, PhD (Faculty Fellow for Research)
Professor of Biology
School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences