Leadership Workshop Series

Upcoming Workshops

Past Workshops

Best Practices in Faculty Annual Evaluations and Performance Management

Dr. Clair Kueny
Wednesday, January 17th 1:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Silver/Gold Room, Havener

Please join Dr. Clair Kueny for a department chairs' and administrators' workshop on best practices in faculty annual evaluations and performance management. The workshop will include information on best practices as well as discussion and working time to allow chairs to think through action plans about how they could implement best practices in their own departments. Please consider bringing a laptop. Refreshments will be provided. This workshop is sponsored by the 2023-2024 S&T ADVANCE Faculty Fellows Program.  

Closing the Deal: The Art of Negotiation in Faculty Hiring

Facilitated by Dr. Jessica Cundiff
Associate Professor of Psychological Science
PI/Director of S&T ADVANCE

Presented on Wednesday November 8th 2023 at 12 p.m.

Closing the Deal: The Art of Negotiation in Faculty Hiring is a panel discussion and information session on the best practices in negotiating faculty hires, sponsored by the S&T ADVANCE Program. Hiring authorities have considerable responsibilities regarding “closing the deal” on faculty hires, but don’t always have a lot of guidance about how to get the job done effectively and inclusively.  Cindi Nelson (Chief Human Resources Officer), Lucretia Eaton (Director, Business Managers), Susan Murray (Interim Vice Provost for Online Education), & Dave Bayless (Professor and Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) will share information and guidance on what hiring authorities should do (and not do) upon determining a first-choice candidate for a faculty position. Lunch will be provided.

Inclusive Departments Best Practices

Joya Misra, PhD
Provost Professor and Roy J. Zuckerberg Endowed Leadership Chair
Department of Sociology & School of Public Policy
Co-PI UMass ADVANCE grant and Director of ADVANCE Programming
President-Elect, American Sociological Association

Presented on Tuesday April 11th 2023 at 2 p.m.

Climate surveys and studies consistently show that faculty of color as well as women in fields dominated by men are less likely to feel included and valued by their departmental colleagues. Yet some departments do engage in practices that mean that diverse faculty feel included; these departments are also more likely to recruit and retain faculty. In this workshop, we will explore some of the fairly simple strategies that departmental leaders and members can adopt to create warmer, more collegial, and more inclusive departments.  

Joya Misra is Provost Professor and the Roy J. Zuckerberg Endowed Leadership Chair, as well as a Professor in both Sociology and the School of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She also serves as a Co-PI and Director of UMass ADVANCE Programming, and she is currently President-Elect of the American Sociological Association. Dr. Misra’s research and teaching primarily focus on social inequality, including inequalities by gender and gender identity, race, class, ethnicity, sexuality, nationality, citizenship, parenthood status, and educational level. She considers how policies may work to both reinforce and lessen inequalities; her aim is to create more equitable societies and workplaces.

Department Equity Profiles: Using metrics to enhance department equity and inclusion

Facilitated by Dr. Jessica Cundiff
Associate Professor of Psychological Science
PI/Director of S&T ADVANCE

Presented on Tuesday March 7th 2023 at 12 p.m.

Prior to the workshop, each department received an Equity Profile containing key metrics of equity and inclusion for their department. During the workshop, we discussed how to interpret results from the Equity Profiles to identify areas of success and areas for improvement. The workshop concluded with an interactive discussion for departments to share what works in their departments and to brainstorm strategies collaboratively.

WAGES: The Academic Career Game

Facilitated by Dr. Jessica Cundiff
Associate Professor of Psychological Science
PI/Director of S&T ADVANCE

Presented on Wednesday February 22nd 2023 at 11:30 a.m.

Climbing the academic career ladder is full of ups and downs – no matter what field you’re in. Advancement to the next level can bring satisfying new responsibilities and opportunities but can also be slowed down by unexpected obstacles along the way. This workshop used the interactive format of a board game to help participants discover and better understand some of the less obvious factors that can influence advancement in academic careers and contribute to chilly climates. Insights discovered by participants through game play, especially those that are gender-relevant, are shared in a post-game discussion.