Academic Affairs


Information for New Faculty— 2007 / 08 (and for New Faculty 2008-09, coming soon...)

(new faculty orientation updated 1/14/ and 1/24/08; New faculty 2008-09 flyer added 4/18/08)

Welcome to the Clark University community. This site offers basic information for new faculty members that we hope will be helpful as you begin your career at Clark. While not meant to be comprehensive, the following items provide some guidance about dates, policies, and resources here. Please feel free to contact Deb Brenner in the Provost's Office (or x7766) if you have questions or concerns. We look forward to getting to know each of you over the course of the year.

A head's up to the incoming group of new faculty for 2008-09:  Here's a flyer we put together, of you and for you.  To check out what your soon-to-be cohort are up to, click here.

Information to Help Get you Started:

Support Once You've Arrived:

Key Dates:

Important Information for All Faculty:

Student Support Services:

New Faculty Orientation Schedule -

Prior to the beginning of the academic year two orientation meetings will take place. Thereafter, meetings will then take place on a monthly basis (more or less).

FALL SEMESTER:

  • The first will be held on Monday, August 20, 2007 at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens in Boylston, MA, which is 15-20 minutes from Worcester. This event will begin with a light breakfast, include lunch, and last most of the day.  We will take time for walking through the beautiful gardens there.  Check out the link above for directions.  If anyone needs a ride, please contact Deb Brenner.
     
  • The second orientation event will follow on Tuesday, August 21, 8:45 - 2pm in the Grace Conference Room, on the first floor of the Higgins University Center.  This session will focus specifically on teaching topics, with sessions on constructing a syllabus, grading, classroom civility, and incorporating Clark's signature "learn through inquiry" pedagogy into your teaching.  It will be led by Judith E. Miller, Associate Dean for Special Academic Initiatives.
     
  • On September 27, 9-10:15 in the Rosenblatt Conference Room, first floor of the UC, we will meet on "Everything you wanted to ask about being a faculty member at Clark University but didn't know who to ask."
     
  • On October 11, 9-10:15 in the Provost's Office, Geography building Room 212, we will meet to familiarize you with the personnel procedures at Clark, including the annual review, reappointment, promotion, and tenure.
     
  • On November 15th, 9-9:45on the main floor of Goddard library, the staff there will provide an orientation to available resources; then from 9:15-10:15 in the University Archives, on the first floor of Goddard, there will be an informal coffee to which other recently hired faculty will be invited.
     
  • On December 6, 9-10:15 in the Persky Room, second floor of the UC, there will be a session on "Achieving Balance: Juggling the demands of being a teacher-scholar."
     

SPRING SEMESTER:

  • On January 24, 1:15-2:30 in the Persky Room of the UC, we will hold a session on teaching evaluations. By the time we meet, your fall teaching evaluations will have been returned to you. It's common to be unhappy with at least some aspects of your evaluations, and it's common to give more weight to negative than to positive comments. Using fictitious teaching evaluation data as the basis for discussion, we will consider how to interpret teaching evaluations, and how to use them as a basis for improvement. You will not be asked to share your evaluations, but you might want to bring them along for reference. Our goal is that you leave this session reassured, and with a concrete plan for improvement.
     
  • On February 21, 1:15-2:30 in the Persky Room, you will meet with Denise Darrigrand, who is our Dean of Students.  Come prepared with questions -- this is usually a lively session.
     
  • On March 13, 1:15-2:30 in the Persky Room, our orientation will consider Academic Advising and Academic Support Services.  Kevin McKenna, Associate Dean of the College, will provide an overview of faculty advising at Clark.  He will be joined by David McDonough who will speak about Career Services, Jane Daigneault who will address disability services, Jennifer Plante who will talk about the Writing Center and her consultation with faculty on incorporating writing into your curriculum, and lastly, Micki Davis, who will speak about student volunteerism and incorporating community engagement activities in your classes.
     
  • On April 3, 1:15-2:30 in the Persky Room, you will meet with Nancy Budwig about the research operation at Clark. Here's what she wants you to know about this session:

You have almost made it through another semester of teaching. Are you looking forward to turning more of your focus to your scholarship? How might resources at Clark be useful to your scholarship at this juncture and what advice might there be to make the most of the summer for your scholarship?

This workshop aims to introduce new faculty to the research operation at Clark. Nancy Budwig will provide an overview of the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research (OSPR) and Jane Baker, Director, Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations, will provide perspective on foundations and corporate support. Staff from these offices will be invited as well. Procedures and policies for obtaining external funding will be reviewed in addition to highlighting resources available through these offices.

In the second part of the meeting, Nancy Budwig will facilitate a discussion with new faculty exploring issues related to being a productive scholar, including discussion of a) how one can best use summers for scholarly pursuits, b) best ways to be most creative and productive with your scholarship, and c) views on successes and challenges you have had related to your scholarship as you have transitioned to Clark.

Childcare possibilities -

Many new faculty arrive in Worcester with small children, and questions about child care often come up.  As a new addition to this website we've decided to include some information -- not comprehensive information -- on quality child care in the local area ("local area" broadly defined). 

The following are child care providers that other faculty (those who've been at Clark for a year or two or three) have been happy with.  Note that we are not endorsing one center over any other; rather these are the places with which we've had positive experiences. 

Worcester Jewish Community Center (JCC)
First Friends (in Worcester)
Skribbles (in Northboro, where Shrewsbury, Northboro and Westboro meet)
Shrewsbury Montessori School
Guild of St. Agnes (Worcester and other locations)

The Clark OneCard -

The Clark OneCard is your multipurpose Clark ID card. You will need it to access the library and the Kneller Athletic Center, for examples. You will need to have a photo taken (22 Downing St., 2nd floor) to initiate the process, and for this you should contact Paul Coute, our business manager (x7385 or x7109) to set up a time.  There are regular hours for taking student ID photos and you can always drop in during these times but you risk waiting on line. 

Moving expenses -

For new IRS Guidelines on taxability of reimbursements, click here.

If moving expenses are awarded, the maximum amount is specified in the new faculty member's contract letter. Moving expenses can be paid directly to a moving company, or through reimbursement of expenses to the faculty member, or a combination of both. (If you ask for reimbursement, you need to submit proof of payment such as a copy of your credit card statement or something from the vendor stating that you paid.) Note that these reimbursements are for actual expenses only, i.e. they are not meant to defray costs on items that are not related to your move. Please contact Deb Brenner or x7766 with questions about what is reimbursable or anything else related to moving expenses.

Start-up funds -

Some faculty, especially those in the sciences, are awarded start-up funds, the amount of which is designated in the appointment letter. Please contact Deb Brenner to discuss how to access these funds.

Computer Hardware and Software Support -

Within Information Technology Services (ITS), there are two support groups:  Academic Technology Services, and Desktop Support Services. 

Academic Technology Services  includes Academic Technologists and Media Services staff who are responsible for the exploration, development and dissemination of technology-based solutions in support of the teaching, learning, presentation and communication needs of faculty, staff, and students. This includes software support, learning object development, project exploration, etc. More information about Academic Technology Services is available at www.clarku.edu/offices/its and www.clarku.edu/offices/mediaservices. As you consider the integration of technology into the teaching/learning/research environments you create, you are encouraged to contact the Academic Technologist assigned to your department, Cheryl Elwell (the Director of Academic Technology Services), or Media Services for A/V needs, including reservations of equipment.

  • If you are in the Biology, Chemistry, English, FL&L, V&PA, History, Math and Computer Science, Philosophy or Physics departments, please contact Anthony Helm by email or 508-792-7214.
  • If you are in the Economics, Education, Geography, Government, IDCE, Management, Psychology or Sociology departments, please contact Michael Krikonis by email or 508-792-8807.
  • Cheryl Elwell can be reached by email or 508-421-3714.
  • Media Services can be reached at media@clarku.edu or 508-793-7724.

Desktop Support Services is responsible for client-focused support services through the ITS Help Desk (x7745), including quality distribution and maintenance of desktop software and hardware, and the daily operation of public computer labs and e-classroom computers.  If you have a question about a purchase of computer hardware or software, an issue with your username/password, your desktop computer (including software inquiries, replacement of hardware, problems with your printer, etc.) please contact the Help Desk at x7745 or email Justin Brooks, the Manager of Desktop Support Services, directly.

Faculty Assembly Meetings -

Faculty assembly meetings are held monthly on Wednesday afternoons, normally at 2 pm in the Grace Conference Room of the Higgins University Center.  Faculty assembly dates for 2007-08 are as follows:

September 12, 2007
October 17
November 14
December 5
January 30, 2008
February 27
March 26
April 16

Email announcements and agenda are distributed to faculty in advance of each meeting.

First Fridays -

Three years ago, the provost initiated a series of First Friday receptions.  These are held the first Friday of each month of the academic year, 4:30-6pm, and are meant as a time to unwind from the workweek, eat some munchies and, if you choose, have a glass of wine or a beer.  Each event is hosted by a different academic or non-academic department, and some departments pick a theme for their First Friday.  This year, each First Friday will be held at a place of the hosting department's choosing. The First Friday dates and hosts are as follows:

October 5 - Residents of Dana Commons (Higgins School of Humanities; Communication and Culture Program; Academic Advancement; Study Abroad; International Studies Stream; Office of Intercultural Affairs, Leir Luxembourg Program), in Dana Commons
November 2 - Physical Plant/CEAP (Clark Energy Awareness Program) in the Lasry Center for Bioscience, 3rd floor
December 14 -  (rescheduled from Dec 7, now it's "Second Friday") Goddard Library, in the Goddard Library Underground
February 1, 2008 - Clark Labs for Cartographic Technology & Geographic Analysis (Idrisi), in their house at 921 Main St.
March 14 - ("Second Friday" because March 7 is during Clark break week) - University Advancement, place TBA
April 4 - Mosakowski Institute

Stay tuned to this page for more info. Email announcements will go out prior to each event.  We hope to see you at many of these.

Faculty Advising -

Faculty in their first year at Clark typically do not take on formal advising duties. However, after the first year, all regular faculty are expected to advise. The Academic Advising office publishes a hard-copy advisor's handbook, which will be mailed to all new faculty. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin McKenna, Associate Dean of the College, at x7468. 

Teaching Evaluation Process -

The teaching evaluation process uses paper evaluations completed by students during the first 20 minutes of a class held during the penultimate week of the semester.  For the last couple of semesters we tried a pilot program for on-line evaluations which worked better than expected, particularly in terms of response rates.  There are some bugs to be worked out, however, so we will continue with the paper evaluation process for 2007-08.

The Writing Center -

The Writing Center offers free one-to-one writing assistance to all members of the Clark University community.  Writing consultants will work with student writers on any piece of writing -- short papers, research papers, lab reports, presentations, senior honors theses, graduate school applications or resumes.  Students may bring writing at any stage of the writing process, whether they are brainstorming, outlining, revising or editing.

Jennifer Plante, Director of the Writing Center and Writing Program consults with faculty across the disciplines.  If you would like to talk about your students' writing, your writing assignments (formal or informal, in-class or take home), or your responses to student writing, or if you would like to know more about how you can encourage your students to work with the Clark Writing Center, please contact Jennifer Plante.