Registration is now open for the “Initiative for Faculty Success and Equity Workshop (IFSE)” to be held from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 19, at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.
The workshop — sponsored by the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), the Office of the Vice President for Research’s Interdisciplinary Research Institutes, and the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity — will offer information, build knowledge and provide practical skills on how to better center equity and inclusion in the search process and career development with a focus on Penn State tenure-line faculty.
The full-day event will include a hybrid (in person and livestreamed) morning session open to all Penn State faculty, as well as in-person workshops in the afternoon, which will require registration. Lunch will be provided for all in-person participants and the day will wrap up with a networking event.
According to Deborah Ehrenthal, director of SSRI, the purpose of the event is to provide knowledge and skills that will support faculty engaged in OSVPR Interdisciplinary Research Institute tenure-line faculty searches and ongoing faculty development.
“Our goals are to provide training in equitable and inclusive search processes to faculty who will lead OSVPR Interdisciplinary Institute cofunded tenure-line faculty searches as well as other faculty searches at any Penn State campus. The workshop will also help support faculty development, with particular focus on early career tenure-line experiences.”
The day will kick off with a keynote presentation by Dr. Tim Eatman, inaugural dean of the Honors Living-Learning Community and professor of urban education at Rutgers University-Newark.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Eatman talk about publicly engaged scholarship in academia,” said Jennifer Glick, IFSE workshop co-organizer and, Arnold S. and Bette G. Hoffman Professor of Sociology and Criminology/Demography at Penn State.
The morning will also include a faculty panel discussion on leadership mentoring at Penn State facilitated by Zoubeida Ounaies, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and engineering.
The afternoon session will include hands-on workshops on safer people/safer places, being culturally aware, maintaining effective communications, and aligning expectations with your faculty mentees, along with storytelling circles.
Next STEPS Training in Equitable Faculty Searches will also be offered. Faculty who will be serving on a faculty search committee this year and are interested in participating in the Next STEPS Training should send an email to ssri-info@psu.edu.
This workshop is a part of the SSRI Initiative for Faculty Success and Equity (IFSE) and aligns with President Neeli Bendapudi’s outlined goals of diversifying the faculty and creating more robust communities of support for faculty of all backgrounds. SSRI is also partner with Mentoring Models for Faculty Success, a working group of faculty members committed to creating opportunities to share mentoring practices on Penn State’s campuses.
For more information about the event and to register, visit the event website.