Academic Affairs defines faculty and staff development as investing in our employees’ wellbeing and life-long learning. This definition represents one of the six values of the division. One such behavior that embodies this value is that “we recognize and support the importance of self-care and work-life integration to promote the wellbeing of faculty and staff.”
As April is designated National Stress Awareness Month, the Center for Faculty Innovation is pleased to host the Faculty Wellness and Wellbeing Week during April 8 - 11.
In partnership with Balanced Dukes, Common Health, JMU Libraries, and Talent Development, the CFI has developed several programs designed for faculty to reflect and focus on wellness and wellbeing. This exciting collaborative effort provides full-time faculty, part-time faculty, and academic unit leaders with opportunities to focus on different dimensions of wellness and wellbeing.
There will be a variety of experiences ranging from guest speakers and workshops to a faculty-wide event in the Madison Union Ballroom.
Register: Check out the FWWW's scheduled daily programs below and use the following buttons to visit the event pages to register for programs on those dates!
| Wednesday, April 10 | Thursday, April 11 |
Monday - April 8, 2024
Chair Yoga: Techniques for Home and Office
In collaboration with Talent & Development
Come join colleagues for a quick 20-minute session of chair yoga and learn strategies of rest and relaxation that you will be able to use at your desk.
Sessions will begin at 8:30 and 9:00 AM. Each session will also include a zoom option for those unable to attend in person.
Light refreshments will be available.
Facilitators
- Joe LeBlanc, CHBS & CFI
- Ren Oliver, Talent Development
Location: The Union - Taylor
Registration required.
Makery Tour and Mixed Media Painting
In collaboration with JMU Libraries
CFI is excited to present two opportunities to engage in wellness and wellbeing in Rose Library.
Start with a tour of the JMU Makery space on the first floor of Rose Library and learn about opportunities for personal and professional creative outlet.
Return in the afternoon for a relaxing hour of creating mixed media art using acrylic paints and regular household items. All art supplies provided! No prior art experience is necessary.
Light refreshments will be available.
Facilitators
- Joe LeBlanc, CHBS & CFI
- Lisa Hartman, JMU Libraries
Location: Rose Library
Registration for these events are separate. Space is limited.
Tuesday - April 9, 2024
Massage Therapy
Come join the CFI and experience rest and self-care through massage therapy. The CFI has partnered with Restorative Massage Therapy to offer massages from 10am to 2pm for JMU Faculty.
Light refreshments will be available.
Facilitator: Joe LeBlanc, CHBS & CFI
Partner: Restorative Massage Therapy
Location: The Union - Warren
Registration required.
Wednesday - April 10, 2024
Addressing Faculty Burnout through a Change in Culture
Please join us for a discussion on a topic much related to wellness and wellbeing, faculty academic identity, and institutional culture.
Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark is the director of the Office of Faculty Professional Development at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. A former tenured professor with 17 years experience teaching undergraduates as well as an experienced facilitator and certified coach.
She is the author of two books: Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022) and Agile Faculty: Practical Strategies for Managing Research, Service, and Teaching (University of Chicago Press, 2017). She is also the host of the agile academic, a podcast for women in higher education.
Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark will discuss her book Unraveling Faculty Burnout. In this book, she “draws from her own burnout experience, as well as collected stories of faculty in various roles and career stages, interviews with coaches and educational developers, and extensive secondary research to address and mitigate burnout.
Pope-Ruark lays out four pillars of burnout resilience for faculty members: purpose, compassion, connection, and balance.” (from publisher’s website).
Presenter: Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark
Location: Online
Registration required.
Thursday - April 11, 2024
Faculty Luncheon: Academic Identity and Wellbeing
Join your colleagues in this informal lunch conversation about academic identity and how it intersects with faculty well-being.
- What do our academic identities look like?
- What do we wish they were?
- Do our ideal academic selves support our well-being, or do they undermine it?
- What can the institution do to support our best academic selves, and our well-being — beyond one week?
Our questions are motivated by the sense that academic identity and faculty well-being are connected (as suggested by Rebecca Pope-Ruark, the author of *Unraveling Faculty Burnout*), and that fostering both is not only good for faculty, but also for academic institutions that are interested in vibrant scholarship and creative work, student learning, and low faculty turnover.
At this event, we try to engage in two related practices: Sharing a meal that fosters connection, community, and, yes, well-being, and joining an informal conversation that allows us to trade in ideas and wit, practice empathy with each other's experiences, and possibly share emotional responses to a topic that affects us personally.
CFI provides the meal, the opportunity to share and interact, as well as some prompts and structure to get you going. We ask you to bring the openness needed to share your ideas and listen to each other with curiosity and empathy.
Facilitators
- Andreas Broscheid, CFI & CAL
- Peter Eubanks, CAL & CFI
Location: The Union - Warren Ballroom
Registration required.
JMU Partners
- Balanced Dukes
- Common Health
- JMU Libraries
- Talent Development
