The Office of Faculty Success supports new JMU full-time and part-time faculty through the following initiatives.
- Orients new faculty to the institution
- Connects new faculty with resources that support their work and work-life balance
- Helps new faculty become part of the academic community at JMU
- Engages new faculty in comprehensive career planning that encompasses all areas of their work
Orientation Programs for New Faculty
CFI and the Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Success
Faculty Welcome Week takes place the week before classes start in the fall. Mark your calendars for the Faculty Community Welcome on Monday afternoon and the New Faculty Welcome on Thursday morning. Departments, colleges, and the Provost's Office offer other orientation and welcoming programs throughout the week. Check out the links to various faculty resources on the Faculty Welcome Week webpage!
Since 2015, JMU's yearlong New Faculty Academy (NFA) has combined monthly career planning workshops for new faculty with one-on-one mentoring by an experienced colleague. While the NFA is particularly designed for new faculty in tenure-track or renewable-term appointments in the first two years of their careers, all new faculty are welcome to apply.
If you have not received an email about Faculty Welcome Week and the New Faculty Academy by the end of July of your contract year, please email cfi@jmu.edu. We would be happy to add you to our list of incoming faculty!
If you are an adjunct or part-time faculty member, the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Curriculum (VPFAC) and CFI have created an online orientation program on Canvas. Please contact your academic unit head if you have not received a Canvas invitation after your contract begins.
Human Resources
JMU's Human Resources has a separate series of onboarding, paperwork, action items, and appointments. More detailed information is available on the HR website. HR will contact you as needed to schedule separate information sessions.
Human Resources also hosts Connections Day throughout the year for new staff and faculty. The program includes information sessions, networking opportunities, a campus tour, and a complimentary lunch.
Resources for New Faculty
Check out CFI's list of Faculty Resources, which includes offices, units, and organizations that may be worth knowing.
- HR's Employee Resource Guide is also worth perusing, for example, to discover the benefits of UREC (a free gym for faculty, students, and staff right on campus), meal plans (faculty can sign up for inexpensive cafeteria meals), and more. You can also learn the words for the JMU Fight Song.
- JMU Libraries' Faculty Services page connects you to support a range of needs, from learning about Canvas and classroom technologies to finding literature, technology, and other materials for your research to taking library workshops and getting to know your liaison librarians.
- Every Monday, you will receive CFI’s Weekly Digest email, which announces upcoming CFI programs. If you do not receive this email, please contact us at cfi@jmu.edu. View non-CFI faculty programs on the Faculty Success Hub.
- For individualized support for your teaching, scholarship, or academic career, you are invited to request a CFI consultation. JMU Libraries is also offering personalized consultations on a range of topics, including course design and instructional technologies.
- Consider signing up for the CFI Teaching Toolbox newsletter, which offers reflections and teaching tips every other Thursday.
Things to Read
Gannon, Kevin M. Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto. Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Morgantown: West Virginia University Press, 2020. (Electronic copy available through JMU Libraries.)
Haviland, Don, Anna M Ortiz, Laura Henriques, and Ann E Austin. Shaping Your Career A Guide for Early Career Faculty. Stylus, 2017. (Electronic copy available through JMU Libraries.)
Robison, Susan. The Peak Performing Professor: A Practical Guide to Productivity and Happiness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2013. (Electronic copy available through JMU Libraries.)
View current programs offered through the CFI Program event page!
