Overview of the program: UC Davis ADVANCE Program Mentorship & Networking Initiative UC Davis NEW FACULTY NETWORK MANAGEMENT PLAN Background The UCD New Faculty Network (UCD-NFN) was started in 2006 by Magali Billen when she was a third year assistant professor in the Department of Geology (now the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences). The vision for this network was a simple e-mail listserv that would connect faculty who had recently arrived on campus to create both a social and professional network. Since its inception the UCD-NFN has been a great social network that has prompted the formation of many friendships between faculty from across campus, but it has also been a place for faculty to initiate collaborations, learn about resources on campus, and learn about the university in a fun, informal setting. The success of the network has been the fact that it is run by new faculty and not by the university. Therefore, to ensure the success and longevity of this network, it is essential that the network continue to be organized by UCD- NFN faculty representatives who will organize the Happy Hours, the welcomes event and interface with ADVANCE support staff (or in the future beyond ADVANCE whatever office takes over the successful programs supported by ADVANCE). The UC Davis ADVANCE program will provide behind-the-scenes support. Network Structure The UCD-NFN is created through a listserv, ucdnfn@ucdavis.edu, that is updated annually and that is used to advertise the network activities. Note that the listserv may be used by any member to organize and announce additional activities. Network Activities The primary activities of the UCD-NFN include a Fall Welcome event and a monthly Happy Hour. Note that any member of the UCD-NFN may organize and announce other activities through the listserv. Fall Welcome: An informal welcome and mixer event in early/mid September that is held at a bar/restaurant in downtown Davis. Expected attendance its 70-100 people, including existing members of the UCD-NFN and newly hired faculty. Happy Hours: The monthly UCD-NFN Happy Hours are organized by 1-2 faculty members who volunteer to oversee the Happy Hours for one academic year. The Happy Hours are held at a bar/restaurant in downtown Davis. Expected attendance is 10-30 faculty at each event, including some regulars and some new faces each time. Brief description of program management/administration individuals/groups and their responsibilities: UC Davis ADVANCE Associate Director Kim Shauman The member of the ADVANCE program leadership who will take primary responsibility for communicating with the UCD-NFN faculty organizers and Magali Billen, and for shepherding this program by representing it in ADVANCE program leadership meetings and coordinating the staff support, funding, and event planning necessary for its success. UCD-NFN (New Faculty Network) Faculty Representatives Two faculty members who volunteer to organize the Happy Hours and to direct and/or consult with the UC Davis ADVANCE program staff on the organization of the Fall Welcome Reception. Responsibilities for organizing the Happy Hours include: - identify the location of the Happy Hour and communicate this to the UC Davis ADVANCE Program assistant. - e-mail the listserv to announce the Happy hour date/time/location and send reminders. - arrive at the start of the Happy Hour (around 5pm) to welcome new faculty, and stay until around 8pm. Notes: o Past organizers have been Magali Billen (EPS), Donna Shestowksy (Law) and Ina Simonovska (Economics). o Ina Simonovska (Economics) is currently (2014) organizing the Happy Hours and will continue through September 2014 to help with the Fall Welcome Reception.
UCD-NFN (New Faculty Network) Faculty Advisor Magali Billen, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and founder of the UCD-NFN will be consulted about event planning (especially for the Fall Welcome Event), process, evaluation results, etc. UC Davis ADVANCE Program Assistant The UC Davis ADVANCE Program Assistant will help with all scheduling, communications and event planning necessary for the success of this program. This will include: - Maintain listserv, i.e., respond to add/remove requests on the listserv. o For add requests, this requires verifying that the person subscribing to the list is UC Davis faculty. This is easily done by searching on their e-mail address on the UC Davis web-page and checking their title. - Maintain basic informational web-page with up-to-date contact information (see Appendix 1 for draft of webpage text and lay-out). - Work with UCD-NFN Faculty representative(s) to update welcome flyer - Send the updated flyer to appropriate e-mail lists, print and send to VPAA to include in faculty welcome info. - Coordinate the ADVANCE-Sponsored Fall Welcome Reception with the UCD-NFN Faculty representative(s). - Collect activity/output measures for the evaluation of the program Funding: This program requires $2000-3000 per year to cover the cost of drinks and appetizers at the Fall Welcome event that will be held at a bar/restaurant in downtown Davis. Expected attendance its 70-100 people (cost per person is less than $30). Timeline: (PA = UC Davis ADVANCE Program Assistant, FR = UCD-NFN Faculty Representative) Ongoing: - Update the UCD-NFN listserv based on add/remove requests. [PA] Annually in summer: - Early summer: Contact the office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs (VPAA), to get information about the timing of the New Faculty Orientation events. [PA] - Plan the New Faculty Welcome Reception at a bar/restaurant in downtown Davis. [FR & PA] - Ask the VPAA to forward an e-mail to the new faculty (the same list of emails they use for their New Faculty Orientations/Workshops) in late summer (usually August, before the welcome event, but after the date/time/location has been planned) introducing the network, telling faculty how to subscribe and announcing the welcome event and the first Happy Hour (see example provided in Appendix 2). [FR & PA] - Update the UCD-NFN listserv based on responses to the introductory email. [PA] - In August (timing depends on the schedule for the VPAA New Faculty Orientation events) make a flyer to include in the new faculty welcome packets distributed by the VPAA at the new faculty orientation: o draft the flyer and gain approval of the format (See Appendix 3 for example) [FR & PA] o make the appropriate number of copies and deliver to the VPAA office for inclusion in the folders [PA] Monthly: - Communicate with the UCD-NFN Faculty representative(s) about the date, time and location of the upcoming Happy Hour. [PA] - Maintain the UCD-NFN web-page with up-to-date contact and event information. [PA] - Send an e-mail to the listserv a few weeks in advance of the monthly Happy Hour to announce the date, time and location of the upcoming Happy Hour. [FR] - Send a reminder email 1 week before the Happy Hour. [FR] - Send a reminder email 1 day before the Happy Hour. [FR] Evaluation of program impact: <<<Need to add this section>>>
APPENDICES: 1. Text of the UCD-NFN Webpage 2. Text of the Welcome E-mail Forwarded by the VPAA 3. Example UCD-NFN flyer to be included in the VPAA New Faculty Orientation packets
APPENDIX 1: Text of the UCD-NFN Webpage Happy Hour/Welcome Event Organizers for 2014 The current organizer for the New Faculty Network is Ina Simonovska (Economics). Look for her e-mails about upcoming events. A little history... The UCD New Faculty Network is a group of newish faculty (meaning arrived at Davis in the last 5-10 years and still like to hang out with young, fun and often stressed-out assistant professors) that were looking for a way to get to know other new faculty around campus. The UCD-NFN started in October, 2006, with a short stint as a wiki-page and about 80 new faculty signing up. It then transformed into a list-proc (e-mail list) when it became clear that we all depend on e-mail to remind us of both the things we have to and the things we want to do (like meeting other new faculty). The network, with over 150 subscribers, is kept connected through a list-proc that any faculty member can subscribe to. The listproc e-mail is ucdnfn at ucdavis.edu. Using the e-mail list The list-proc is used to engage other new faculty in social events (hiking, book club, happy hour, skiing, etc...). These informal, social gatherings are a great way to learn about how UC Davis really works, how different people navigate the tenure process, etc..., or to even make connections with people that lead to collaborations on research. Many, long-term friendships have started over drinks at a Happy Hour. Subscribing to the e-mail list Option 1: Go to: http://lists.ucdavis.edu/sympa/home Log in (kerberos) Use Search Lists and enter: ucdnfn Follow the instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe Option 2: TO SUBSCRIBE: Compose an e-mail to sympa@ucdavis.edu In the subject line type: subscribe ucdnfn FIRSTNAME LASTNAME (replace FIRSTNAME LASTNAME with your names) Leave the body of the message blank. TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Compose an e-mail to sympa@ucdavis.edu In the subject line type: unsubscribe ucdnfn Leave the body of the message blank. Please be respectful of people's overfull e-mail boxes. 1. If you posting an activity, always include your e-mail address, and state in the message that people who are interested or have questions should respond directly to you and not to the whole list. 2. If you are responding to a posting, make sure to respond to the sender of the posting and not the whole list.
APPENDIX 2: Text of the Welcome E-mail Forwarded by the VPAA This is provided as an example, the organizers are welcome to edit this to their own liking. Dear New/Recent UCD Faculty, I am [We are] writing to tell you about the UCD New Faculty Network (UCD-NFN), an informal way for new faculty to meet other new-ish faculty from all across campus. Magali Billen (Earth & Planetary Sciences) started this network back in 2006 after being here for several years and realizing that she still knew almost no one from outside her department, and heard from friends at other universities that they also found it difficult to meet their peers. The network is kept connected by an e-mail listserv (ucdnfn@ucdavis.edu) with over 150 subscribers every year since the network was started. The listserv can be used to organize events with other new faculty. The main activity of the network is the Monthly Happy Hours, which attract 15-45 faculty from all over campus each month (e.g., geology, physics, philosophy, education, vet school, anthropology, the law school, plant science, ecology, biology, techno-cultural studies, genetics, the med school...). These happy hours have been a great way for new faculty to make friends, but they've also been a great way to learn about other departments and how the university works as whole. Many, many, long-term friendships have started over a drink at a UCD-NFN Happy Hour. This year I am [We are] co-organizing the Welcome Event (see below) and the Monthly Happy Hours. But all of you are strongly encouraged to use the e-mail list to plan additional events on your own initiative - we'd love that! In addition to the monthly happy hours, there have been hikes to the coast and to the Sierras, parties at faculty members' homes, wine tasting trips to Amador county, and groups attending performances at the Mondavi Center or the Second Saturday Artwalk in Sacramento. These activities provide a strong sense of community among new faculty, almost all of whom have come from elsewhere in the country (or the world) to a new town, new department and new university. For more information on the UCD New Faculty Network, how to subscribe to the e-mail listserv see [PUT IN NEW WEB-PAGE LINK}. We hope to see you at one of the upcoming events listed below. Sincerely, XXX (Department) XXX (Department) Upcoming Events: Welcome Event Day: Time: Place: Happy Hour: Day: Time: Place:
APPENDIX 3: Example UCD-NFN flyer to be included in the VPAA New Faculty Orientation packets