Weekly Repopulation Update 5/10

Sent: May 10, 2021

From: Vincent J. Del Casino, Jr., Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear Colleagues,

I want to shift gears away from COVID repopulation issues this week, to provide a couple of other quick updates. Finals start next week, so I know everyone will be focused on finishing out the semester. 

Tenure and Tenure-Track Recruitment: SJSU is having an exceptional hiring year. In fact, we had the highest number of faculty recruitments among any of the CSU campuses, a reflection of our commitment to growth even amidst the disruptions caused by the pandemic. In fall 2020, college deans worked together and with chairs and directors to identify several hiring priority hiring areas that illustrate the theme, "the Future of California Starts Here." These areas are broad guideposts that address topics that contribute to some of our most pressing regional and national conversations: Data analytics and design thinking; ethnic studies education; health equity and health infrastructures; social robotics and human-robotic technology relations; and sustainable futures and earth systems science. With more than half of these searches successfully completed—and many more with pending offers—we are hopefully on track to have one of the most diverse incoming cohorts of faculty in SJSU history. 

Staff, Faculty, and Chair Professional Development Opportunities: Over the years, the Office of the Provost has received feedback from various constituencies that there is a need to invest in professional development. In each case, the Office of the Provost has tried to respond. We will be announcing the 2021-2022 Staff Professional Grant opportunities soon. These grants provide a mechanism for staff in the division to seek out conferences or workshops (or other key experiences) to bring fresh ideas back to SJSU. As many of you know, we are also offering professional development for faculty in the form of the SJSU Resilient Course Design Institute. This experience is a bit shorter than last year’s summer institute; it is also stretched across a longer time-frame to make it easier to manage. Participants will receive a stipend and certificate of completion. In addition, for the first time, we will be offering The Chairs Institute to sit down and assess the state of chair life (e.g., responsibilities, workload, mission creep, etc.).  We will build an agenda in collaboration with the university chairs and directors to ensure we are hitting on all the right topics.  I am looking forward to the extended conversation.

Thank you for all your hard work this year. As usual, please reach out with questions or concerns. 

Cheers!
Vin