Faculty Development Core

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CORE SUMMARY – FACULTY DEVELOPMENT CORE The Faculty Initiative for Improved Recruitment, Retention & Experience (FIIRRE) Faculty Development Core (FDC) has the overarching goal of meeting the career and professional development, training and mentoring needs of a cluster hire of ten new tenure-track Assistant Professors who are committed to health disparities and equity research. The FDC is central to the broader goals of FIIRRE to develop and implement institutional programs and policies that promote inclusive excellence and dismantle barriers to academic career advancement of faculty from diverse backgrounds. FDC activities will be centered around the following Specific Aims: (1) Establish and implement a faculty mentoring and professional development program to enhance academic advancement and retain minoritized faculty. As part of a multi-mentor network, new faculty hires will be matched to two peer mentors, one senior sponsor, and two other senior mentors, at least one of whom is a member of a minoritized group. The FDC will coordinate access to both newly developed and existing professional development trainings and workshops aimed at enhancing mentoring relationships, research productivity, work-life integration, and tenure and promotion; (2) Develop and implement an institution-wide education program for senior faculty and unit leadership (Chairs, Deans, Center Directors) to foster a culture of inclusive excellence. Unit leadership will strengthen their strategic diversity leadership capacities through participating in a collective leadership development initiative that will include personal pledges to advocate for inclusivity at all levels at the University of South Carolina, hosting roundtable discussions to translate inclusive principles into leadership, and integrating best practices into each Unit’s search committees and tenure and promotion processes; (3) Reduce isolation, build an inclusive and supportive community, and develop an institution-wide consortium of faculty with health disparities and equity research interests. The newly established consortium will serve as a coordinating body for cross-disciplinary health disparities scholarship. It will host opportunities for scientific networking, enhancement of leadership skills, and provide a vehicle for collaboration, nurture research capacities of promising early-career faculty, and create a multidisciplinary climate that is responsive to funding agency and societal priorities. It is expected that Consortium members could become co-investigators, co-authors, and consultants on scholarly investigations and other works. The FDC will work closely with the Administrative and Evaluation Cores to coordinate shared activities and ensure the monitoring of our progress toward meeting the specific aims as well as the development of skills and career progress of mentees and mentors. We anticipate the FDC will produce promising outcomes from our innovative mentoring and professional development offerings and will work closely with our University leadership to integrate our collective learning and best practices for the benefit of our University community.