UGA Accelerate

UGA Accelerate, founded in 2022, is a mentoring committee program aimed at providing early outreach and monthly meetings to select early career faculty. The program is geared toward incoming professors whose work entails significant start-up research responsibilities. These faculty receive wrap-around mentoring from an Accelerate Committee that is selected by the unit leadership of the mentee. The Office of Faculty Affairs provides professional development and support for the committee’s convener. In addition, Faculty Affairs organizes a spring event with the provost for the new hires and their committees to socialize, enrich their networks, and learn from one another.

Competencies

The following lists suggests competences that may be augmented as a mentee in this program. Both the new faculty member and committee members will choose the topics to discuss.

Faculty responsibilities and relationships

• Delineation between your previous responsibilities and the role for which you were hired at UGA
• Foundational habits for success
• Understanding role of teaching and service
• Meeting potential collaborators. Getting to know other people in department / school / college. Finding like-minded persons
• Expectations for success, both written and unwritten, in this department

Research

• Fundamentals of start up for research space, equipment, personnel, etc.
• Preparations and opportunities for internal and external funding. Key procedures, offices, and personnel
• Relevant resources and facilities, such as libraries, archives, photo services and technical support. Access to start-up funds. Ordering procedures
• Support and preparation for domestic and international field research, visits to archives, conference travel, etc.
• Management of research agenda, including prioritizing multiple projects
• Personnel management and student mentoring: Policies that apply to students (e.g., recruiting, qualifying exams, lab rotations). Hiring post-doctoral fellows and lab managers. Cultivating productive and appropriate work culture across research team
• Writing and publication habits and support. Guidance in turning dissertation into publications
• Identification of appropriate journals and presses

Service

• Defining department and university service in the context of faculty contract. Expectations related to role and time commitment
• Networking for service opportunities

Teaching

• Expectations around course level / difficulty, office hours, student workload, graduate assistant roles and more
• Connecting with Center for Teaching and Learning
• Addressing student concerns
• Resources for adapting to new technologies

Evaluation Processes

• Expectations around annual, third year, and tenure reviews
• Documenting effectiveness for dossiers

Work/Life Integration

• Policies and resources for work-life balance
• Resources for children, families, and dual-career partners
• Disability accommodations
• Time and project management

Audience and Selection Process

Each spring, the Office of Faculty Affairs reaches out to invite academic leaders to form UGA Accelerate committees for incoming faculty who were part of the Presidential Hiring Initiative or whose work entails significant start-up research responsibilities.

Committees offer multiple perspectives regarding success at the university. This group enables the new faculty to begin their careers with a cohort of knowledgeable mentors brought together to support their unique professional identity. We recommend this structure for committees:

• New faculty member
• Department chair (or appropriate unit head)
• Senior faculty member with related interests from within the department
• Senior faculty member with related interests from outside the department
• Senior faculty member who moderates the meeting (Convener)

Calendar

All Accelerate Committee conveners are invited to the kickoff event in July. Registration information and additional details about this session will be sent to conveners over the summer via email. The Accelerate Committee exists for 10 months, August to May, of the assistant professor’s first year.

Further Information

When do new faculty find out if and when they will get an Accelerate Committee? If an Accelerate Committee is created, a convener will contact the new faculty member with information about the committee prior to or soon after the contract start date. After this contact, the convener will arrange a time to speak to the faculty member and provide information about transitioning to the university. The convener will also begin coordinating the scheduling of the first committee meeting. This meeting typically takes place during the mentee’s first month at UGA.

What benefits do new faculty derive from this program? The Accelerate Committee ensures monthly support by senior faculty and consistent access to the department head throughout the new faculty member’s first year. This regularity enables a new faculty member to begin their career at UGA more quickly and smoothly.

What if I have questions about the Accelerate Program and Accelerate Committees? Please contact the Office of Faculty Affairs at [email protected] with your questions.