Supporting faculty amid uncertainty: A conversation with Michele Moses

Ka Yong Kleiner — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 15:03:41 +0000

Supporting faculty amid uncertainty: A conversation with Michele Moses Ka Yong Kleiner Wed, 03/26/2025 - 09:03

Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Michele Moses has led the Office of Faculty Affairs (OFA) for the past five years, guiding efforts to enhance faculty development opportunities, fostering cross-campus collaboration, and adopting a more supportive and consultative approach in its operations. Under her leadership, OFA has prioritized faculty support, created new leadership pathways, and engaged with faculty and academic leaders to understand and address their concerns.

Looking ahead, the office remains focused on advancing faculty success and refining OFA's services to meet evolving needs. Below, Moses shares insights on these priorities and OFA’s role in advocating for faculty and enhancing their experience at ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ.

As the federal landscape shifts, what challenges and opportunities do you anticipate for faculty and how is OFA preparing to address them?

This is an uncertain and unsettling time for our faculty, to be sure. Faculty are navigating a range of complex challenges, from supporting students who may feel vulnerable to balancing their own ethical commitments while ensuring they foster inclusive conversations in the classroom. From OFA’s perspective, we’re especially aware of the growing number of faculty who are struggling to secure funding and access the data they need for their research. Many are also navigating an unpredictable sociopolitical climate where their scholarly areas—such as climate change, diversity and equity, gender identities, or environmental justice—are coming under increased scrutiny. These challenges, in turn, can affect how faculty approach their career progression and promotion opportunities.

OFA has been collaborating with colleagues at other universities to share ideas and develop strategies to better support faculty. One key step we’ve taken is introducing an optional “Work Impact Statement” in promotion and tenure documents. This gives faculty a chance to explain how shifts in the federal landscape—such as limited funding or research restrictions—are affecting their work. By including this option, we’re helping promotion and tenure evaluation committees better understand the context in which faculty are pursuing their research and creative work.

We also continue to provide faculty with the support and resources they need to thrive. We’re offering workshops, individualized guidance, and building communities where faculty can exchange ideas and strategies. Our goal is to help faculty feel confident as they navigate these complexities, and faculty should feel welcome to reach out to OFA at any time.

How is OFA helping to protect faculty academic freedom and providing the support faculty need to thrive in their teaching, research and creative work?

Academic freedom is a core pillar of our academic mission, and we understand how essential it is for faculty to engage with diverse ideas and express their views without fear of reprisal or censorship. It's equally important for our ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ community to have a shared understanding of what academic freedom means—what it is, how it applies to our faculty and students, and what our rights and responsibilities are.

To support this, we’re focused on providing more education around the importance of academic freedom. This includes collaborating with the Chancellor’s Office and campus shared governance groups to co-sponsor events about federal governance and academic freedom. These events allow faculty and the ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ community to engage with experts, ask important questions and explore how changing policies may impact their academic work and personal lives. I especially encourage our ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ community members to join us in a conversation on April 15 on academic freedom.

It’s important that we stay grounded in our governing principles, including CU Regent Law, which codifies the right to academic freedom and ensures that our faculty (and students) have a solid foundation for their academic rights, particularly in the face of external pressures or shifts in the political landscape.

Faculty development has been a major focus during your tenure. What are your top priorities for strengthening faculty success and fostering a sense of community across ��ý�Ļ��Ʒ’s diverse faculty?

We’re actively refining our current faculty development offerings into a more coherent and coordinated suite of programs across the faculty career lifecycle. This means tailoring initiatives for different stages of a faculty member's career, starting with developing resources for prospective faculty, providing more unified early-career support, and building on our current mentoring and leadership programs. We plan to place a stronger emphasis on addressing timely topics through workshops and events that respond to the current challenges and opportunities faculty members and academic leaders face, ensuring our offerings stay relevant and impactful.

We also continue to bring in faculty directors and fellows into OFA to lead our programming, giving faculty a key role in shaping initiatives and supporting each other. This creates more leadership opportunities, allowing faculty to influence decisions and help build a stronger, more collaborative community on campus.

Ultimately, OFA’s goal is to help create a campus culture where faculty feel valued, supported and seen. We want faculty to know that we are working to protect and advocate for their interests.

Off

Traditional

White

Faculty Affairs focused on fostering a stronger faculty community

Ka Yong Kleiner — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 15:28:22 +0000

Faculty Affairs focused on fostering a stronger faculty community Ka Yong Kleiner Thu, 10/12/2023 - 09:28

The Office of Faculty Affairs continues to enhance faculty development offerings this year with a special focus on building community among various faculty populations within the university. From writing circles to women+ faculty socials, there’s something for everyone to engage in.

Why it matters:

Faculty members who are part of a supportive community in a positive work environment are more likely to report higher job satisfaction and lower burnout rates.
Close-knit faculty communities lead to increased collaboration, higher productivity, and better student outcomes.

Mark your calendars:

International Faculty: Join us at a luncheon on Nov. 15 to meet peers from across campus and discuss issues of interest to our community.
Faculty of Color: The annual welcome and recognition celebration event organized in collaboration with the Faculty of Color & Friends Affinity Group will be held Oct. 27. Email for more information.
Women+ Faculty: Meet other women+ faculty at the Dec. 1 fall luncheon.
Faculty SPACE: Interested in no-agenda meetups? Faculty SPACE is held monthly with events this fall on Nov. 9 and Dec. 6.

Driving the news:

��ý�Ļ��Ʒ was recently selected as one of eight public research universities to participate in an APLU-led initiative aimed at identifying growth opportunities around faculty recruitment, hiring, retention, and culture.

Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Michele Moses leads this effort, in close partnership with leaders from the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering and Applied Science, Research and Innovation Office, and the institutional research team from the Office of Data Analytics.

“Through our participation in the APLU’s Aspire Alliance Institutional Change Network, we hope to better understand and create campus conditions that nurture a sense of belonging and support among our faculty, especially those who have been underrepresented in their fields and on campus,” Moses said.

Off