Faculty Life Cycle

The Serie Center is deeply invested in your success as a faculty member at Macalester. We recognize that “success” means different things to different people, and will also change as a function of how long you’ve been here, your position, your social locations and identities, etc. 

The information below, aimed at faculty in general and at specific groups of faculty, is designed to help you navigate key transitions during the faculty life cycle and provide you with specific resources relevant to each stage of your career. Please contact Joan Ostrove ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

General Resources for All Faculty

NCFDD

The Provost and Dean of the Faculty supports an institutional membership with NCFDD, an independent faculty development center dedicated to supporting the success of all faculty with particular focus on faculty from groups that have been historically underrepresented in the academy. All faculty at Macalester have access to the member resources, including support for writing, at no additional cost. 

To take advantage of this opportunity, you can activate your confidential, personal membership by completing the following steps:

1. Go to https://www.ncfdd.org/join
2. Choose “Macalester College” from the drop-down menu.
3. Select “Activate my Membership.”
4. Complete the registration form using your institutional email address (i.e. @macalester.edu)
5. Find the confirmation email in your Macalester email inbox. Click “Activate Account” in the email.

Strategies and recommendations for writing letters of recommendation (gdoc)

Resources for New Faculty 

New Faculty Orientation provides all newly hired faculty with important information for starting your time at Macalester. Typically held in August and January, the orientation schedule includes presentations, small group discussions, a chance to meet current students, and time for building community.

The links below will take you to specialized resources for:

• New tenure-track faculty
• New visiting faculty and post-docs

Resources for Other Groups of Faculty 

• Resources for department chairs (gdoc)
• Resources for mid-career faculty (gdoc)
• Resources for non-tenure track (NTT Series) faculty (gdoc)
• Mentoring and supporting faculty (gdoc)
• A survival guide for Black, Indigenous, and other women of color in academe (Aisha S. Ahmad in the Chronicle of Higher Education)
• Ready to be an ally for Black academics? Here’s a start (Ebony O. McGee in the Chronicle of Higher Education)

Retired Faculty Events

Each (non-pandemic) semester the Serie Center welcomes retired faculty back to campus with morning coffees or afternoon happy hours. These gatherings of old friends and colleagues highlight ongoing scholarly research by our retired colleagues or informal talks by current faculty.