New faculty members got a head start on their U-M teaching and research careers at the New Faculty Orientation.

They picked up tips to help them succeed in the classroom through workshop sessions presented by the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning, and learned about the university during an information fair.

“What a great career we’ve chosen,” President Mark Schlissel said Wednesday in welcoming more than 190 new faculty members during a luncheon at the Michigan League Ballroom.

Provost Martha Pollack told new faculty that after 15 years at U-M she has learned the university is filled with wonderful people, including expert faculty, smart and engaged students, and staff that provide extraordinary support.

Sindura Allareddy, clinical assistant professor of dentistry in the Department of Periodontics and Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, came from the University of Iowa to Ann Arbor two months ago. “I find a lot of culture and diversity here, people are very progressive,” she said.

Allareddy added that a CRLT Players presentation on classroom do’s and don’ts was “very wonderful.”

Some new faculty members came away with free dinosaur bones. Thirty samples, packaged in postage stamp-sized plastic squares by the Museum of Natural History, were snapped up quickly, said Amy Harris, museum director. She and Kira Berman, assistant director for education, also passed out fliers on how to seek grant proposals to support teaching.

At the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, Ho Ming Chow was a postdoctoral researcher before moving to Ann Arbor six months ago. He is a research investigator in psychiatry in the Medical School.

“In Washington, D.C., you have lots of politicians and lawyers. In Ann Arbor there is more of an academic atmosphere. You meet people from the History Department, from physics. It’s intellectually more diverse,” he said.

Shahnaz Broucek, intermittent lecturer in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, said she has considerable experience teaching adult clients in executive leadership development presentations, but not college students.

“I’m excited. It’s a younger group,” she said, adding the CRLT seminar sessions have been helpful.

Schlissel told the group that after spending his first days at Johns Hopkins University as a new faculty member in an empty lab, things changed over time. He drew students, wrote research grant proposals and began to teach.

“I found a seemingly endless number of interesting colleagues, scientifically and personally, many of whom have remained friends as the years have gone by and I moved to other institutions.” he said.

Schlissel said that on one level, his role is simply to make Michigan a place where faculty can do their best work. He said even experienced faculty can benefit from workshops on inclusive teaching strategies or teaching with technology.

“This is particularly important given our emphasis on innovation and diversity, equity and inclusion at Michigan,” he said.

U-M’s ability to thrive as a public institution continues to depend in part on the public’s appreciation of the great value that the university brings to the state of Michigan and the nation, Schlissel said. “Help the citizens that support us understand who we are, why what we do is important, and how society benefits from our efforts.”

The president also encouraged faculty to take time for themselves, to explore the arts and culture in Ann Arbor and the state’s spectacular natural beauty. “Don’t neglect your loved ones,” he added.

Pollack said Michigan supports and encourages interdisciplinary collaboration, promotes a deep commitment to social justice and diversity, and works to develop quality teaching and teaching innovation through the CRLT, Office of Digital Education & Innovation and the Third Century Initiative.

“I think if you draw on these resources — starting with your amazing faculty colleagues — you’ll succeed,” she said.

Kevin Adkins, an intermittent lecturer in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, came from private practice in Vallejo, California.

“I haven’t taught before. I’m very much looking forward to that new experience in a world class university and meeting the students it attracts as well as the faculty,” he said.

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• Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
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