July 21, 2017

Dear New Faculty Member,

Welcome to the University of Michigan–Flint! The Office of the Provost and the Thompson Center

for Learning and Teaching (TCLT) invite you to participate in an array of activities designed to

welcome and help acclimate you to faculty life at UM-Flint.

New Faculty Orientation – open to all incoming faculty (additional information attached)

Tuesday, August 29, 2017 – 8:30 am – 2:15 pm, TCLT, 134 Thompson Library.

Registration and continental breakfast will be available 8:30-9:00 am. Parking permits and university ID cards (Mcard) will be provided also during this time. Lunch will be provided.

Flint Bus Tour will follow 2:30-4:00 pm. The tour will provide insight into the strengths and

challenges of the city and highlight possibilities for engagement. An overview of the services

and support available through University Outreach will be shared.

Human Resource Benefit Orientation Sessions – all new faculty with an appointment of 50% or

greater are required to participate in one of the following sessions (additional information enclosed).

Monday, August 28, 1:00 – 3:30 pm, TCLT, 134 Thompson Library

Wednesday, August 30, 9:30 am – 12:00 pm, TCLT, 134 Thompson Library

Annual Workshop and Academic Affairs Convocation – open to all faculty and staff.

Thursday, August 31, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm, Happenings Room, UCEN –

Annual Pre-Convocation Workshop, Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science

of Learning. Continental breakfast available at 8:30 am. Lunch provided.

Thursday, August 31, 2:00 – 4:00 pm, University Theatre, 238 French Hall –

Academic Affairs Convocation. Light refreshments available at 1:30 pm.

Registration for all events is required and appreciated prior to August 24, 2017. Registration is

available online at go.umflint.edu/nfo or by phone at (810) 237-6508.

Please review the additional materials enclosed. Directions to campus can be accessed using the

interactive campus map available online at www.umflint.edu/maps/. You can also find additional

information about our campus, community, and resources to support your work through the online

resource guide located at www.umflint.edu/facultyguide.

We look forward to personally welcoming you as we help you launch what we hope will be a long

and rewarding career at the University of Michigan–Flint.

Best wishes,

Tracy Wacker

Director

303 E. Kearsley Street, 134 Thompson Library, Flint, MI 48502 ~ 810-237-6508 ~ www.umflint.edu/tclt

University of Michigan-Flint New Faculty Orientation

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

TCLT Seminar Room, 134 Thompson Library (1st floor)

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

8:30 – 9:00 am Registration

Faculty will have the opportunity to obtain their university identification card (Mcard) and parking permit at this time.

9:00 am - noon Orientation

An overview of the resources available to advance faculty success will be shared.

12:00 – 1:00 pm Lunch

~ Following lunch faculty are invited to attend one of the following workshops ~

1:15 – 2:15 pm Blackboard Basics Facilitated by the Office of Extended Learning Staff

Description: Overview and tips for maximizing the use of UM-Flint’s content management system will be shared.

OR

The Syllabus Autopsy: Effective Syllabus Design Facilitated by Tracy Wacker, Director, TCLT

Description: Does your syllabus convey all of the information it should? Are you explicit in your descriptions and instructions? Bring you fall syllabus to this session and we will

work in teams to assess our syllabi in a congenial and constructive environment.

2:30 – 4:00 pm Flint Bus Tour

Hosted by University Outreach

Description: The tour will provide insight into the strengths and challenges of the city and highlight possibilities for engagement. An overview of the services and support available through University Outreach will be shared.

Human Resources

Benefit Orientation Fall 2017 ________________________________

Welcome to the University of Michigan-Flint! My goal is to provide information to you

that will assist you in choosing the benefits which will best suit you and your family’s

needs.

Orientations:

Orientations are required for regular faculty and staff at the University of Michigan-Flint.

For the fall 2017 semester, the new faculty Human Resources and Benefit Orientations

are scheduled for:

Monday, August 28, 1:00pm – 3:30pm, Thompson Center for Learning &

Teaching Conference Room, 134 Thompson Library (First Floor Library – enter

through 3rd floor)

Wednesday, August 30, 9:30am – 12:00pm, Thompson Center for Learning &

Teaching Conference Room, 134 Thompson Library (First Floor Library – enter

through 3rd floor)

Benefits Eligibility:

Generally, you must have an appointment fraction of at least 50% with a funding period

of four months or longer to be eligible for benefits. If you have health coverage through

another employer or through a spouse/partner, you will need to waive out of health

insurance, or you can pick a plan through the university, as well, and have dual coverage.

Deadlines for Enrollment in Benefits:

If you are new to the university or have become newly eligible for benefits, you will be

able to elect and submit your benefits electronically. You will receive an email from the

Ann Arbor Benefits Office and from our office when all of your job information is on-

line and your benefits are open for your election. Please wait until after you have come

to the Benefits Orientation before making your elections. It is important that you submit

your benefit elections electronically within 30 days following your hire date. Changes in

family status, consistent with IRS commercial transfer regulations, will justify a mid-year

change in your benefit enrollment status at U of M.

Effective Date of Benefits:

The effective date of coverage for benefits will be your official hire date. For example:

Fall 2017 eligibility begins on September 1st. Depending on when you make your benefit

elections, it may be necessary to process benefits retroactively to your eligibility date.

Once you’ve made your benefit elections in the university system, it takes approximately

a week or so for the information to be transmitted to the vendors, at which time they will

be able to verify benefit coverage and provide contract information.

Where to Find Your 2017 Benefits Information:

You will receive information during your new hire orientation, and you can also view

benefits at www.umich.edu/~benefits. When you open the website click on:

Benefits and Wellness

Benefits Enrollment & Eligibility

New Employee Benefits Information

Your Benefits 2017 for Benefit Plan Information

If you do not have access to a computer, you can request a paper copy of the above

information as it appears on the Web by calling our office at (810) 762-3150.

Help and Other Information:

For consultation on benefits please call me at (810) 766-6658 or by e-mail at

karthur@umflint.edu. You can also visit our web page at http://www.umflint.edu/hr.

On behalf of Human Resources, I wish you a very fulfilling career at the University of

Michigan-Flint!

Karen M. Arthur

Benefits Coordinator

Office of Human Resources

213 University Pavilion

Phone: (810) 766-6658

Fax: (810) 766-6711

Please note:

In completing the new hire process you are required to complete Section 1 of the I-9

Employment Eligibility Form. To begin this process you will need to complete the

Faculty Personnel Record and the Supplemental Appointment Information Form, which

were included with your offer letter. Once these forms have been turned in to our office,

you will receive an email regarding additional steps to complete the I-9 process.

Returning the completed paperwork before your hire date will result in you receiving

earlier notification of your benefit package eligibility and provide more time for your

review prior to the start of your appointment. This will also give you system access in a

timely manner.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017The Office of the Provost and Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching (TCLT) invite you to the

University of Michigan-Flint’s annual Pre-Convocation Workshop and the 2017 Fall Convocation

SMALL TEACHING: FROM MINOR CHANGES TO MAJOR LEARNING

HAPPENINGS ROOM, UCENRegistration and Continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. • Program 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon

Lunch provided following the workshop

Please register online at: go.umflint.edu/preconvo or by phone at (810) 237-6508Research from the learning sciences and from a variety of educational settings suggests that a small number of key principles can improve learning in almost any type of college or university course, from traditional lectures to flipped classrooms. This workshop will introduce some of those principles, offer practical suggestions for how they might foster positive change in higher education teaching and learning, and guide faculty participants to consider how these principles might manifest themselves in their current and upcoming courses.

Presenter James M. Lang is a Professor of English and the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption College in Worcester, MA. He is the author of five books, the most recent of which are Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning (Jossey-Bass, 2016) Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty (Harvard University Press, 2013), and On Course: A Week-by-Week Guide to Your First Semester of College Teaching (Harvard UP, 2008). Lang writes a monthly column on teaching and learning for The Chronicle of Higher Education. He has conducted workshops on teaching for faculty at more than seventy-five colleges or universities in the US and abroad. He has a BA in English and Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, an MA in English from St. Louis University, and a Ph.D. in English from Northwestern University.

2017 FALL CONVOCATION1:30 p.m. Refreshments ~ University Theatre Atrium

2:00 p.m. Program ~ University Theatre

UNIVERSITY SPONSORED FACULTY AWARDS

MAUREEN TIPPEN, Clinical Assistant Professor of NursingDistinguished Service Award

HIBA WEHBE-ALAMAH, Associate Professor of NursingScholarly or Creative Achievement Award

QUAMRUL MAZUMDER, Associate Professor of Mechanical EngineeringTeaching Excellence Award

JESSICA KELTS, Associate Professor of Chemistry and BiochemistryLawrence D. Kugler Academic Advisor Excellence Award

SEUNG-JIN LEE, Assistant Professor of Mechanical EngineeringDr. Lois Matz Rosen Junior Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award

SHELLEY SPIVACK, Lecturer of Criminal JusticeDorothea E. Wyatt Award

MARK ALLISON, Assistant Professor of Computer ScienceAlvin D. Loving Junior Faculty Initiative Award

JENNIFER BLACKWOOD, Assistant Professor of Physical TherapyLucinda Hinsdale Stone Junior Faculty Award

HEATHER DAWSON, Associate Professor of BiologyLucinda Hinsdale Stone Senior Faculty Award

MICHAEL MCCARTHY, Lecturer of Quantitative Methods, Finance & Accounting 2017-18 Collegiate Lecturer Award

Provost Teaching Innovation Prize RecipientsJENNIFER BLACKWOOD

EMMA DAVISLISA LAPEYROUSE

JOSHUA MAYCHARLOTTE TANG

TOM WROBEL

We look forward to your participation in welcoming our new faculty and supporting those colleagues who are being honored for a faculty award, service award, or achieving promotion and/or tenure!