Department Chair Conversation Series

The first session in our 2023-24 department chair conversation series will bring together experienced chairs from across the university to discuss their victories, challenges, transformations, and impacts on their professional lives. Designed not as a session to identify best practices but instead to provide a space for these chairs to reflect on their experiences so as to offer newer department chairs the opportunity to gain perspective from their experiences.

In this second session in our Fall 2023 – Spring 2024 Department Chair Conversation Series, we will review data as well as the processes involved in preparing dossiers for tenure and promotion. Case studies will be used to explore how chairs evaluate the performance of a faculty member. Topics will include:

• Overview of the process and timing
• Effective dossier preparation
• Leading departmental reviews
• Making difficult decisions
• Concerns regarding promotion to full professor
• Preparing the Chair’s letter
• DEI in tenure and promotion 

This session presented by members of the Division of Finance and Administration will "unpack" the university budget process, untangle the various funding sources and uses as well as discuss higher education finance. An overview of the following will be presented:

• University Governance
• Higher Education Finance
• State Education Law
• UB Resources 
• UB Annual Resource Planning Process (ARPP)

Presenters:

Jennifer Pesany Assistant Vice President, Financial Management & 

Joseph Lewandowski Director, Resource Planning

At this session, examples of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)-related developments within higher education will be discussed. Designed to be an open conversation about DEI, chairs can share their experiences and what they are seeing within their departments. Newly appointed Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence, Seval Yildirim will also share some of the efforts carried out in the DEI space from her prior experiences at other universities. In addition, recommendations from the Faculty Senate on changes to UB's promotion and tenure guidelines, which follow the recommendations of the President's Advisory Council on Race (PACOR) Implementation Committee, will be presented at the workshop.

Presenters:

Robert Granfield Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

Seval Yildirim Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence

The Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs will be offering a workshop for department chairs to review relevant policies and explore the challenges associated with understanding and responding to faculty and student misconduct.

Sharon Nolan-Weiss, Director of the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion and Christopher Putrino, Director of Employee Relations will review some of the common legal and contractual issues as well as UB policies that chairs should be familiar with when responding to conflict and misconduct within their departments. Topics to be covered will include:

• Addressing discrimination and harassment
• Title IX and sexual violence
• Workplace and classroom accommodations
• Addressing disruptive student behavior
• Bullying and disrespect
• Tenure, reappointment, and non-renewal denials 
• Professional work obligations and the disciplinary process
• Employment contracts and rights
• Faculty leave policies
• Flexible workload and more