Professional Development for Non-tenured Faculty

Maximizing Opportunities for Future Success

Yale is committed to providing the resources and guidance needed to ensure that non-tenured faculty members flourish as scholars and as members of the University community.  We encourage non-tenured faculty, as well as their departmental mentors, colleagues, and chairs, to identify opportunities for the development of scholarship, professional network-building and leadership, teaching skills, and service to the University.

Research Support and Leaves

Nothing is more important to a faculty member's professional development than time and financial support, and Yale has a leave program that is unsurpassed in its generosity.  This site’s pages describing the Junior Faculty Fellowship and Research Leave for Associate Professors provide information about University-funded time off.  In addition, faculty members are encouraged to seek outside support for their research.  Yale faculty members are paid a nine-month salary in 12 monthly installments, which means that outside grants can provide an additional three “summer ninths” of income. 

The Office of Faculty Development periodically notifies non-tenured faculty members of new research funding opportunities from foundations and other sources.  Updated information and a listing of these resources can be found on our Fellowships and Funding Opportunities page.

Networking and Leadership

We encourage all new faculty members to learn about and become engaged in departmental seminar series, and chairs should be alert to opportunities to involve non-tenured faculty, where appropriate, in planning these events.  Through this involvement, early-career faculty gain visibility in the field, come into contact with outside scholars in their areas of expertise, and exercise leadership within the departmental community.

Many other opportunities for network-building exist throughout the University and beyond.  Faculty mentors can be particularly helpful in introducing new colleagues to resources and people in the Yale community.  The Office of Faculty Development coordinates a series of social events and professional workshops each year that offers numerous occasions for new faculty to meet their colleagues and develop leadership skills.

Teaching

Colleagues—including the department chair, DUS, DGS, faculty mentors, and others—play an invaluable role in providing guidance on teaching and classroom management.  New non-tenured faculty are encouraged to seek advice about teaching, to consider visiting colleagues’ classrooms, and to invite colleagues to visit their own classes.  This informal interchange of strategies and ideas strengthens new faculty members' skills in the classroom, while also enriching and providing new perspective to the department as a whole.

Teaching evaluations provide concrete feedback that can be particularly instructive during the early years of a faculty member's career.  New faculty meet each term with the department chair to review teaching evaluations.

Yale's Graduate Teaching Center offers support both structured and informal, including workshops, online teaching modules tailored to individual skills and techniques, and one-on-one consultations by appointment.  Doctoral candidates and faculty members alike find the center to be a primary resource for developing concrete skills and new strategies for the classroom.  The Teaching Center’s website offers more information and details on how to schedule individual appointments.

Service

Service to the department and to Yale, in the form of committee work and involvement in other professional events, is an important contribution to the University but also a valuable opportunity to learn about our community and the profession.  New faculty members in particular are encouraged to discuss opportunities for service with their mentors and with the department chair.

A thoughtfully devised progression of service throughout the non-tenured years lends depth and breadth to the early stages of a faculty member's career.  For example, serving on the graduate admissions committee of the school or department is an opportunity to help select the next cohort of graduate students.  Participating in the school’s or department’s colloquium committee is an opportunity to help decide which outside scholars are invited to campus, as well as a chance to get to know them personally.  Being a member of a search committee is an opportunity to help shape the future of the school or department.  All of these service experiences offer non-tenured faculty members the chance to interact positively with their colleagues.

Because requests for committee work come from all levels of the University, only some of which may be aware of other requests, faculty members are encouraged to consult the department chair and their mentors for advice about the best allocation of their service efforts in any given year.

Additional Information:  Junior Faculty Fellowship for Assistant Professors | Research Leave for Associate Professors