Academic Affairs


Information for New Faculty—
Updated for 2009-10
(updated Nov 11, 2009)

Welcome to the Clark University community. This site offers basic information for new faculty members that we hope will be helpful as you begin your career at Clark. While not meant to be comprehensive, the following items provide some guidance about dates, policies, and resources here. Please feel free to contact me, Deb Brenner, in the Provost's Office (or x7766) if you have questions or concerns. We look forward to getting to know each of you over the course of the year.

As promised, here is the photo I took of you all at Tower Hill on Monday, August 24, 2009.  I think it came out beautifully, if I may say so myself.   

 

Information to Help Get you Started:

Support Once You've Arrived:

Key Dates:

Important Information for All Faculty:


Other Useful Intra-Clark Links

Clark Hallmarks:


Student Support Services:

New Faculty Orientation Schedule -

Prior to the beginning of the academic year we will hold a day-long orientation for all new tenure-track faculty.  Thereafter meetings will be approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes in length and scheduled once per month, according to your collective availability.

Prior to the beginning of the academic year, we will hold a day-long orientation for all new tenure-track faculty.  This will take place on Monday, August 24, 2009 at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens in Boylston, MA, which is 15-20 minutes from Worcester. We will begin with a light breakfast and break for lunch.  President Bassett will be there to welcome you along with the academic administration and the Chair of the Faculty (Kristen Williams, Associate Professor of Government).  The agenda for last year (we haven't finalized this year's agenda yet) included talking with you about the university mission, Clark undergraduates and the undergraduate curriculum, Clark as a graduate and research institution, faculty governance, and becoming an effective faculty member. Also, we will take time for walking through the beautiful gardens there.  Check out the Tower Hill link above for directions.  If anyone needs a ride, please contact Deb Brenner.

In recent years we have held a second day-long orientation focusing specifically on teaching topics, but the person who ran those sessions recently left Clark, and I don't know at this point what the plans are for this. Check here for updates.

During the academic year monthly orientation meetings of approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes in length will be scheduled.  During the fall semester these meetings will be held on Fridays, 10-11:15, as follows:  

  • October 9, in the Persky Room, second floor of the UC:  "Everything you really wanted to know about being a Clark faculty member," with a panel of new faculty from recent years;
  • November 6, in the Persky Room:  "Student Life," with Denise Darrigrand, Dean of Students;
  • December 4, in Goddard Library, Prouty Seminar Room 402: Introduction to Goddard Library and Instructional Services" with Goddard Library instructional staff. 
Spring dates, times and topics TBA soon!

Childcare possibilities -

Many new faculty arrive in Worcester with small children, and questions about child care often come up.  As a new addition to this website we've decided to include some information -- not comprehensive information -- on quality child care in the local area ("local area" broadly defined). 

The following are child care providers that other faculty (those who've been at Clark for a year or two or three) have been happy with.  Note that we are not endorsing one center over any other; rather these are the places with which we've had positive experiences. 

Worcester Jewish Community Center (JCC)
First Friends (in Worcester)
Skribbles (in Northboro, where Shrewsbury, Northboro and Westboro meet)
Shrewsbury Montessori School
Guild of St. Agnes (Worcester and other locations)

The Clark OneCard -

The Clark OneCard is your multipurpose Clark ID card. You will need it to access the library and the Kneller Athletic Center, for examples. You will need to have a photo taken (22 Downing St., 2nd floor) to initiate the process, and for this you should email the ID card office or call x7109 to set up a time.  There are regular hours for taking student ID photos and you can always drop in during these times but you risk waiting on line.  The OneCard webpage is http://www.clarku.edu/offices/id/.

Moving Expenses -

If moving expenses are awarded, the maximum amount is specified in the new faculty member's contract letter. These can be handled as reimbursements, or as direct pay to moving companies.  Reimbursements are processed as quickly as possible so that you are paying out-of-pocket for the shortest possible time.

The process for handling moving expenses has become more complicated in recent years.  First of all, there are two types of guidelines you need to be aware of:

  1. Guidelines for what Clark considers to be reimbursable moving expenses.  To date these are unwritten (my summer project), so if you have a question, just ask me, Deb Brenner or at x7766.  Generally speaking we use a broad definition for "moving expenses."  To give you some examples, reimbursable expenses might include moving company costs, packing expenses, storage costs, or trips to Worcester to look for housing.  Expenses we would not consider reimbursable are lawyers or realtor fees, points paid for purchasing a house, or penalties incurred due to breaking a lease in order to move to Worcester.
  2. IRS Guidelines on taxability.  These are not related to the Clark guidelines above.  For example, while Clark will reimburse the cost of traveling to Worcester to look for housing, only the actual move to Clark is considered not taxable by the IRS. For these IRS guidelines and the form you need to fill out to request reimbursement, click here.

In order to be reimbursed, you will need to submit to me, in hard copy, the Moving Expense Reimbursement Request form which is included with the IRS guidelines mentioned above. As noted on the form, you will need to attach proof of payment such as an invoice clearly marked PAID or proof of payment such as an original credit card statement.  If you have not yet started working here and have not yet gone through the I9 process with Human Resources, then you will need also to complete and submit a W4 form. Please fill out the form on line, then print it, sign it, and submit it with the reimbursement request form.  Please send both to:

Deb Brenner
Provost's Office
Clark University
950 Main Street
Worcester, MA   01610

If you need to receive reimbursement earlier than your employment start date (we then need to treat this reimbursement as an advance) OR you need Clark to pay a moving company up front, there's another form you need to fill out, called Moving-Relocation Advance. 

Note that everyone with moving expenses must fill out the Moving Expense Reimbursement Form noted above, whether or not you need the Moving-Relocation Advance.

I know this can be confusing!  Much of this is new to us, too.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Start-up funds -

Some faculty, especially those in the sciences, are awarded start-up funds, the amount of which is designated in the appointment letter. Please contact Deb Brenner to discuss how to access these funds.

Computer Hardware and Software Support -

The majority of your contact with ITS will probably be with one of two groups in ITS: Academic Technology Services or Desktop Support Services. Academic Technology Services is responsible for exploration, development and dissemination of technology-based solutions in support of the teaching, learning, presentation and communication needs of faculty and students. This includes support of Clark's course management system, CICADA. The ATS team actively partners with faculty, staff and students in imagining ways that we might use technology to meet academic goals. Examples of our partnerships include:

  • consulting with faculty regarding existing technologies and their implementation to solve pedagogical challenges;
  • developing applications, learning modules, videos and web sites to support curricular needs;
  • exploring current and emerging technology tools and considering how they might be used at Clark;
  • communicating with faculty, staff and students about technology tools and/or teaching/learning trends;
  • conducting training sessions with students and/or faculty.

More information about what we do is available at http://www.clarku.edu/offices/its/academictechnology.

You will also have contact with the Desktop Support Services team.  Justin Brooks, the Manager for Desktop Support Services, will be writing you if he hasn't already, with your Clark account credentials and email addresses.  He'll also be working with you to acquire your Clark-provided computer equipment. The Desktop Support Services team is responsible for support services (via the ITS Help Desk), installation and maintenance of desktop software and hardware, operation of public computer labs, and break-fix support for University-owned computer equipment. 

So when you need it, how do you get support?

The short answer is that no matter who you contact, we should be able to get you connected with the "right" person. That said, your best starting points are as follows:

  • When you have an issue with your username/password, your Clark computing equipment, or have software questions, you should call, email or visit the Help Desk and work with the Desktop Support Services group. (Carlson Hall 019, helpdesk@clarku.edu, 508-793-7745).
  • As you consider the integration of technology and the teaching/learning/research environments you create, you need support with CICADA, or have questions about curriculum-oriented software, you should contact the Academic Technologist assigned to your department, or me.  The departmental assignments are:

Casey Quinn (508.793.7214), cquinn@clarku.edu :
Education, English, Foreign Languages, History, Government, V&PA

Michael Krikonis (508.793.8807), mkrikonis@clarku.edu :
Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Math/Computer Science; GSOM; Psychology, COPACE

Cheryl Turner Elwell (508.421.3714), celwell@clarku.edu :
Philosophy, Sociology, Geography, IDCE, COWC

  • If you need AV equipment delivered to your classroom, or would like to borrow equipment to take to a presentation on or off campus, contact Media Services by email at media@clarku.edu, by phone at 508-793-7724 or by stopping by their office in Jonas Clark Hall.

Faculty Assembly Meetings -

Faculty assembly meetings are held monthly on Wednesday afternoons, normally at 2 pm in the Grace Conference Room of the Higgins University Center.  Faculty assembly dates for 2009-10 are as follows:

September 23, 2009
October 28
November 18
December 9
January 27, 2010
February 24
March 31
April 21

Email announcements and agenda are distributed to faculty in advance of each meeting.

First Fridays -

Several years ago, the provost initiated a series of First Friday receptions.  These are held the first Friday of each month of the academic year, 4:30-6pm, and are meant as a time to unwind from the workweek, enjoy some munchies and, if you choose, have a glass of wine or a beer.  Each event is hosted by a different academic or non-academic department, and some departments pick a theme for their First Friday.  Each First Friday is held at a place of the hosting department's choosing. The First Friday dates for 2009-10, and the hosts as we know them to date, are:

Oct 2 - The Mosakowski Institute, in the Grind (basement of the UC).  Theme will be "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" and plenty of       peanuts and Cracker Jack are expected...
Nov 6 - The Government, History and Sociology Departments
Dec 4 - George Perkins Marsh Institute
Jan 8, 2010 - open
Feb 12 (because Feb 5 the Board of Trustees are here) Office of Sponsored Programs and Research (OSPR), in the Fuller Room, 4th floor of the library
Mar 5 - Women and Gender Studies
Apr 2 - Graduate School of Geography/International Development, Community, and Environment Department (IDCE)
May 7 - open

First Fridays are a great way for Clarkies to get out and meet one another.  Email announcements will go out prior to each event, and we hope to see you at many of these. 

Faculty Advising -

Faculty in their first year at Clark typically do not take on formal advising duties. However, after the first year, all regular faculty are expected to advise. The Academic Advising office publishes a hard-copy advisor's handbook, which will be mailed to all new faculty. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin McKenna, Associate Dean of the College, at x7468. 

Teaching Evaluation Process -

The teaching evaluation process uses paper evaluations completed by students during the penultimate week of each semester, during the first 20 minutes of each class.  We are hoping to move to an on-line evaluation process evantually, but pilot programs have been problematic so far. 

Email Distribution Lists -

There are two email distribution lists to which faculty can post, neither of which are moderated in any way.  They are as follows:

1)    faculty-announcements@lists.clarku.edu - This list is comprised of all full-time faculty (i.e. all tenured, tenure-track, and visiting faculty) and only full-time faculty may post to it.  The list is meant for announcements of any kind, e.g. upcoming lectures or concerts, apartments for rent, whatever.  Faculty can opt out of this list, but almost no one has.  When you hit REPLY to an email from this list, your email goes to the sender only.

Alternatively, or in conjunction with the announcements listserve, anyone in the Clark community can post to the weekly emailed newsletter called Campus Digest by sending an email to campusdigest@clarku.edu.  This digest is emailed to all staff, part-time faculty and local emeriti faculty as well as full-time faculty, so it reaches a broader audience, if that's useful for your announcement.

2)    faculty-general@lists.clarku.edu - Although the address is faculty-general, a message sent to this listserve comes through as "Faculty Discussion."  This discussion list serves the full-time faculty community only, and prior to the advent of the faculty-announcements listserve last year, faculty discussion was the only means for faculty to reach all full-time faculty at once. Early last academic year, emails sent to faculty-general turned into discussions involving only a few faculty, though they were sent out to everyone (by faculty hitting REPLY ALL because hitting REPLY sends the email back to the sender only, as with the discussion listserve).  Faculty can opt out of this listserve and at that point last year many did, meaning that they missed out on all kinds of announcements that were also sent to the discussion list.  That's why we created the faculty announcements listserve mentioned above.  However, the faculty discussion listserve remains available for posting. 

In addition to the above, there are listserves to which only the administration can post, and from which faculty cannot opt out.  The one you will see is faculty-tenuretrack, which we reserve for important university business only.  If you hit REPLY to one of those messages it will be sent only to me, because I'm the list moderator.  In other words, if David sends out one of these and you want to write back to him, you'll need to type in his email address.

The Writing Center -

The Writing Center offers free one-to-one writing assistance to all members of the Clark University community.  Writing consultants will work with student writers on any piece of writing -- short papers, research papers, lab reports, presentations, senior honors theses, graduate school applications or resumes.  Students may bring writing at any stage of the writing process, whether they are brainstorming, outlining, revising or editing.

Jennifer Plante, Director of the Writing Center and Writing Program, consults with faculty across the disciplines.  If you would like to talk about your students' writing, your writing assignments (formal or informal, in-class or take home), or your responses to student writing, or if you would like to know more about how you can encourage your students to work with the Clark Writing Center, please contact Jennifer by email or at 508-793-7469.