New to UNM

New Faculty Orientation

Each August and January, the Office of the Provost hosts New Faculty Orientation (NFO) to help arriving colleagues identify and make use of the many resources available to support their work, and to become familiar with UNM policies and processes. New faculty should consult the Office for Academic Personnel New Faculty Page for first steps!

For all new faculty employed at the Albuquerque campus, the next orientation will be on Monday, January 13th in the Jackson Student Center at the Anderson Building. Check-in starts at 7:30am, and the orientation will begin promptly at 8:00am. This orientation session will be shared with all temporary and part-time faculty. Please plan for this to be an all-day event. Lunch will be served.

Faculty in these categories employed at UNM Branch Campuses should contact the corresponding branch Dean of Instruction for information on orientation.

The agenda includes:

  • UNM's Students and How we Support Them
  • Student Success at UNM
  • Supports for Effective Teaching
  • Student Conduct, Due Process, and CARE
  • Accessibility Service for Students
  • College of University Libraries and Learning Services
  • Policies, Norms, and Process to Prevent Discrimination at UNM
  • Student Privacy and Information Transparency
  • UNM Bookstore
  • Support for Faculty Well-being
  • Academic Technologies
  • Research Support
  • ADVANCE at UNM
  • Supporting Graduate Students

All new faculty starting in January should plan to attend and should register at the following link to receive details regarding orientation: https://forms.office.com/r/xZ5i81h4yF

ADVANCE at UNM maintains a New Faculty Welcome Page with individual profiles of new faculty members, information about NFO, and welcome messages from UNM Provost James Holloway and Vice-President for Research Ellen Fisher. New faculty members will receive invitations by email from ADVANCE to contribute a photo and answer a short questionnaire to complete your profile.

Meanwhile, welcome to the UNM faculty!

Office for Academic Personnel (OAP) Resources for New Faculty

The mission of the Office for Academic Personnel is to ensure the continued excellence of the University of New Mexico’s academic personnel so that our campus can fulfill its core mission as the state’s premier institution of higher learning and provider of health care. The University of New Mexico promotes discovery, generates intellectual and cultural contributions, honors academic values, and fosters an educated, healthy, and economically vigorous New Mexico (opportunity.unm.edu).

The Office for Academic Personnel’s website (oap.unm.edu) includes “New Faculty Experience” pages designed to ensure newly appointed faculty members’ kick off their UNM careers smoothly by addressing several logistics to help them embark on their new position.

ADVANCE Resources for New Faculty

ADVANCE is an eclectic and experienced group of faculty and staff developing partnerships that will create sustainable changes in the UNM climate, contributing to increased success and satisfaction for women and minority faculty. ADVANCE has a dedicated page for new faculty members here. Here, you will find resources to learn more about UNM, opportunities for new faculty, and faculty guides, along with a dedicated section highlighting new faculty members beginning each semester.

Over the past five years, ADVANCE has participated in 100’s of meetings each year, included more than 700 posts to its website, published 166 videos and supported more than 50 women through its annual Women in STEM awards. Additionally, ADVANCE’s communications team has highlighted the work of faculty, kept the content-rich website current, and maintained its YouTube channel. ADVANCE partners with various departments and schools on campus to hold events throughout each semester aimed to support faculty success at UNM. A list of upcoming events can be found here.

Best Practices in the Classroom

UNM is committed to providing an equitable environment for teaching. UNM has high aspirations: effective and inspiring teaching at a Research I university that serves one of the most diverse populations in the country. That means offering instructors high quality information about pedagogical approaches, professional development opportunities, peer collaborations, and staff support and infrastructure.

Academic Affairs has set a UNM 2040 target of enabling Unit 1 and 2 instructors to complete pro-grams or training in at least three of the seven areas below:

  • Course Design and Technology Use
  • Formative Feedback
  • Belonging, Growth Mindset
  • Mentorship
  • High Engagement Learning
  • Discipline-Based Education Research and Techniques
  • Inclusion

Specific programming is also available for Graduate Teaching Assistants. Completion of programs and training constitutes valuable evidence in support of job candidacy and promotion.

At a Glance

Come back to find a running list of resources for new faculty members.