Any new arrival at Queen’s can use a helping hand, and that includes faculty members.

A new job, a new community, and new colleagues – getting started at Queen’s can sometimes be a tall task but the university provides a wide array of support. One of the most helpful events is the New Faculty Orientation session, held on Thursday, Aug. 23 in Robert Sutherland Hall.

The focus of the event, sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Faculty Recruitment and Support Program in the Faculty Relations Unit, is providing new faculty members with the information they need and fostering the connections to help them succeed as they take these first footsteps along the new path for their careers.

The full-day event, which attracted 57 participants, introduces the faculty members to the many resources that are available to them, through a series of presentations, panel discussion and questions and answer periods.

“New Faculty Orientation is a wonderful way to welcome our new colleagues, give them a chance to get to know one another, and introduce them to people and services that they will need over the course of their first year at Queen’s or in the years to come,” says Jill Scott, Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning). “The university is a large and at times confusing place, and new faculty orientation is one way to give an overview of its structures, policies and protocols.”

Sari Van Anders arrives at Queen’s as the Canada 150 Research Chair in Social Neuroendocrinology, Sexuality, & Gender/Sex and is cross-appointed to the Department of Psychology and the Department of Gender Studies.

She says that she has received “really great support” since arriving a month ago and is looking forward to taking the next steps in her career.

“It’s been great. I had really great support setting up, access to applying for grants, getting my office set up,” she says. “I’m excited about getting ready to apply for funding for lab renovations. People have been really helpful, really on point.”

She found the orientation sessions helpful and also enjoyed meeting her new colleagues from across the university.

The opportunity to connect with her peers was also important for Eun-young Lee. An assistant professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, this is her first faculty position.

For her, everything is new – from teaching to setting up her research to hiring a grad student.  She needs support and she is getting it, through her department as well as the orientation.

“It’s very informative. I don’t know if I took in everything but I did learn who to contact when I need support,” she says. “It was great to meet new people who are in the same situation as me and I can connect with them.”

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Faculty Renewal

Principal Daniel Woolf has identified faculty renewal as a high priority for reinvestment by the university in support of the academic mission. The five-year renewal plan, launched in 2017, will see 200 new faculty hired, which nearly doubles the hiring pace of the previous six years.

Faculty renewal supports Queen’s commitment to diversity and inclusion by giving the university the opportunity to seek, proactively, representation from equity-seeking groups such as women, people with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, and racialized individuals. It will also build on Queen’s current areas of research strength.