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Faculty Development and Academic Advancement

As UC San Diego is renowned for its stellar research and teaching faculty, providing those faculty with opportunities for career growth is a high priority for our campus. Identifying and training the next generation of faculty leaders is increasingly important in this quickly-changing and ever-diverse global environment.  Working with experts in the field, both within and outside of the University of California, our faculty are quickly gaining skills to ensure those tapped for future administrative roles will have the tools to lead us to an even stronger tomorrow.  We encourage you to peruse the Portal for Links to Campus-wide Leadership and Development Opportunities  as well as some of this campus's individual faculty development programs and resources.

Academic Advancement Basics and Current Guidance:

Academic Personnel Guidelines for Academic Reviews

The Office of Academic Personnel Services has provided an overview on Faculty Advancement.   Departmental and divisional guidelines are best consulted for more detailed information.

CAP Guidelines for Academic Reviews

The UC San Diego divisional Senate Committee on Academic Personnel (CAP) annually provides guidance to new appointees. Please see CAP Recommendations for the Spring of 2020.  For additional information and guidance please visit CAP for CAP guidelines for file preparation, annual reports, Where CAP Stood, tips for personnel files, and frequently asked questions.

Center for Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Guidelines for Academic Reviews

Please download the slides for Demystifying Tenure & Promotion: Strategies for a Meritorious File, a webinar offered in Spring 2020, facilitated by Frances Contreras, Ph.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Professor of Education Studies.

Please also visit this page for information on past and upcoming faculty webinars. 

The AVC-EDI is available for objective advice on a draft of new review materials, or may be able to provide a referral to an objective advisor who may consult with you on a draft of review materials and provide advice on potentially appropriate review actions (e.g. merit, accelerated merit, bonus off-scale, career equity review, promotion, etc).  Consultations may be requested. 

Guidance for Self-Statements

It is advisable for candidates to routinely include a brief, reflective self-evaluation statement in all upcoming academic review files. While some departments currently do not require faculty to include such a statement, it seems prudent for departments to consider making this a requirement going forward. Including a self-statement enables faculty to express, in their own words, if or how the pandemic affected their academic activities and performance. Please see below links for recent guidance related to the use of self-statements in academic review files:   

CAP’s Top Ten Tips for Personnel Files – Candidates Under Review

11/5/20 Academic Reviews and Impact of COVID-19

5/29/20 Academic File Reviews

3/18/20 Academic Personnel Updates Related to the COVID-19 Crisis

3/18/20 CAP Response to COVID-19

Introduction to the Academic Review Process

An Introduction to the Academic Review Process provides a basic overview of the academic review process at UC San Diego. Please consult with your department chair and dean for more in-depth information by discipline.

Faculty Development Leadership Programs and Resources:

Associate Professor Leadership Development Program

For newly tenured ladder-rank faculty, or faculty who have recently achieved security of employment on the general campus/SIO, this program consists of one full-day, interactive seminar, led by Executive Education instructors at the UC San Diego Rady School of Management. Learn more about the program.

Faculty Career Development Program

The Faculty Career Development Program (FCDP) provides support to current UC San Diego junior faculty to enhance their chances for advancement to the level of Associate Professor. The FCDP recognizes and rewards individuals who have promoted diversity and equal opportunity along with their academic ventures.

The call for proposals is distributed annually. Awards are announced in the spring and implemented in the following academic year. Reports on how award funds were used are required from each awardee at the end of the academic year.

Faculty Leadership Academy

Launched in winter quarter 2018, the Faculty Leadership Academy is designed to provide the opportunity for a select group of talented and diverse faculty to further develop their ability to be effective academic leaders at all levels of UC San Diego.

Portal for Links to Campus-wide Leadership and Development Opportunities

Visit the Portal for Links to Campus-wide Leadership and Development Opportunities for university-wide academic career development opportunities gathered from all the campus disciplines. We continue to add new content, so drop in frequently.

Unit 18 Professional Development

In accordance with the last UC-AFT/UC Memorandum of Understanding, a Professional Development Fund provides Unit 18 Non-Senate Faculty (NSF) with financial support for professional development activities. Apply for development funds.