The Office of Faculty Development

Our office strives to invest in leadership development for faculty and academic leaders at Vanderbilt. Our program will focus on building strong managerial skills, including: financial literacy, mission and vision setting, team building, communication, and the ability to manage issues.

Our Mission

The Office of Faculty Development believes in a holistic approach in supporting the development of faculty throughout all areas of their experiences at Vanderbilt. We are committed to welcoming new faculty and academic leaders and providing them the appropriate resources as they embark on their Vanderbilt career. We are committed to developing strategies to support and guide faculty throughout the various stages of their career trajectories. We are committed to recognizing faculty and their stellar teaching, scholarship, service and overall impact on the academe. We are committed to providing resources, experiences, and consultation to all faculty to ensure their overall success.

Workshops and Trainings

Throughout the year, the Office of Faculty Development offers faculty workshops and programming. If you have questions, comments, or recommendations for topics, please contact the Office of Faculty Affairs at facultydevelopment@vanderbilt.edu.

Faculty Mentoring

OFD serves as a hub to support faculty mentoring throughout Vanderbilt University – a source of guidance, curated resources, and best practices.

Faculty mentoring is an important part of the faculty development process, especially as faculty members progress in their careers. Additionally, faculty mentoring is a department and school responsibility. Department chairs and other academic leaders, in particular, should proactively work to encourage mentoring among their faculty members.

Additional Resources

Faculty Awards & Distinctions

Faculty Mental Health/Wellbeing Resources

Institutional Memberships and Resources

  • HERC (Higher Education Recruitment Consortium)

    The Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) is a non-profit coalition of colleges, universities, hospitals, research labs, government agencies, and related non- and for-profit organizations, committed to diversifying the pipeline of faculty, staff and executives in academia. HERC supports member institutions in recruiting and retaining outstanding and diverse employees.

    • All faculty and staff at VU are able to create a HERC login to the HERConnect community
    • The Southeastern HERC is run out of Vanderbilt and is focused on academic and staff careers in the higher ed space
    • Our HERC currently has members in TN and AL, with expansion plans that may extend our region into Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Georgia over the next 18 months
    • The HERC has a two-part focus/mission – dual career couples in the higher ed space and diversity/inclusion in the space
    • With our membership, we have access to an array of resources:
      • Job Board Resources: As a HERC member, you may post openings on our jobs board and review the resumes/CVs of candidates who are actively seeking equitable, inclusive workplaces in higher education. Nearly 100,000 jobseekers are registered on hercjobs.org, and HERC sends out over 30 million alerts for member institutions’ job openings annually.
      • Diversity Outreach: Sharpen your recruitment skills with our resource library and reach qualified candidates you may otherwise miss. Enhance your recruitment process from start to finish: Create inclusive job descriptions, reach out to partners which serve diverse constituents, and minimize bias in the hiring process.
      • OFCCP Compliance: HERC’s diversity outreach efforts can help your institution fulfill affirmative action requirements from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
      • Jobseeker Outreach: Our advertising campaigns geared towards jobseekers, as well as HERC staff presence at academic conferences and professional networking events, benefit HERC members. In 2017-18, HERC invested over $130,000 in paid and in-kind advertising. In addition to general and disciplinary advertising, we targeted veterans, professionals with disabilities, members of racial and ethnic minority groups, and women. In 2017-18, HERC also reached 15,250 jobseekers through in-person outreach at conferences throughout the country.
      • Selection Process Resources: Create a level playing field for all qualified candidates with a conscientious selection committee. Learn to build your committee to minimize unconscious bias.
      • Dual Career Resources: A significant part of HERC’s mission is to support colleges and universities in their dual career hiring, as dual career supports are critical to advancing women in academia.
      • Dual Career Community: Are you interested in reaching candidates whose partners are also considering a job change? Network with other HERC members and discover best practices on our dual career community.
      • Dual Career Job Search:  Through our Dual Career Job Search tool, your job openings will be listed alongside nearby HERC member institutions' job openings.
  • NASEM Action Collaborative

    Vanderbilt University is a founding member of the Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education within the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. As part of this Action Collaborative, Vanderbilt will partner with other higher education institutions and research and training organizations to address and prevent all forms of sexual harassment in higher education. The Action Collaborative, which embraces collective action as its framework for change, aims to achieve four primary goals through efforts in partnership with sponsoring institutions over the next four years:

    • Raise awareness about sexual harassment and how it occurs, the consequences of sexual harassment, and the organizational characteristics and recommended approaches that can prevent it.
    • Share and elevate evidence-based institutional policies and strategies to reduce and prevent sexual harassment.
    • Contribute to setting the research agenda and gather and apply research results across institutions.
    • Develop a standard for measuring progress toward reducing and preventing sexual harassment in higher education.
  • National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity

    The Office of Faculty Affairs offers webinars through its membership with the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD). NCFDD resources are broadly applicable across academic disciplines and include a range of topics such as time management, overcoming academic perfectionism, how to develop a daily writing plan, how to write grant proposals and more. Archived webinars are also available on-demand online. You can activate your Vanderbilt-sponsored membership by going to the NCFDD website, selecting the “Join NCFDD” button, and choosing Vanderbilt University from the menu​.