We are excited to have you join the Gator Nation and appreciate the expertise you are bringing to our institution. As a new faculty member at a premier public university, you will have many opportunities to work with talented faculty and exceptional staff members who can help support both a smooth transition into your new role and your long-term career success.
This guide is designed to help you identify key colleagues who can serve as advisors, mentors, thought partners, collaborators, and supporters of your endeavors. As you build your professional network, you will feel better prepared and inspired to do your best work, which will heighten your impact on our community, the nation, and the world.
Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much.
HELEN KELLER
What will success look like for you at the University of Florida? How will you contribute to UF’s mission of teaching, research, and service? In order to build the best team to support your accomplishments, it is first important to consider such questions. Use the information below to begin casting a vision for what you would like to achieve during the course of your career at UF.
Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.
RYUNOSUKE SATORO
Connect with mentors, collaborators, and teaching partners.
While you will certainly build a large network of colleagues during your career at UF, here is a recommended list of several professionals to develop relationships with early in your career. As you identify these colleagues and meet with them, use this page to jot down relevant details such as contact information and other notes. For each professional listed below, try to connect with at least one person who can be a partner in helping you achieve success.
Your direct supervisor plays a critical role in shaping your career at UF. Work with your leaders to understand the values, mission, vision, and strategic plan of your department, college, and also UF. How will your teaching, research, and service align with the big picture? Ask your leaders to provide you with insights, tools, resources, and contacts to help you perform at your best.
Ask your leaders for direction on working with formal and informal mentors. Consider mentors in a variety of areas, such as teaching, research development, grant-writing, and professional engagement. Mentors can help you learn more about UF, the surrounding community, and support resources. By interacting with seasoned faculty members, you will have the opportunity to raise questions, concerns, and unique needs in a confidential manner. You also will gain greater insights about career development and expedite the development of your network. Mentors can be found inside or outside of your department and can provide holistic guidance or focus on specific areas such as teaching or research.
Read up on research interests of your new colleagues within your department or college. How does their expertise intersect with yours? What about UF peers outside of your discipline? How can you utilize the expertise on campus to enhance your research goals? Discussing research ideas with those inside and outside your field of expertise can show you new ways to approach familiar questions, prompt critical evaluation of your own work, and translate findings into new innovations.
Explore opportunities for research partnerships and future innovation at research.ufl.edu. Visit research.ufl.edu/centers-and-institutes.html for a listing of institutes and centers.
As an expert in educational theory, best teaching practices, and effective uses of educational technology, an instructional designer (ID) can help you analyze learner needs, design lesson plans, develop multimedia, implement effective pedagogical practices, and evaluate your effectiveness. Think of an ID as a partner in helping you be the best teacher you can be. Your area may have one or more instructional designers on staff. The UFIT Center for Instructional Technology and Training (CITT) and UF Online can also provide resources.
To request a consultation with a CITT instructional designer, please navigate to citt.ufl.edu and complete the online form. Video production assistance is also available at no cost for UF faculty for academic-related projects. Learn more at go.ufl.edu/video.
The Center for Teaching Excellence is dedicated to promoting excellent and inclusive teaching practices across the university. Our staff of experienced pedagogical experts invites instructors and graduate students to collaborate with us. We offer opportunities to explore innovative teaching strategies, share best practices, and develop skills that enhance the quality of instruction for the benefit of all students.
By connecting with our center, educators can access resources, guidance, and a community focused on continuously improving the art of teaching and supporting learner success. For more information, visit teach.ufl.edu.
A graduate assistant, teaching assistant, or independent study student can provide you with great support in your teaching and research responsibilities. Consider some areas of your role where gaining the assistance of a motivated student could provide mutual benefit. Are there opportunities for a student to assist with your educational duties inside or outside the classroom? Could a student help you with aspects of a research project you are pursuing?
The Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) collaborates with the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) to offer a comprehensive range of professional development programs for graduate students. These programs emphasize evidence-based, innovative teaching practices applicable across diverse instructional settings, both within the classroom and beyond. By engaging with the resources provided by the CTE and CIRTL, graduate students can access transformative opportunities to cultivate essential skills, strategies, and knowledge.
None of us is as smart as all of us.
KENNETH H. BLANCHARD
Leverage experts and resources to advance your research goals.
Read up on research interests of your new colleagues within your department or college. How does their expertise intersect with yours? What about UF peers outside of your discipline? How can you utilize the expertise on campus to enhance your research goals? Discussing research ideas with those inside and outside your field of expertise can show you new ways to approach familiar questions, prompt critical evaluation of your own work, and translate findings into new innovations.
Explore opportunities for research partnerships and future innovation at research.ufl.edu. Visit research.ufl.edu/centers-and-institutes.html for a listing of institutes and centers.
UF’s Research Administrators play an integral role in working with principal investigators to ensure that research projects are managed effectively. A Research Administrator will help you submit quality proposals, maintain compliance with sponsors as well as UF terms and rules, monitor available budgets, and provide ongoing administrative support during the life of your grants. UF Research can also provide assistance in helping you navigate the complexities of grants. Learn more at research.ufl.edu/research-lifecycle.html.
Did you know that UF has dozens of librarians who are subject specialists and others who offer assistance with services that cut across disciplines? These library faculty are available to support the information needs of your teaching and research.
Search for “Library Subject Specialists” on the UF Libraries website at uflib.ufl.edu/specialists and find one or more librarians to partner with you in your work. Librarians are located at seven libraries on campus and at the Borland Library at UF Health Jacksonville and at Scripps in Jupiter. As experts in current research practices, librarians can help you or your students locate scholarly resources, evaluate the credibility of information, avoid plagiarism, and accurately cite resources.
Other librarians offer assistance with services that cut across disciplines such as data management and data visualization, GIS and remote sensing, digital humanities, and more. The services of these functional specialists are available through ARCS: Academic Research Consultation and Services at arcs.uflib.ufl.edu.
What technologies will best support your teaching, research, and service? Whether your role is instructor, researcher, clinician, library, or administrative faculty, UF has the IT professionals to support your work. Help is available with UF systems (e.g., Canvas e-Learning, myUFL, myinvestiGator, UF-Zoom, and One.UF), UF GatorLink account issues, desktop computing applications, classroom technologies, research computing, and much more.
Build partnerships with your department’s local IT staff, visit my.it.ufl.edu to search for services, submit a ticket, or contact the UF Computing Help Desk (352-392-HELP/4357 or helpdesk@ufl.edu) for assistance.
It should never be ME against the world but WE against the world.
JANNA CACHOLA
Find the right support for HR, budgeting, and logistics.
Business Administrators (BAs) provide a wide range of fiscal and human resources functions. Whether you need guidance on receiving your paycheck, reporting your time, spending funds appropriately, using a PCard, paying vendors, coordinating travel, receiving reimbursements, hiring/onboarding new employees, navigating leave policies, or many other business-related questions, a BA can serve as a helpful guide in navigating UF’s administrative landscape.
UF’s Research Administrators play an integral role in working with principal investigators to ensure that research projects are managed effectively. A Research Administrator will help you submit quality proposals, maintain compliance with sponsors as well as UF terms and rules, monitor available budgets, and provide ongoing administrative support during the life of your grants. UF Research can also provide assistance in helping you navigate the complexities of grants. Learn more at research.ufl.edu/research-lifecycle.html.
What technologies will best support your teaching, research, and service? Whether your role is instructor, researcher, clinician, library, or administrative faculty, UF has the IT professionals to support your work. Help is available with UF systems (e.g., Canvas e-Learning, myUFL, myinvestiGator, UF-Zoom, and One.UF), UF GatorLink account issues, desktop computing applications, classroom technologies, research computing, and much more.
Build partnerships with your department’s local IT staff, visit my.it.ufl.edu to search for services, submit a ticket, or contact the UF Computing Help Desk (352-392-HELP/4357 or helpdesk@ufl.edu) for assistance.
No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.
HE LUCCOCK