Faculty Development Events

Past Events

Navigating Difficult Conversations: Healthy and Effective Approaches

Tuesday, November 19, 2024, 12pm-1:30 pm, virtual

One crucial skill that can positively impact work culture and relationships is the ability to navigate difficult conversations effectively. Sponsored by the Office for Faculty Affairs and Development, this session helped participants get clarity around what it is that differentiates these conversations. Participants discussed how to approach, rather than avoid, these conversations in a healthy, well-prepared way.

Presenters shared a framework for planning the conversation that gave participants an opportunity to practice:

  • Expand individual awareness of your current approach to emotionally charged, high risk conversations.
  • Learn how to engage in healthy conversations with confidence and skills.
  • Learn strategies and tools to prepare for navigating difficult conversations.
  • Practice navigating difficult conversations using the POISE model.

Effective Mentoring for Faculty Workshop

Session #1: Thursday, January 23, 2025, 4:00-7:00 pm, HSLC
Session #2: Tuesday, January 28, 2025, 4:00-7:00 pm, Virtual
Each session covered different content

In honor of January being Mentoring Month, Office of Faculty Affairs and Development (OFAD) hosted these workshops in collaboration with Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR). 

This highly interactive 2-part workshop was particularly relevant for faculty who mentor early-stage investigators, including those on career development grants.

Overview of the workshop series:

Mentorship is associated with academic and career success across disciplines and career stages in higher education. Strong mentorship has been linked to enhanced mentee productivity, self-efficacy, career satisfaction, and sense of support.  Unfortunately, few mentors have received formal training in effective mentoring practices, particularly for mentoring scholars from traditionally underrepresented groups. 

Drs. Christine Pfund and Christine Sorkness presented these 2 highly interactive mentorship workshop sessions. The sessions are based upon the evidence-based curriculum, Entering Mentoring, available through CIMER. In the workshops, mentors learned ways to advance their mentoring practices in the areas of aligning expectations, addressing equity and inclusion, fostering independence, maintaining effective communication, and promoting mentee research self-efficacy. 

If you have questions, please contact ofad@med.wisc.edu.

Early Career Grant Writing Seminar

The Department of Medicine Office of Research Services and the SMPH Office of Faculty Affairs and Development offered the “Early Career Grant Writing” seminar with Dr. John Robertson. This virtual, two-day seminar is designed to support early-career faculty, trainees, and staff in demystifying the grant writing process.

Seminar Details:

  • Dates: Thursday and Friday, February 13-14, 2025
  • Time: 9:00 am to 12:30 pm CST each day
  • Format: Zoom Webinar

Seminar Highlights:

  • Target Audience: Early-career faculty, researchers/scientists (MD/PhD level), research administrators, postdocs, and fellows on the UW-Madison campus.
  • Focus: Demystifying the NIH K and, to a lesser extent, F32 grant writing process.

Why Attend?

  • Gain insights into effective grant writing strategies.
  • Understand how the partnership between applicant, mentor, and institution leads to funding and protected time for research training and career development.
  • Identify appropriate proposal types and use review criteria to inform your grant application.
  • Establish and get the most from your mentoring team.

Registration Details:

  • Cost: Free for SMPH faculty. A $100 fee applies for non-SMPH faculty and all non-faculty participants who did not attend the 2024 seminar, “Write Winning NIH Grant Proposals,” or receive a new seminar textbook last February.

For more information, please visit the seminar webpage.

Pathways to Promotion 101 for CHS/CT track faculty

Friday, March 21, 2025, 8:30am-12:30pm Hybrid (Virtual & In-Person HSLC)

This interactive course is tailored to assistant CHS and CT track faculty who would like an introduction to the promotion processes to associate level, have never attended a Pathways to Promotion seminar or is looking to revisit the information. This workshop is ideal for early career, assistant professor faculty who are in their first two or three years at SMPH. Mentors were welcome to attend.

This course included:

  • Introductory information regarding the CHS and CT tracks assistant professor faculty 
  • Guidance on mapping your career trajectory
  • Identifying a purpose and major goals for your career
  • Guidance on how to jump start the process of organizing and collecting your accomplishments

This workshop is not recorded, but is offered annually. You can find additional promotion related resources available here.


Pathways to Promotion 101 can be attended multiple times.