Welcome to fall and the start of the 2024-2025 academic year! It seems impossible to believe that summer has flown by so quickly. But students are moving in, the marching band is holding practice, new faculty and staff are finding their offices and getting settled, and the East Lansing area around the campus is beginning to buzz with activity – all sure signs that the term is about to be in full swing!
As we welcome you back – or welcome you for the first time to campus, we want to remind you about the Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development (OFASD), one of your key supporters here at MSU, regardless of where you are in your career life cycle or what kind of position you hold. Every educator and leader at some point needs opportunity to be in conversation with others who share their passions, commitments, challenges, and strategies. To this end, OFASD is part of your university support system offering many ways to gather, to learn, to explore, and to connect in small and large groups, in-person and virtually, cohort settings and university-level conversations. We bring people together around ideas and initiatives of common value, and in discovery of strategies and ways of understanding that help each of us build successful, holistic lives whether you are just starting out or looking to transition from your academic career. Some already have found ways of connecting through the many leadership and academic Fellows programs or learning communities, while others may be looking to link to an existing group or start their own. It is in these cross-unit opportunities that we can build stronger relationships, increase understanding and share expertise, and that we find our strength, innovation, and communal wisdom.
In addition to how we prepare ourselves for the fall, we each also look for ways to set the tone in our respective spaces, be they class settings, department and staff meetings, or just working in groups. Being apart for periods of time typically results in some form of re-entry, re-connecting, or determining how to be together for the first time. We learned coming through the pandemic that expectations and definitions of being present vary, that dialogues and respectful discussions are sometimes challenging to facilitate, and that finding voice is perhaps even more important than it once was. There are many resources available for use in getting off to a good start this year – written, virtual, and in person – including through FASD, Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation, Institutional Diversity Initiatives, and the Office of Health and Wellbeing, among others. If you aren’t able to find what you are looking for, please reach out and any of these units will direct you to a compilation of resources, workshops, strategies for communicating, etc.
We invite you to take a look at opportunities offered through OFASD [and elsewhere] that resonate with you or reach out for assistance in finding a setting that brings you into community with others. While taking time for reflection and investing in yourself in this way may not be top of mind at the start of a busy term, we encourage you to continue seeking out ways that help you feel more connected with and supported by the university and all it has to offer.