UNC Greensboro Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Debbie Storrs welcomes Provost Fellows Joyce Clapp and Amy Vetter as part of the UNCG academic affairs leadership team. Beginning this summer and continuing through the 2023-24 academic year, the fellows will focus efforts to support and advance faculty development. While they will work closely together, Professor Vetter will bring a specific focus on issues pertaining to tenure stream faculty and Professor Clapp will focus on issues unique to professional track faculty.
Provost Storrs said, “Retaining, supporting, and engaging our faculty is key to our overall university strength and future. Drs. Clapp and Vetter bring significant experience and perspective as faculty members, as leaders, and as equity champions to advance, support, and engage faculty, who are the heart of the university.”
Clapp and Vetter will devote significant time as Provost Fellows while remaining engaged in teaching and research in their home departments. They will collaborate with Provost Storrs, Chancellor Fellow for Campus Climate Andrea Hunter, Senior Vice Provost Alan Boyette, academic deans, department chairs, heads, directors, and others to advance faculty development initiatives. They will also coordinate their efforts with the Provost Fellow for Health and Wellness Connie Jones, as faculty wellness is central to effective faculty development.
Provost Fellow Clapp said, “I am interested in faculty development in order to promote the health and well-being of faculty. I also want to ensure staff benefit from my work given their important roles on campus and in recognition that we are all in this together. While we are living through difficult times, my goal is to support others to find their voice, engage in positive change, and connect with each other for our collective health, well being, and happiness in the next year.”
The Provost Fellows will help lead efforts to enhance communication and belonging and develop policy improvements to ensure faculty members whose work fosters inclusion are credited for their achievements in annual and promotion & tenure reviews. They will coordinate their efforts with Dr. Andrea Hunter to provide training to enhance faculty work environments and will assist in the continued support of faculty belonging through the development of the Affinity Group Council.
Provost Fellow Vetter said, “During these uncertain times, faculty need resources and support to engage in dialogue and action related to UNCG’s mission of developing an inclusive, collaborative, and responsive institution that makes a difference in the lives of students and the communities it serves. I see faculty development as a way to do that by promoting community, dialogue, curiosity, and compassion that in the end will not only benefit faculty members but also students, staff, and the broader community.”Both Provost Fellows have extensive experience with advancing equity and inclusion, which will allow their efforts in faculty development to be infused with a diversity and inclusion lens.
