NetWorks for Williams Faculty

NetWorks = vibrant intellectual community + effective undergraduate teaching + career-long professional development

Welcome to NetWorks, which helps to coordinate programs for all faculty that support our teaching, creative endeavors, and service to the college and profession at large, and provides information about the College’s resources in support of that work. For new and Early Career Faculty, these opportunities begin at workshops and orientation events in the late summer, and culminate in participation in our flagship program First3. For faculty beyond their first three years at Williams, and within five years of having earned tenure, programming under the category Mid Career Faculty may best suit your needs. And, for those who are beyond tenure or approaching an end of their faculty careers at Williams, our resources for Late Career Faculty and Emeritus Faculty may prove most useful. Whether you are a novice teacher, a more seasoned educator, or here at Williams for the short term or duration, it is our hope that NetWorks will be a place where you can turn to identify the resources that can best help you on your professional journey.

NetWorks events and opportunities occur throughout the year and address questions of interest to faculty at all stages of their Williams careers. Events over the course of the year include all-faculty lunches which are typically hosted each semester, Drop-In Office Hours with Associate Deans, a publishing workshop and faculty retreat in the spring, and workshops that range from grant-writing and Design Thinking to writing retreats and new media training, among others. The goals are a vibrant intellectual community, effective undergraduate teaching, and career-long professional development.

We hope you will check in often to see what is in store for our faculty. Please also contact the Office of the Dean of the Faculty with suggestions for ways that your professional goals can be better supported.

Upcoming events

Drop-in Office Hours with Associate Deans

In Fall 2020, Associate Dean of the Faculty Sara Dubow and Associate Dean of Institutional Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Jackie Hidalgo will be holding drop-in office hours on zoom. Dates and details will be published in Daily Messages

Inclusive Pedagogies

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently published a helpful guide with links to articles and studies on how to reach more students and make your teaching more inclusive.

Professional Development and Mentoring at Williams

At Williams College, we are committed to furthering the professional development of faculty members as teachers, scholars/artists, and contributors to college governance. We seek to provide support for continuing growth in these areas. Every faculty member has access to a range of college resources for professional development. Information about these resources can be found on the NetWorks for Faculty Development website.

We recognize that faculty arrive at Williams with different kinds of expertise. Each faculty member has varied aspirations and needs for their professional development, which may well shift over the course of one’s trajectory at the college.

In this document, we emphasize the importance of mentoring, the formal or informal practices used to advise, train, and/or support those with less or different kinds of experience; practices that aim to develop and improve skills; practices that provide additional tools; and/or practices that expand knowledge. Inherent to effective mentoring are the development of trust and the cultivation of a relationship that is mutually beneficial to all parties involved. Mentoring is a key aspect of professional development at all stages of a faculty career.

Professional Development and Mentoring at Williams document, 2019-20

Professional Development and Mentoring at Williams document, 2018-19

Professional Development and Mentoring at Williams document, 2017-18

Professional Development and Mentoring at Williams document, 2016-17

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