Information for new faculty

The Daily Bulletin is a great source of campus news. Read it online, subscribe to have it emailed to you each morning, or listen to the podcast every Friday.

You are entitled to have a mentor in your unit, but you don't have to have just one. If you need help finding a suitable mentor within or outside of your department, contact us.

There's a lot of teaching support available. The Centre for Teaching Excellence has liaisons in each faculty, as well as specific programming for new faculty. There are also teaching fellows, the EdTech Hub, and more.

FAUW offers workshops on contract renewal, tenure, and promotion every year. You can attend any workshop at any stage of your career.

Your annual performance evaluation (see section 13.5 of the Memorandum of Agreement) affects your compensation. It’s a good idea to start compiling information now. Talk to your chair, Council representative, or mentor, and review what’s required by your Faculty's Performance Evaluation Guidelines.

The University has several confidential services available to support you. If you are facing a personal hardship related to health or family, talk to an Occupational Health nurse or make use of the free Employee and Family Assistance Plan. The sexual violence response team, and the Equity Office are also available, and FAUW offers a confidential support service for any workplace issue.

It’s helpful to familiarize yourself with key policies and procedures before you need them. Find out what's covered in policies and the FAUW Memorandum of Agreement with the University in our Faculty Guide.

If you're new to Canada, Legal and Immigration Services can help with all of your immigration questions and paperwork. And the International Spouses group is a great way for faculty members' partners to meet people and get to know the community.

You are entitled to several forms of leaves – don’t shy away from taking them. We strongly encourage probationary faculty members to take the six-month pre-tenure sabbatical!

There are a number of professional development opportunities on campus that are stimulating, will help you connect with colleagues, and are key to a successful career. In addition to the Centre for Teaching Excellence and FAUW’s workshops, look for events and resources from Information Systems & Technology (IST), Office of Research, the Writing Centre, Organizational & Human Development (OHD), and more.

Waterloo and Kitchener may not be the biggest cities, but there’s plenty to do for people of all ages and stages of life. Find events, restaurants and more at Explore Waterloo Region, CBC KW (look for Andrea’s Five Fun Things to Do This Weekend each week), Kitchener Events, the Uptown Waterloo BIA, and the Downtown Kitchener BIA.

The Centre for Career Development supports partners of new faculty members in their local job search, including one-on-one meetings. Partners can contact Sue Fraser at the CCD to book an appointment.