The Office of Faculty Development (OFD) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst supports the professional development of faculty in their multiple roles as scholars, teachers, and members of the University and wider community. Our mission is to:

• assist new and under-represented faculty across disciplines in developing and advancing their careers, particularly as they work toward tenure and promotion;
• support activities that showcase the experience and expertise of faculty at every stage of the career – early, mid, and senior;
• provide opportunities for faculty dialogue, development, and renewal.

Since its inception in 2006, the Office of Faculty Development has developed several campus-wide programs and services, including: New Faculty Orientation, faculty writing programs, the Faculty Writing Place (co-sponsored with the UMass Amherst Libraries), preparing for tenure seminars, and time management programs. Frequent partners and co-sponsors of the OFD’s programs include the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of the Provost, the Center for Teaching, the UMass Amherst Libraries, the Office of Information Technologies, the Offices of the Vice Provost for Research, and the Five Colleges, Inc.

In 2007, the OFD established two new faculty grant programs and a Five Colleges professional network to encourage the development of projects and resources that support early-career and underrepresented faculty through mentoring. These programs are part of UMass Amherst’s ambitious Mellon Mutual Mentoring Initiative, which is funded by a generous three-year, $400,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.