Strategies and Tips

UMass can be a wonderful, rewarding place to teach, research, and produce scholarly work and at the same time, being part of a large public university has challenges that can bring about conflict.   Conflict is a normal part of every person’s life and yet not many feel confident about dealing with it effectively. Here are some resources that may be of help.

For All Faculty

• Five Competencies for Culturally Competent Teaching and Learning
• The Art of Disagreeing Agreeably
• The Six Minute Summary of Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott
• Problem Solving Conversations Guidelines [pdf]
• CPI’s Top 10 De-Escalation Tips [pdf]

For Chairs and Heads

• Enhancing Department Climate: A Guide for Department Chairs [pdf]
• The Conflict Management Tool Kit
• Dealing with Dysfunctional Academic Departments
   

On-campus Resources

• The Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) is a free and confidential counseling, consultation, and referral service that assists employees in resolving personal, work-related, and family problems.
• The Stonewall Center provides support, resources, programming, and advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA) and allied students, staff, and faculty at UMass Amherst and for the larger Pioneer Valley.