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UMass ADVANCE invites faculty members to attend “Annual Faculty Reporting in 2025-26: Writing Impact Statements,” an in-person workshop from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Student Union Cape Cod Lounge. The practical session will draw on research and experience to help faculty think through the issues and choose an approach to writing an Impact Statement that best conveys the story of their year.

In any given year, a faculty member’s best-laid plans can be shifted due to external forces beyond their control. Some years, these disruptions are so significant that their effects demand an institutional response. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, UMass Amherst has encouraged faculty to create Impact Statements to document how such external shocks have changed the course of their professional activities in the areas of teaching, research, creative productivity and service.
 

UMass ADVANCE analysis of the faculty’s Pandemic Impact Statements made clear that while faculty members were all in the same storm, each were “in different boats,” with consequences for productivity and well-being. This year may be even more complex and the Impact Statement is faculty’s opportunity to fill in the context that will help readers understand the forces shaping the members’ year.   

This session is intended to be confidential, and no recording, transcript or AI summary will be generated from the session. To support accessibility, remarks will be live captioned for participants in the room.

Registration is required and must be completed by Tuesday, Sept. 16.

More information and a link to register for the event can be found on the ADVANCE website. For questions, please contact advanceprogram@umass.edu.