May 6, 2022

Based on feedback from those involved in the tenure, promotion and reappointment review process, there have been some updates to the Schedule of Administrative Deadlines.

The largest change to the 2022-23 process is that faculty planning to go up for early tenure or for promotion should notify their supervisor of their intent today (May 6). Faculty who do so will then have until Sept. 2 to provide their supervisor with suggested reviewers and the materials to be sent to the reviewers.

Larger changes are planned for 2023-24. These include moving many of the deadlines up — the most notable is that faculty going up for tenure and/or promotion as well as the unit's TPR committee will need to provide the respective chair (dean for colleges without departments) with suggested reviewers in April 2023. External reviewers will then be asked to commit to writing a letter before the academic year. Many units have been finding that other universities have been asking for external letters before or during the summer. Asking reviewers to commit to writing a letter is also a new step in the process.

Deadlines for both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 process can be found side-by-side on the Schedule of Administrative Deadlines.

Following nearly a full academic year of work, the Non-Tenure-Track Working Group came forward with a few recommendations — the first being a change in their name to the Instructional-Track Working Group. The most substantial recommendation from the group this year was an update to lecturer titles.

The following title changes have been approved by the Michigan Tech University Senate, Administration and Board of Trustees:

• Lecturers to Assistant Teaching Professors
• Senior Lecturers to Associate Teaching Professors
• Principal Lecturers to Teaching Professors

The group’s recommendation that non-tenure-track (NTT) faculty be referred to as instructional track faculty (ITF) has also been approved.

The group will continue their work through the 2022-23 academic year. Provost Jacqueline Huntoon thanks the committee for all their time and suggestions.

Military partners face unique challenges such as separation due to military deployment, parenting alone and finding or maintaining employment when relocating.

Military spouses, as well as others with relationships or associations with veterans, have protection from employment discrimination under the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA). As a federal contractor, Michigan Tech complies with the equal employment and affirmative action laws and regulations enforced by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). This includes but is not limited to VEVRAA. Additionally, the OFCCP created a FAQ website and released Directive 2020-01 to clarify federal contractors’ obligations to military spouses.

Today (May 6) is Military Spouse Appreciation Day, which was presidentially approved in 1984. We appreciate the sacrifices of the nation’s service members, their partners and their families.

If you have any questions about our obligations as a federal contractor, please visit the webpages listed under the Equal Opportunity and Hiring tab on Institutional Equity’s website.

To all timekeepers/processors: Due to the Memorial Day holiday on May 30, deadlines for payroll forms will be as follows for the pay period from May 15 through May 28 (bi-weekly 11). As a department timekeeper, it is your responsibility to share this information with all employees in your department.

Please be sure that all web time approvers have a designated proxy set up.

• Status Forms Due to Human Resources — Thursday, May 19, at noon
• EPAF Submissions — Thursday, May 19, at noon
• Deduction Forms — Tuesday, May 24, at noon
• Time Cards Due in Payroll — Friday, May 27, at noon
• Electronic Time Submission — Friday, May 27, at noon
• Web Time Entry Approval — Friday, May 27, at 2 p.m.

Have a safe Memorial Day! 

For instructions on how to set up a proxy, please see the Web Time Entry Quick Reference Guide for Approvers.

Rod Chimner (CFRES) is a member of the Bog Squad, a group of scientists, researchers, scholars, writers and other peatland experts consulted by The New York Times' Headway initiative in answering more than a thousand reader questions about peatlands.

VPN Maintenance Tomorrow

Tomorrow (May 7) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Michigan Tech IT will be performing maintenance on our VPN hardware. If you are connected to the VPN during this time, your session may be disconnected periodically while we perform these updates. Additionally, Banner Communication Management, UC4/Job Submission, Banner Workflow, Perceptive Content and u.achieve will not be available.

If you have any questions or concerns, we can help. Contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 7-1111.

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HRI Research Scientist Candidate Seminar

The Health Research Institute (HRI) is pleased to invite you to a seminar given by research scientist candidate Momoko Tajiri.

Tajiri is a research assistant professor of biochemistry at Michigan Tech. She has an M.S. in Health Physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and  a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from Pennsylvania State University. Tajiri has been with Department of Chemistry at Michigan Tech since 2011, first as a postdoctoral fellow and then as a research scientist.

Tajiri will give her seminar, titled "Human Health and Microorganisms," from 2-3 p.m. today (May 6).

Attendance is invited in person in ATDC 101 and virtually via Zoom.

The seminar recording will be available upon request.

To have your event automatically appear, please submit them to the University Events Calendar.

PhD Defense: Geeta Sachdeva

Friday, May 6, 2 p.m.–3 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 101

Applied Physics Advisor: Ravindra Pandey Theoretical Investigation on Optical Properties of 2D Materials and Mechanical Properties of Polymer Composites at Molecular Level ...