Faculty members are a central and essential resource for achieving our vision of an inquiry-driven, ethically engaged, and diverse intellectual community. Through teaching, research, and service, scholars and teachers of all ranks and disciplines leave an enduring imprint on those whose lives the university touches.
The Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs exists to advance Emory's scholarly community through excellence in research and teaching across the university and to support intellectual community and faculty distinction. The Academic Exchange, faculty seminars, and lecture series serve as a vehicle for intellectual exchange.
What is meant by "excellence"? Faculty excellence has both individual and institutional dimensions. At the individual level, distinction indicates the unique strengths of a faculty member - scholarly achievement, teaching and advising, the potential to create new knowledge, and a clear dedication to service. At the institutional level, faculty distinction indicates a robust infrastructure for supporting faculty, together with a clear commitment on the administration's part to create the conditions within which a vibrant intellectual community becomes possible. Great faculty members build an excellent institution. Vice versa, an excellent institution retains and recruits outstanding faculty.
The Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs builds on past initiatives, including Choices & Responsibility (1994), Teaching at Emory: The Report of the Commission on Teaching (1997), and Research at Emory: The Report of the Commission on Research (2003). With the onset of Emory's Strategic Plan in 2005, we have begun investing new levels of strategic resources to shape a scholarly community. These investments are intended to support faculty in becoming even more competitive nationally and internationally.
The Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs offers a variety of programs and initiatives to this end. For more information, click on the links on this website. These include the University Research Committee, which provides competitive internal funding opportunities for faculty research, as well as workshops and training; the Manuscript Development program, which engages in hands-on developmental editing with faculty writers; the Emory Conference Center Subvention Fund, which supports academic conferences organized by Emory faculty, and the Emeritus College, currently undergoing an exciting new phase of strategic planning and restructuring. The Emeritus College serves as a gathering place for retired members of the Emory faculty who wish to remain active and engaged in the life of the university and wider community. The Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs also serves as the hub for Emory's Office of Institutional Research.
These are just a few of the programs you will find on this website. I invite you to join us in this exciting stage of the life of our university community. Stay tuned for updates and the launch of the new Center for Faculty Development and Excellence in Fall 2008.
The Office of Academic Affairs also leads the University Theme of "Strengthening Faculty Distinction," including its Faculty Distinction Fund and issues related to faculty career trajectories.
For recent publications, please see "A Community of Excellence: Reflections and Directions from the Year of the Faculty" (2007) and the Faculty Equity Report (2008).
Claire E. Sterk, PhD
Charles Howard Candler Professor of Public Health
Senior Vice Provost, Academic Affairs
