Faculty Leave of Absence Request

Leaves of absence provide faculty with an opportunity for reflection, research, and professional development essential in a scholarly community. Tenured, tenure-track, and full-time, ranked non-tenure track research faculty members with established scholarly, artistic or research records are eligible to apply for a research leave, which may be taken for a period of time up to a full year. Tenured, tenure-track and full-time, ranked non-tenure track faculty members are also eligible to apply for a development leave to pursue personal, professional, instructional, or administrative development. Development leaves may be taken for a period of time up to a full year. Tenured faculty members are eligible to apply for a sabbatical leave after six or more years of service, and can reapply for subsequent sabbatical leaves six years after the prior sabbatical leave. Sabbatical leaves may be taken for a period of time up to a full year. A faculty member on a sabbatical leave will receive up to one-half their regular annual salary.

The UMKC Faculty Leave of Absence Request process is now posted on the Provost Website on the Policies and Procedures page. It is important to emphasize that:

• Leave of absence requests must be submitted to the Provost for approval at least 90 days before the leave of absence.
• The Provost Office suggests a minimum period of seven years between professional leaves.
• The unit’s Human Resources Facilitator (HRF) must review all Leave of Absence Request Forms prior to submission to the Provost.
• Medical leaves are subject to Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guidelines and approval; contact UMKC Human Resources (816-235-1621) for guidance through the FMLA process.

Simply click on “Leave of Absence – Faculty” on the Policies and Procedures page to find everything you need to know about the application, approval and processing of faculty leave requests. The site also includes links to the official Faculty Leave Policy (CRR 340.070) and Leave Request Form, as well as brief definitions of the different types of leave available to faculty and other handy tips.

For additional information regarding Faculty Leave of Absences, contact Beci Edmundson (edmundsonr@umkc.edu).

General Education Advisory Task Force at UMKC

In a September 2009 presentation at UMKC, the President of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), Carol Geary Schneider asserted the need for general education to better prepare students for “global interdependence, innovation in the workplace and a diverse democracy.” The General Education Advisory Task Force at UMKC began meeting November 2009 in order to review the current status of our general education program, review the national approaches to general education, and make recommendations to the provost regarding revising or our campus wide general education program. The task force has been charged with developing a strategy and plan for the creation and implementation of a general education program tied to the UMKC mission focusing on student success and student retention. This new general education program will need to include a premier student learning assessment component and an ongoing review and revision cycle.

The task force is currently:

• Studying national trends and emphasis areas in general education
• Reviewing general education programs that have undergone revision
• Reviewing the processes aspirational peer institutions and exemplary programs have used in their general education program revision processes.

As part of the process, the General Education Advisory Task Force plans to submit a proposal to be considered as a participant in the 2010 AAC&U Institute on General Education.

Learn more about the General Education Advisory Task Force charge and responsibilities, recent happenings, members, and meetings at the General Education Advisory Task Force Web site.

The New Student Email System

As you may have heard, the University has partnered with Microsoft to provide a new e-mail system for students. The new system, called Outlook Live has much to offer, including a larger 10GB inbox, a Skydive with 25GB of online storage, as well as collaboration and social networking tools.

As students migrate to the new platform, they will have a new e-mail address: username@mail.umkc.edu. After students opt-in to the new system, any new e-mail sent to their old Exchange accounts at username@umkc.edu will be automatically forwarded to their new Outlook Live accounts. Students will be able to login to their old Exchange e-mail accounts so that they have a chance to move e-mail from the old system to the new Outlook Live system throughout the Spring 2010 semester. Students should continue to use their current SSO ID and password to login into Pathway, Blackboard, lab computers, etc.

The deadline for opting in to the new Outlook Live e-mail system is February 12, 2010. After that date all student e-mail accounts will be automatically migrated to Outlook Live. Students can find more information about the process and how to opt-in to Outlook Live before the deadline by visiting the IS website at http://www.umkc.edu/is/webmail/live/transition.asp. Please visit the IS website for more information on Outlook Live. The UMKC IS Call Center is available at (816) 235-2000 to help answer questions about Outlook Live and other technology resources at UMKC.

-Written by Marilyn Reisenbichler, UMKC Information Services, Director, Support Services

Shifting the Focus for the New Year

The Office of the Provost’s mission is to work in concert with the academic units to provide a vibrant intellectual community for UMKC’s faculty and students. We hope to expand our efforts in 2010 and have created a communications plan for Academic Affairs outlining specific goals.

We would like to better utilize the blog to facilitate an ongoing dialogue between the provost office and the faculty, with more posts coming directly from the Provost, Vice Provosts, and other academic leaders. The posts will be more concise and hopefully communicate more information that faculty need and want to know.

We want to have greater variety and volume of communication coming from our office, and in order to do so we depend on your feedback and ideas. If you have suggestions, please let us know.

You can provide suggestions by clicking on the comment box below, using the suggestion box to the right, or emailing us at provostblog@umkc.edu.

The Debate on Students Earning an Undergraduate Education in Three Years

Here are two articles for your review about the debate on students earning an undergraduate education in three years. In the Strategic Plan for 2010-2020 our first goal is to "place student success at the center," which means "offering superior services to students through a model that allows a one-stop approach (real and virtual) to meet students’ needs." The following articles bring to question if there are new ways of doing this.

The Three-Year Solution, by Lamar Alexander

What is College for Anyway?, by Debra Rosenberg

The articles were originally published in the October 26th, 2009, Newsweek.

A New Vision for Research

The Office of the Provost was pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Lynda Bonewald, Lee M. and William Lefkowitz Professor of Oral Biology and Director of UMKC’s Bone Biology Research Program, as Interim Vice Chancellor for Research on October 15, 2009 . In her new position, which is an outcome of the strategic planning process, she oversees UMKC’s Office of Research and the research and economic development initiatives. Dr. Bonewald agreed to introduce herself for this week’s blog post.

Little did I think that I would be the one to fill the position recommended by the Life Sciences Task Force in 2003 when I first read the report. The position was described as “An able scientific leader…. given the authority and the responsibility to build life sciences at UMKC”. That is a tall order, but as Vice Chancellor for Research (Interim), a position created by the UMKC strategic planning process, I am creating objectives with the help of other leaders in our community to move life and health sciences at UMKC forward. These objectives include ‘achieving world-class programs’, obtaining the resources to do so, and ‘to work together with partners within the University and in the greater Kansas City area’.

With regards to my educational background, I received a BS in Biology from the University of Texas in 1973. I graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina in 1984 with a PhD in Immunology/Microbiology. My postdoctoral fellowship at the VA Hospital in Charleston, SC in hematology was under the mentorship of Makio Ogawa, a world-renowned hematologist. I was recruited to the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas as an Assistant Professor in 1986 in the Endocrinology Division directed by Dr. Gregory Mundy, an internationally known Bone Biologist. In 2001, I was recruited to UMKC School of Dentistry Dept. of Oral Biology to establish a Mineralized Tissue Research Program. When I arrived, I was a full professor with two R01s and a program project. In 2005, I became a University of Missouri Curator’s Professor and in 2009, I established and became Director of the UMKC Center of Excellence in the Study of Dental and Musculoskeletal Tissues, a multi- and interdisciplinary center.

UMKC has considerable potential to become a leader in Life and Health Sciences. I am excited about growing and expanding this potential. I know many creative, productive scientists, strong, yet fair administrators, and many truly exceptional and dedicated support staff. Chancellor Morton and Executive Vice Chancellor Hackett provide committed, stable, and experienced leadership to UMKC. To become competitive with regards to funding and other types of awards, it is necessary for our Life and Health Sciences Schools to collaborate and work together. My goal is to create and provide a stimulating, supportive environment so that our dedicated, passionate scientists can be productive and successful by accomplishing their goals of discovery while training the next generation of dedicated scientists.

-Lynda F. Bonewald, PhD, Vice Chancellor for Research Interim, Curator's Professor Lee M and William Lefkowitz Professor Director, Bone Biology Research Program Director, UMKC Center of Excellence in Mineralized Tissues, Univ. of Missouri at Kansas City School of Dentistry, Dept. of Oral Biology

Every 9 and a Half Minutes, Someone in the U.S. is Infected with HIV

December 1st is World AIDS Day - a day that was established by the World Health Organization in 1988 - that was 21 years ago! Last evening I was talking with my husband about how much progress has been made in the treatment of HIV and AIDS in this country. We are both 'front line' health care providers who have seen HIV disease transform from one of certain death with much pain and suffering to a disease that is manageable for many years. Our patients can now live long, healthy and productive lives - thanks to the availabilty of excellent antiretroviral treatment. However, not everyone has the luxury of seeing their patients with HIV do so well. In developing countries and in areas with limited resources, many people are still dying and suffering from this disease.

We may have made a lot of strides in HIV treatment, but we are losing the battle when it comes to HIV prevention. Today there are 33 million people in the world living with HIV, over a million are Americans. Did you know that every 9 and a half minutes someone in the U.S. is infected with HIV? There is a lot of work to be done if we are to end the HIV epedemic. Many barriers and challenges to HIV prevention persist - ignorance, stigma, and discrimination - just to name a few. I ask you on this World AIDS Day to be a part of the solution - talk to your friends, families and colleagues. Pass on the message that the time has come to intensify our efforts to stop the HIV epedemic. Let everyone know that, in this country, every 9.5 minutes, someone is infected with HIV.

-Written by Maithe Enriquez, PhD, RN, ANP is Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at UMKC and Nurse Practitioner at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City.