September 18, 2023

Dear colleagues,

Last week, I welcomed the new cohort of faculty participants to the Mid-Level Academic Leadership program. The group shared compelling early ideas on what they are curious about pursuing on campus. We are fortunate to have engaged faculty at William & Mary contributing their creativity, ideas for innovation, and inspiration to others.

To kick off our Top 5:

From last year’s Mid-Level Academic Leadership Program, five pitches received seed funding to help move the ideas forward. When available, check out the open sessions the project leaders offer this year:

The Provost’s Seminar Series for Research in Progress STEM Talks (the first session is on Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. in the Tribe Square Entrepreneurship Hub)

Symposium on Critical Infrastructure Issues and Policy in Virginia

Making Integrative Field Experiences in Life Science Sustainable and Equitable

Mentored Learning Activities for Student Athletes

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Teaching & Mentoring Program.
The Charles Center for Academic Excellence is celebrating the summer research of over 200 students in its Fall Undergraduate Research Symposium, from 10:45 a.m.–2:45 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 22, in Swem Library. Drop by for inspiration, conversation and refreshments. The full schedule and presentation details can be found at 2023 Fall Research Symposium.
W&M News released a story this morning showcasing W&M’s strategy to offer the most personal educational experience of any public university. The article is set against the backdrop of massive changes across the national rankings landscape, which has resulted in understandable uncertainty on what rankings convey about an institution. For its 2024 ranking of national universities,for example, U.S. News overhauled its methodologies, eliminated categories such as alumni giving rate, class size, faculty with terminal degrees, student debt ratio, and high school class standing of new entrants, which were categories in which W&M always performed well. Among other changes, U. S. News also added four metrics on the research productivity of faculty, which are citations per publication, field-weighted citation impact, the share of publications cited in the top 5% of journals, and the share of publications cited in the top 25% of journals. As you know, we have been working to grow our research portfolio, and together with the deans and faculty, we aim to expand the impact of our research and gather more systematic data and reporting related to our faculty’s research and scholarship activities. While we will continue to analyze and monitor the rankings landscape, we will keep our focus on W&M’s values and priorities, including the exceptional work you do as teachers, scholars, and researchers.
Please don't miss the opportunity to hear Daniel Black, professor of African American Studies at Clark Atlanta University, at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21, in the Sadler Center's Commonwealth Auditorium. Dr. Black will discuss and take questions about his latest book, "Black on Black: On Our Resilience and Brilliance in America," and his novel, "The Coming," tackling topics ranging from police brutality to the AIDS crisis to the role of HBCUs and queer representation in the Black church. A book signing and reception will follow. Sponsors include the W&M Bray School Lab and W&M Libraries, in partnership with the Lemon Project and the Center for Student Diversity.
This week’s shout-out goes to the team developing the new Democracy Initiative podcast. A special series designed to explore issues related to democracy, the podcast dives into the compelling ways democracy intersects with data, water and careers. The inaugural episode, Democracy x Technology, kicked off this week with a discussion about knowledge as a public good and a look at democracy in the age of AI and mass media. Future episodes will find the team digging further into issues related to democracy and Vision 2026. I look forward to hearing more!
Thank you,

Peggy