December 13, 2024

Dear A&S colleagues,

We’ve nearly reached the end of the semester and this is the last Friday message you’ll get from me until 2025 (though I can’t promise it’s the last you’ll hear from me this year).

I’m incredibly grateful for all we’ve achieved together this semester, and all we have to look forward to in the new year. I hope you enjoy a well-deserved break and a wonderful holiday season with loved ones.

Below are important updates for this week:

Special meeting via Zoom on Teaching Faculty Framework amendments: Dec. 16
We need to discuss and vote on a few more minor amendments to the Teaching Faculty Framework to satisfy some requests from the Procedural Review Committee (who have some excellent suggestions) and also to bring it into compliance with the revised Faculty Handbook (effective July 1, 2025 – but we will vote on all at once and mark some amendments effective July 1, 2025). Relevant documents are attached: redlined versions of both the Framework and the TF Personnel Policies Template (we will vote on the amendments marked in each), and a rationale for the changes.

It is really important that we have good attendance at this special meeting, which will be on Zoom, Monday December 16, 12:30-1:30, https://cwm.zoom.us/j/85848961955. Please show your respect for your colleagues who have endured countless revisions to these policies that define their employment conditions by attending, participating and voting.

A&S Office of Graduate Studies updates
As you know, on July 1, 2025, the A&S units of Applied Science, Computer Science, Data Science, and Physics will officially become the new School of Computing, Data Sciences, and Physics (CDSP). In the coming months, we will work through numerous administrative and operational changes to facilitate this transition.

This transition will shift 47% of the graduate student population currently in A&S to the new school. After careful consideration and consultation with Doug Schmidt, inaugural dean of CDSP, and the Provost’s Office, we have made the joint decision to reorganize the A&S Office of Graduate Studies as follows:
- Trey Mayo, Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, and Vicki Dopp, OGS Administrative Coordinator, will move to CDSP.
- The A&S Graduate Center will become the Graduate Center, a centralized resource for students in both A&S and CDSP. Sarah Glosson, Director of the Graduate Center, will report to the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. This structure will allow the Graduate Center to maintain seamless access to resources and support for students across both A&S and CDSP. After July 2025, it will continue to be a central hub for collaboration and community for our graduate students.
- Jill Scharling, Graduate A&S Registrar, and Chasity Roberts, Fiscal Administrator, will continue supporting graduate studies in A&S under the leadership of Audrey Horning, Vice Dean for Research & Graduate Studies, who will oversee the direction and growth of graduate programs within A&S.
- We have requested funding for a new Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies in A&S.
  
  We are excited about continuing to collaborate with our colleagues moving to the new school to serve the best interests of our students. The reorganization will not be effective until July 2025, and we will continue working together to support all graduate programs both up to and after this date.

A&S hiring workshops
A&S hiring workshops, required for anyone participating in a search, will be held on the following dates:
Faculty Grants Fund & Teaching Faculty Grants Fund applications due TODAY
The current round of Faculty and Teaching Faculty Grants Fund applications are due today, Dec. 13. You can review criteria and submit applications at the links above.
Retirement incentive plan interest applications due Dec. 15
A reminder that applications to express interest in a phased retirement plan are due on December 15. They go to Pam Eddy in the Provost’s Office, who will then send them to me for follow-up and discussion with applicants and Chairs/Directors. A second incentive plan, which provides a cash benefit after retirement, is moving forward at the Governor’s Office. The office has requested more information from us, but all signs indicate that once they have received that, it will be approved. We expect to announce it and to invite applications in January 2025. If you have expressed interest in the phased plan, but you are more interested in the cash incentive plan, don't worry. You can just tell us which you prefer once the cash incentive plan is finally available.
Campus Comprehensive Plan Data
You can learn more about where we are in the comprehensive planning process on the engagement content library. This library now includes Phase 1 analysis documents from consulting partner Sasaki, as well as Phase 2 (Fall 2024) ideas and scenarios. The scenarios reflect the data collected through surveys and feedback from planning meetings. I encourage you review these materials and share feedback as directed on the webpage.
Communications Survey
This semester, we enhanced communications within Arts & Sciences through my weekly Friday messages, which included key updates from Board of Visitors meetings, and the Inside A&S monthly newsletter. We’d greatly appreciate two minutes of your time to share your feedback on these communication methods. Are they meeting your needs, or could adjustments make them more effective? While we may not be able to accommodate every individual preference (carrier pigeon, for example), our goal is to adopt strategies that work best for our community and keep you informed and connected!
Final Grades
Remember final grading deadlines for the semester: final grades are due January 2, 2025 by 9 a.m. Banner 9 information and resources are available online.
Faculty Women of Color in the Academy National Conference
My office is pleased to sponsor up to three faculty attendees to the Faculty Women of Color in the Academy National Conference taking place in Arlington, VA, April 10-13, 2025. If you are interested in attending, please complete this interest form no later than Friday, January 3, 2025.
2024 Faculty Book Listing
If you’ve published a book in 2024, let W&M News know by filling out this short form. The current list may be seen here. If you encounter any issues, please email erin@wm.edu.

And now, the last of the year....

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By my next Friday message, I will have had my birthday. I tell you this only as a preamble to the next part of my message. Anyone who actually acknowledges it will have their image posted in the next below the line. And that is not a place you want to be. Anticipating my birthday, I did some research on birthday traditions around the world. (I was curious as to whether animals celebrate their birthdays, because my dog and rabbit do, but it is unclear whether they actually want to. They sometimes seem puzzled by their cakes.)

Here is what I came up with.

In Spain, friends pull your ear gently once for every year you've lived. Then they pull it one more time, really hard.
In Canada, friends spread butter on your nose on your birthday.
In Australia, people eat fairy bread on their birthday.
In Jamaica, your friends cover you in flour on your birthday.

I know we have many international faculty and staff and I am worried that I may have got something wrong. If so, feel free to tell me. And on the question of animals:

Wagandcluck.com notes the following: " it’s important to talk about why a birthday celebration for your dog isn’t silly but necessary." I rest my case.

Have a great final week before the break, everyone.

Best wishes, Suzanne

Suzanne Raitt
Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Chancellor Professor of English
Pronouns: she/her/hers