New Faculty Development Seminar Series
Supporting faculty retention and development for all new faculty at SEBS/NJAES
I am excited to announcement a new initiative to support the development and retention of new faculty at SEBS/NJAES: The Spring 2026 New Faculty Seminar Series.
This series is for all new faculty at SEBS/NJAES including NTT, TT, and RCE faculty (<3yr). The series will convey knowledge, policies, and practices for faculty in 60-90 min meetings, in person or virtually, throughout the year. You will be hearing from many of our administrative offices – The Office of the Dean and the Offices of Academic Programs, Finance and Administration, Research, Graduate Education, Global Engagement, Development as well as the Rutgers Institute for Teaching, Innovation, and Inclusive Pedagogy and the Tyler Clementi Center for Diversity Education and Bias Prevention.
All faculty are invited to attend; however, the focus will be for new faculty (<3 yr) including anyone starting January 1, 2026. Below is the list of sessions and the date, times, location, and RSVP (insert Microsoft Forms) and Recurring Zoom link. Contact Associate Dean Roepke for the zoom link.
Spring 2026 Seminar Series for New SEBS Faculty
1. Introduction to the Series, Academic Master Plan and University Structure, RU Foundation
January 13, 2026, 1-2 p.m., IFNH 101
Dr. Troy Roepke, Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Dr. Laura Lawson, Executive Dean, SEBS, and Executive Director, NJAES
Gabrielle Petersen, Senior Director of Development
Lia Papathomas, Director of External Relations and Strategic Initiatives
2. Personnel and Budgetary Management
January 28, 2026, 1-2 p.m., Zoom – one recurring zoom link
Troy Roepke
Mazen Shehat, Senior Associate Dean of Finance and Administration, and financial administrators
Paul Elwood, Director of SEBS Human Resources, & HR representatives
3. An Overview of Research at RU-New Brunswick and SEBS Research Management, Research Impact, Capacity grants, etc.
February 13, 2026, 1:00-2:30 p.m., Zoom
Dr. Wendie Cohick, Vice Provost and Vice Chancellor for Research, RU-New Brunswick, and
Dr. Josh Kohut, Dean of Research (SEBS) and Director of Research (NJAES)
SEBS Office of Research-Elaine Griffin, Janice McDonnell, Diane French
4. What Would You Have Liked to Know When You Started at RU?
February 25, 2026, 1-2:30 p.m., IFNH Boardroom hybrid
Share your “hidden knowledge” about on RU policies and practices (Courses, Purchasing/Procurement, Facilities, etc.). Open to all Faculty!
Troy Roepke
SEBS leadership, Dept Chairs, UPD/GPD, & All Faculty
5. General Practices: Time and Lab Management, Emails, Day-to-day, Etc.
March 5, 2026, 10-11 a.m., Zoom
Troy Roepke
6. Mentoring People Not Like You (Troy) and Graduate Education at SEBS
March 18, 2026, 1-2 p.m., Zoom
Troy Roepke
Dr. Gerben Zylstra, Associate Dean of Graduate Education
7. CLARA: A Tool of Navigating Contentious Conversations
April 1, 2026, 1-2:30 p.m., Zoom
Dr. Erica Friedman, Director of the Tyler Clementi Center for Diversity Education and Bias Prevention
8. Inclusive Pedagogy, Advising and Course Development at SEBS
April 23, 2026, 12:00-1:30 p.m., IFNH Boardroom hybrid
Dr. Tracy Addy, Director of Institute for Teaching, Innovation and Inclusive Pedagogy will discuss the instructional opportunities the Institute provides for all faculty
Dr. Julie Traxler, Associate Dean of Academic Programs, SEBS, will discuss why we teach, best practices for developmental advising, and how to develop partnerships in advising with the Office of Academic Programs.
9. General Student Support and Research Opportunities
May 5, 2026, 1-2:30 p.m., Zoom
Sharice Richardson, Associate Dean (Retention) and Mya Nester-Watt (First-year) from the SEBS Office of Academic Programs will provide an overview of Student Support Resources within the university and how to make effective student referrals.
Other SEBS student-focused offices (Educational Opportunity Fund, Patrice Wright, Assistant Director), Global Engagement (Megan Francis, Director), George H. Cook Honors (Dr. John Reinfelder, Director) will discuss their role and how you can be involved in supporting students.
10. End of the Semester and Community Building: Everyone
May 20, 2026, 12:00-1:30 p.m., IFNH 2nd floor lobby
11. Summer - Visiting SEBS Sites – Gardens/Field Stations
TBD - in person