Elizabeth Simmons, the dean of Michigan State University’s Lyman Briggs College, has been appointed associate provost for faculty and academic staff development.
In this new role, she will provide leadership for the newly formed Academic Advancement Network.
The AAN will work with MSU faculty, academic staff and administrators as they join the university, establish professional objectives and move through various stages of review, promotion and growth.
Building on the foundations established by its predecessor, the Office of Faculty and Organizational Development, the AAN is a new model organized around four nodes, each covering a topic crucial to the ongoing career development of faculty, administrators and academic staff. Diversity, inclusion, access, and engagement are infused throughout the network and its programs.
Each node is led by a senior MSU faculty member:
- The Academic Career Path Node is led by Ann Austin, professor of higher, adult and lifelong education, associate dean for research in the College of Education and assistant provost for faculty development – academic career paths.
- The Teaching and Learning Node is led by Jeff Grabill, professor of rhetoric and professional writing, associate provost for teaching, learning and technology, and director of MSU’s Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology.
- The Research and Scholarship Node is led by Beronda Montgomery, professor of biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology and molecular genetics in the Department of Energy Plant Research Laboratory and assistant provost for faculty development – research.
- The Leadership Development Node is led by Juli Wade, professor and chairperson in the Department of Psychology, professor of integrative biology and assistant provost for faculty development - leadership development.
- Simmons, a University Distinguished professor of physics, will continue her role as dean of Lyman Briggs.
During the 2013-14 academic year, she was an American Council on Education Fellow in the provost’s office at Yale University. She was the recipient of the 2013 Robert F. Banks Award for Institutional Leadership, and also served as acting dean of MSU’s College of Arts and Letters from 2014-15.
Follow the AAN on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AANatMSU/.
SOURCE: MSU Today
