Office of the Provost

Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs

Mission Statement

Mission Statement for the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs:

• to coordinate faculty development efforts across teaching, research and professional development
• to coordinate tenure and promotion polices/procedures/practices
• to coordinate and assist faculty hiring and recruitment working with Dean’s offices
• to assess and to improve the university's infrastructure in support of research and creative activity for the Reynolda campus
• to help to improve the overall research funding portfolio for the Arts and Sciences and professional schools
• to serve as a resource for the Advancement Office in mounting effective tools for research-related gift solicitation
• to facilitate cross-departmental and cross-campus cooperation and alliances
• to oversee and to administer Institutional Review Board committees
• to enhance our abilities to recruit and to retain the best students and faculty possible
• to interact with and to support university-wide research programs
• to provide administrative support for the activities of the Research Advisory Council of the College of Arts and Sciences
• to facilitate publication about the research and creative activities of Reynolda campus students and faculty

Welcome from the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs

We all generate new ideas in our chosen fields of inquiry, and the heart of the University is the process of generating, disseminating, and critiquing them. Those that pass critical review over time become incorporated into our teaching. The Wake Forest motto, Pro Humanitate, also encompasses many of the teaching, research and creative activities we pursue, which, in the long term, address societal and cultural concerns.

In the mid-1990s, the WFU faculty approved a statement endorsing the "Teacher/Scholar Ideal" and charged the university to "provide the environment in which this ideal may be realized for both faculty and students." Teaching and research were recognized as the most important parts of the faculty's day-to-day activities: "By Teacher-Scholars, we mean faculty passionately committed to teaching and actively engaged in advancing their fields of specialty." Providing the environment in which this ideal may be realized requires planning for research, teaching and professional development.

The Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs in conjunction with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, the Teaching and Learning Center, and the Professional Development Center works to assist faculty in their development. Contact us as you plan your professional development efforts and feel free to provide us with ideas about how we can help improve the environment for these efforts at Wake Forest.

Mark E. Welker
Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs
welker@wfu.edu
336-758-3898 (5758)