Information for Faculty

• New faculty orientation schedule
• Weekly class schedule
• Directions
• Virtual tour of campus
• Campus map
• Parking
• Worcester arts and culture
• Child care possibilities
• The Clark OneCard (your Clark ID)
• Guide to Teaching at Clark University
• LEEP Center Advising Faculty Guide
• Handy Dandy Acronym Decoder Guide

• Retirement Annuities Plan
• Tax-Sheltered Retirement Benefits
• Social Security Taxes
• Health Insurance
• Dental Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Travel Policy
• Workers Compensation
• Tuition Benefits and Tuition Exchange Program
• Parental Leaves
• Sabbatical Leaves can be found on the Faculty Governance Website in Canvas
• Employee Assistance Plan
• Faculty Development Fund
• Phased Retirement
• Family Medical Leave
• Moving Expenses

• Startup funds
• Technology support
• Office of Sponsored Programs and Research (OSPR)
• Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)
• Everything you want to know about advising: The Blue Book
• Athletic facilities and sports information
• Academic integrity (i.e., what to do if you suspect a student is cheating)
• Discounts and special services (movie tickets, Worcester Art Museum, et. al.) and discounts on purchasing (including via the Consortium Purchasing Group)
• Ordering textbooks

• Academic calendar

• Faculty Handbook
  Log in to Faculty Governance for the updated version of the Faculty Handbook
• Faculty benefits (separate from the Handbook)
  For the most updated information, please contact Human Resources, x7397
• Faculty travel forms and guidelines
• Faculty advising
• Academic catalog
• Courses offered during academic year
• Teaching evaluation process
• Email distribution lists
  Forannouncing guest speakers, etc.
• ClarkNow: the Clark news hub

• Dean of Students Office
  NOTE the following important message to all faculty from the Dean of Students:

STUDENTS IN DIFFICULTY: As a recognized practice, Clark follows the policy that all concerns about students in difficulty should be channeled through a single location, and for us that is the Dean of Students Office. If you have concerns about a student — whether you have observed specific behaviors, such as a student missing classes, not handing in work, or behaving erratically — or if you have more diffuse concerns, please contact the Dean of Students Office (x7423). Staff will evaluate all reports and refer them appropriately.

• Faculty governance (password-protected)
• Accelerated degree programs (B.A./fifth-year master’s)
• Registrar

• Academic Advising
• Writing Center
• Counseling Services
• LEEP Center

New Faculty Orientation will take place throughout academic year 2022-23.  For more information on faculty orientation, visit the Dean of the Faculty page.

Day of Week Key:        M = Monday, T = Tuesday, W = Wednesday, R = Thursday and F = Friday

Many new faculty arrive in Worcester with small children, and questions about child care often come up. Current faculty have offered childcare recommendations in the local area. These are suggestions only, and are not meant as a comprehensive list or as endorsements.

• Worcester Jewish Community Center (JCC)
• First Friends (in Worcester)
• Skribbles (in Northborough, where Shrewsbury, Northborough, and Westborough meet)
• Shrewsbury Montessori School
• Guild of St. Agnes (Worcester and other locations)

The Clark OneCard is your multipurpose Clark ID card. You will need it to access Goddard Library, the Kneller Athletic Center, and other facilities and services on campus. You will need to have a photo taken to initiate the process; email the OneCard office or call x7109 to set up a time. The office schedules regular hours for taking student ID photos, and you may drop in during these times — but you risk waiting in line.

If moving expenses are awarded, the maximum amount is specified in your contract letter. These are handled as reimbursements as we don’t normally pay moving companies directly. Reimbursements are processed as quickly as possible.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) suspended the exclusion from income for moving expenses reimbursed or paid by an employer for employees starting in 2018, making these amounts taxable. Reimbursements and payments for moving expenses are now included in the employee’s gross income and therefore Clark is responsible to withhold taxes. There is no longer a differentiation between qualified and non-qualified moving expenses.

To request reimbursement, fill out the Moving Expense Reimbursement Request. The form also includes a breakdown of eligible expenses.

If you have not yet gone through the I9 process with Human Resources, then you will also need to complete and submit a W4 form.

Please send the completed form and expense receipts by email to amylee@clarku.edu. Be sure to include receipts and not invoices. We need to know that you paid for something before we can reimburse you. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Amy Lee at any time.

Some faculty, especially those in the sciences, are awarded startup funds, as designated in their appointment letter. They can be accessed directly, or through your department administrator, who will be notified of the specific account numbers and can help you with processing payments or reimbursements. In the unlikely event of non-reappointment, continued use of unexpended start-up funds must be cleared by the provost.

Information Technology Services (ITS), is a team of over 40 people here to support teaching, learning, research and the operations of the university. We have experts in academic technology, classroom design, research and information security, software licensing and so much more.

But with so many people in IT, how do you know who to contact when you need help? Easy! The Help Desk should be your first point of contact for almost all technology questions. Staffed extensively throughout the week, evenings and the weekend, our consultants will evaluate your question and ensure it get addressed by the correct staff member as quickly as possible. This means that you don’t need to worry about who is the right person to contact, about staffing changes, or who is on vacation!

Call (508-793-7745), email (helpdesk@clarku.edu) or visit the Help Desk in the Academic Commons for all your ITS questions!

Faculty assembly meetings are held monthly on Wednesday afternoons at 2 p.m. Faculty assembly and other important dates for 2022-23 are as follows:

FALL SEMESTER 2022

9/7 New Faculty Orientation 2-4
9/14 Faculty Steering 2-4; Academic Unit Heads’ Meeting 2-3
9/21 Recommended for respective department meetings; Thursdays 11:45-1:00 are also available
9/28 Faculty Assembly 2-4

10/5 Faculty Steering 2-4; New Faculty Orientation 2-4
10/12 Academic Unit Heads’ Meeting 2-3
10/19 Faculty Assembly 2-4
10/21 Fall ClarkFest
10/21-22 Board of Trustees Meeting
10/26 Recommended for respective department meetings; Thursdays 11:45-1:00 are also available

11/2 Faculty Steering 2-4; New Faculty Orientation 2-4
11/4 Equity in Action Conference
11/9 Academic Unit Heads’ Meeting 2-3
11/16 Faculty Assembly 2-4
11/23 Day before Thanksgiving
11/30 Recommended for respective department meetings; Thursdays 11:45-1:00 are also available

12/7 Faculty Steering 2-4 (if needed); New Faculty Orientation 2-4
12/14 Faculty Assembly 2-4 (if needed)

SPRING SEMESTER 2023

1/18 Faculty Steering; New Faculty Orientation 2-4
1/25 Faculty Assembly 2-4

2/1 Faculty Steering 2-4
2/3-4 Board of Trustees Meeting
2/8 Academic Unit Heads’ Meeting 2-3
2/15 Faculty Assembly 2-4
2/22 Recommended for respective department meetings; Thursdays 11:45-1:00 are also available

3/1 Faculty Steering 2-4
3/8 Spring Break Week
3/15 Academic Unit Heads’ Meeting 2-3
3/22 Faculty Assembly 2-4
3/29 Recommended for respective department meetings; Thursdays 11:45-1:00 are also available

4/5 Faculty Steering 2-4; New Faculty Orientation 2-3
4/12 Academic Unit Heads’ Meeting 2-3
4/19 Faculty Assembly 2-4
4/26 Spring ClarkFest; Thursdays 11:45-1:00 are also available

5/2 CETL Faculty Professional Development Day
5/3 Final Academic Unit Heads’ Meeting 2-3; New Faculty final check-in/social 4:30
5/5-5/6 Board of Trustees Meeting

Email announcements and agendas are distributed to faculty in advance of each faculty assembly meeting. Please be sure to attend.

Faculty in their first year at Clark typically do not take on formal advising duties. However, after the first year, all regular faculty are expected to advise undergraduate students (and graduate students, where appropriate). Faculty who teach a First-Year Intensive (FYI) course typically serve as pre-major advisers to the students enrolled in that class. An online adviser’s handbook, The 3 Rs, may be accessed at the Academic Advising website.

The teaching evaluation process used paper evaluations up until 2017 but is now completed in an online format. You can find more information on the eUWTE website.

There are two email distribution lists to which faculty can post; neither of which are moderated in any way. Individual faculty can opt out of these lists if they choose. There are listserve guidelines and best practices that faculty must follow. The lists used more often are as follows:

1) faculty-announcements@lists.clarku.edu – This list comprises all full-time faculty, and, because we’re trying to be inclusive here, a smattering of other folks within the Clark community who’ve asked to join. This list is meant for announcements of any kind, e.g. upcoming lectures or concerts, apartments for rent, etc. Faculty can opt-out of this list, but very few have. When you hit REPLY to an email from this list, your email goes to the sender only.

Alternatively, or in conjunction with the announcements listserv, you may post an announcement to ClarkYOU, the University’s internal communication portal that is accessed by the Clark community only.

2) faculty-general@lists.clarku.edu – Although the address is “faculty-general,” messages sent to this listserv show up in your mailbox as “Faculty Discussion.” As the name suggests, this listserv is meant for discussion among faculty, on whatever topics interest you.

In addition to the above, there are listservs to which only the administration can post, and from which faculty cannot opt-out. The one you will notice is faculty-tenure track, which we reserve for important university business only. If you hit REPLY to one of those messages it will be sent only to me (Amy), because I’m the list moderator. In other words, if the Provost or President sends out to this list and you want to write back to the sender, you’ll need to type in that person’s email address directly.

The Writing Center offers free one-to-one writing assistance to all members of the Clark University community. Writing consultants will work with student writers on any piece of writing — short papers, research papers, lab reports, presentations, senior honors theses, graduate school applications, or resumes. Students may bring writing at any stage of the writing process, whether they are brainstorming, outlining, revising, or editing.

Jennifer Plante, Director of the Writing Center and Writing Program, consults with faculty across the disciplines. If you would like to talk about your students’ writing, your writing assignments (formal or informal, in-class or take-home), or your responses to student writing, or if you would like to know more about how you can encourage your students to work with the Clark Writing Center, please contact Jen by email or at 508-793-7469.