Office of the Provost
Office of the Provost

Faculty Resources

The faculty of Georgetown University stand among the world’s leaders in their domains of research, service, and teaching. To secure that stature and to fulfill the University’s mission, faculty must be guaranteed the academic freedom and the resources enabling them to shape the character and intellect of our students, to break new ground in research, and to render service of the greatest value to the public as well as the University.

The Georgetown model of shared governance recognizes the special role of faculty and ensures that they will be consistently and appropriately involved in the formulation of University policies, especially but not only through the participation of the Faculty Senate and its leadership.

The policies in this Faculty Handbook are the University’s enunciation of the rights and responsibilities of faculty members, as approved by the Board of Directors. Faculty contracts make it explicit that those policies collected here form part of the contractual obligations of University and faculty.

Access the Faculty Handbook.

The Main Campus Faculty Ombuds Office is a safe place to share your workplace concerns for all tenure, tenure-line, full-time non-tenure line, and adjunct faculty.

Established by the Provost on the recommendation of the Main Campus Executive Faculty in October 1999, as a safety net for the workplace problems and concerns of all Main Campus faculty members. The office provides an informal, impartial, neutral, and confidential environment where faculty can discuss workplace concerns and disputes and where possible solutions can be mapped out. We do not advocate for any individual point of view, and do not participate in any formal grievance process, but work to promote a fair process for all.

Learn more about the Main Campus Faculty Ombuds.

NCFDD is a nationally recognized, independent organization dedicated to supporting over 285,000 faculty, graduate students, and postdocs on their path to successful academic careers. They provide an array of resources including professional development programs, training, and mentoring support.

As an Institutional Member of NCFDD, we encourage faculty members and academic professionals from all levels to sign up for a complimentary sub-account membership. This gives you exclusive access to their expansive online resources, including an array of webinars, resources, and programs.

NCFDD Membership Offering

NCFDD content covers a broad spectrum of topics integral to academic life, such as techniques to enhance writing productivity, effective strategies for time management and prioritization, developing mentor relationships, strategies for securing external funding, and finding a healthy work-life balance. Access to NCFDD’s member platform offers a multitude of benefits including:

For more information, visit the NCFDD website.

NCFDD Programs

The Faculty Success Program (FSP) is a potent and comprehensive program aimed at increasing productivity and promoting work-life balance among faculty. It includes weekly training modules, small-group accountability calls, online community access, and one-on-one coaching opportunities. This program has an additional cost. Learn more about the program.

Post-Tenure Pathfinders Program is designed to guide FSP Alumni on charting their unique path after attaining tenure. The program focuses on mid-career transition and how to maintain momentum and significance in academia post-tenure. This program has an additional cost. Learn more about the program.

1-on-1 Coaching offers individualized guidance, problem-solving, and support to FSP Alumni. It’s a personalized approach to mentoring where faculty members receive additional dedicated attention from our trained and experienced FSP coaches. This offering has an additional cost. Learn more about this offering.

The Teaching Toolkit Program provides faculty with an array of practical tools designed to enhance teaching effectiveness and student engagement. The program is rooted in research-based principles of pedagogy and offers strategies that can be immediately implemented. Through this platform, faculty members have access to a wealth of resources that address various aspects of teaching, such as designing an inclusive syllabus, creating engaging lectures, shaping effective assessments, and managing classroom dynamics. This program has an additional cost. Learn more about this program.

Sponsorship Opportunities

As an Institutional Member of NCFDD, Georgetown University has the unique opportunity to sponsor faculty to participate in the Faculty Success Program and the Post-Tenure Pathfinders Program. These programs offer comprehensive support, equipping faculty with the tools to increase their productivity, improve their writing techniques, and achieve work-life balance. This sponsorship is a testament to Georgetown University’s dedication to fostering a thriving academic community, committed to the continual growth and development of its members.

Activate your Account

Activating your NCFDD account is an easy, straightforward process. Simply click on the “Activate My Account” button, enter your institutional email, and follow the instructions.

To claim your free Georgetown University Membership, complete the following steps:

  1. Go to the Become a Member page
  2. Choose your institution from the drop-down menu.
  3. Select “Activate my Membership.”
  4. Complete the registration form using your Georgetown University email address

    (i.e., _______@georgetown.edu).

  5. Go to your Georgetown email to find a confirmation/welcome email. Click “Activate Account” in the email.

If you have any questions about membership, please contact ViceProvostforFaculty@georgetown.edu or Hillary Dabrowski (hillary@ncfdd.org).

  1. Academic Employees (Faculty and AAPs) are eligible for a Gold Medal after 20 years of full-time service (continuous or non-continuous [see #7 below]).
  2. Academic Employees are eligible for Silver Medal after 20 years of part-time service (continuous or non-continuous).
  3. Academic Employees whose status was full-time for 75% or more during the 20 years will be considered full-time and eligible for the Gold Medal.
    a. If an employee is hired as a staff member but then is converted to AAP
    status, they may receive the Vicennial Medal if they worked as an
    academic employee for 75% or more of those 20 years of service.
    Otherwise, they must wait the additional number of service years to
    receive the Vicennial Medal.
  4. All approved leaves of absence will be counted towards years of service.
    a. In the rare case when a faculty or AAP takes a leave of absence not
    approved by the Provost, they must return from the leave to be eligible or
    not accept full-time or part-time employment elsewhere. NOTE: The
    Provost Office requires relevant decanal documentation supporting such a
    leave for purposes of determining eligibility.
  5. Part-time academic employees who work one semester of an academic year will have the entire year count towards service to the university. A part-time academic employee can accumulate a total of 20 years of service, whether continuous or non-continuous.
  6. Years spent as Teaching Assistants will not count toward eligibility.
  7. As long as a full-time employee returns to the University within 12 months of resigning they may keep their original start date for purposes of determining eligibility. If they return after 12 months, they are rehired with a new start date.
  8. If an academic employee was originally hired as part-time status but then switches to full-time status they may receive the gold medal if they have worked full-time for 75% or more during those 20 years. Otherwise, they may be given the choice of receiving the silver medal or waiting the number of additional years for the gold medal.

Click Here to View the 2021 Intellectual Life Report Response.

The Provost’s Office seeks to encourage the organic creation of scholarly interest groups. This is part of the larger effort to build an environment that supports original inquiry by our faculty.

  1. The Provost’s Office will support the cost of group lunches or other meals, handle the logistics of room reservations, and meeting announcements.
  2. The faculty involved will have the job of organizing the discussion and probing the desirability of continuing collaborative activities.
  3. A multi-sentence (about 100 words) proposal can be sent in an email to the Vice-Provost for Research, describing the idea and what payoffs might result from the interchanges and listing the faculty (viceprovostforresearch@georgetown.edu).
  4. The Provost’s Faculty Advisory Committee will act on the proposal within a three-day window.

To make sure the support is wisely distributed, the following attributes will be part of the process:

  1. Groups of faculty not yet working together are eligible for the support; long standing collaborative groups or seminar series should be supported through other mechanisms.
  2. Groups should consist of at least 5 faculty members; the faculty attending should represent more than one school, department or unit.
  3. The lunch conversation sessions should be advertised for other faculty members (not part of the original proposal) to attend if their interests coincide with those of the group.
  4. The provost’s office will support three group lunches/meals over time under the original proposal. Extension is possible if there are unusual reasons, but we expect that other support systems would be invented after the three lunch sequence.
  5. After the supported sessions have been completed, the faculty involved will send a short summary of the outcome and future plans to the Vice Provost for Research, by way of reporting of the value of the support.