Office of Faculty Development Announces Cohort of OFD Scholars

The Office of Faculty Development has announced its first cohort of OFD Scholars, based upon this year's theme of "second books." The six scholars from three colleges will meet throughout the spring semester in a guided writing workshop with the goal of making significant progress on their books. OFD Scholars will spend time sharing and getting feedback on their work, setting writing goals and celebrating their accomplishments.

The Spring 2024 OFD Scholars are:

• Lauren Caldwell, lecturer, Department of Classics, College of Humanities and Fine Arts
• Lauren McCarthy, associate professor of legal studies and political science, Department of Political Science, College of Social and Behavioral Science
• Libby Sharrow, associate professor of public policy and history and director of faculty research, Institute for Social Science Research, School of Public Policy
• Cheryl Swanier, senior teaching faculty, Manning College of Information and Computer Science
• Anna Taylor, associate professor, Department of History, College of Humanities and Fine Arts
• Caroline Yang, associate professor, Department of English, College of Humanities and Fine Arts

The program, led by Rebecca Dingo, professor of English and OFD's senior fellow and associate director for scholarly writing, is designed to address two key areas of need revealed by her year-long assessment of writing support received by UMass Amherst faculty and librarians. First, it will provide faculty with a writing community that many see as vital to reaching their writing goals. Second, it addresses the issue of many faculty, particularly women and faculty from under-represented groups, stalling professionally mid-career as they take on more service labor.

The OFD Scholars program will give the cohort of mid-rank scholars the time, space, community and support they need to make progress on their books and in their careers.

"We are thrilled to welcome this impressive cohort of scholars to OFD," says Angela de Oliveira associate provost of faculty development. "Their book projects are exciting and engaging - we hope to create a space for each of them to develop their writing community and further their careers and look forward to seeing their projects come to fruition."

More information about the OFD Scholars program can be found on the OFD's website.