Greetings from the Director, CEW Spring Newsletter 09

Greetings from the Director

Having arrived in January as the new director of CEW, I already know what a wonderful opportunity this is for me, both personally and professionally. I am delighted to be the newest member of the CEW family.

I step into a position that has benefitted from stable, outstanding leadership since the Center’s beginning. Fortunately, the role comes complete with a talented and loyal staff, as well as supportive university and community leaders who demonstrate their commitment to CEW financially and with their time and influence. Over the past decades, CEW has been driven by its mission of service, research, and advocacy. At this point of transition for the Center, I am eager to build on our solid foundation by initiating a strategic planning process. It will allow us–CEW staff and all of our major stakeholders and constituencies–to refine and refocus exactly what we mean by service, research, and advocacy. Staff retreats are already underway to begin this dialogue internally.

After synthesizing and analyzing staff comments and responses to salient questions about CEW’s mission, vision, and guiding principles, we will reach out to many of you: our supporters, program participants, scholarship or counseling recipients, faculty or staff partners, on- and off-campus collaborators, and all other constituents who engage in important ways with the Center. We invite your participation as we undergo this organizational examination to determine our future path and direction.

In addition to strategic planning, much of my time these past three months has been spent getting to know campus-based partners and exploring both internal and external collaborative opportunities. Two new collaborative
initiatives are now underway on campus:

-The Faculty Work-Life Study First conducted by CEW in 1996, this second study will be funded by the Office of the Provost. It will examine progress the University has made on faculty career satisfaction, knowledge and use of work-life policies and programs, and a host of other variables.

- A one-day conference to convene postdoctoral fellows from across the campus This initiative is supported by the UM Diversity Council with matching funding expected from other sources. The goal is to connect postdocs, who are often isolated as they focus on their own research, and to provide a network and other career path strategies for them. The session will be open to all, but particular attention will be placed on participation of women and postdocs of color.

This informative issue of the CEW newsletter shares many other details of activities and events at the Center. As you read these pages, I know you’ll be as impressed and proud as I am about the breadth and value of the Center’s contributions to the local and national communities.
At all times, I invite your input and feedback on everything we do. I look forward to greeting you at some upcoming CEW event, and I especially hope to hear from you about participating in our strategic planning process.

Gloria D. Thomas
gthomas@umich.edu