New Faculty Orientation: Roadmap to Academic Excellence
Welcome to UTEP! We’re excited to have you join our dedicated and talented community of faculty. New Faculty Orientation will take place from July 16-August 12, 2026, and includes five virtual sessions. Each session will include interactive activities to help you engage with the content, get to know the university, connect with colleagues, and access key resources. Please review the program below because not all content will be relevant for all faculty.
Questions? Please contact the Office of the Provost.
To attend each virtual session, use the Zoom link: https://utep-edu.zoom.us/j/3357504816?pwd=poy8jUjO1fUVGnAx8sP5qxgaEC5Pgq.1&omn=88248837062
Meeting ID: 335 750 4816
Passcode: UTEP2026
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Thursday, July 16, 2026 | 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MT Day 1: Getting to Know UTEP and the Community
|
Time |
Mins |
Topic |
Presenter |
Resources |
|
1:00 |
30 |
Welcome & Who We Are |
Provost and Vice President for Faculty Affairs, Dr. John Wiebe, Professor of Psychology |
|
|
1:30 |
10 |
Orientation Roadmap |
Deana Pennington, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Professor of Earth, Environmental and Resource Sciences |
|
|
1:40 |
15 |
Introduction to the Office of the Provost |
Deana Pennington |
|
|
1:55 |
20 |
New Faculty Introductions and Engagement Activity |
Tami Keating, Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs |
|
|
2:15 |
5 |
Break |
|
|
|
2:20 |
30 |
Life + Work Breakouts (2 rounds) Parenting Health & Wellness
El Paso Social
Art
Campus Spaces |
Jason Boyle, Associate Professor and Chair of Kinesiology Tami Keating Thenral Mangadu, Professor of Public Health Jay Stratton, Associate Professor of Theatre & Dance Anne Giangiulio, Professor of Art Daniel Carey-Whalen, Director of Centennial Museum |
|
|
2:50 |
10 |
Questions |
Tami Keating |
|
|
3:00 |
|
Adjourn |
|
|
Wednesday, July 22, 2026 | 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MT
Day 2: Building Your Course
|
1:00 |
10 |
Welcome and today’s agenda |
Deana Pennington |
|
|
1:10 |
5 |
High impact and innovative teaching |
Deana Pennington |
|
|
1:15 |
10 |
Active learning & students |
Brad Cartwright |
|
|
1:25 |
85 |
Backwards course design & assessment (with 5 min break) Homework assignment |
Toni Blum, Vice Provost for Curriculum Effectiveness and Improvement & Chris D’Arcy, Director of the Institute for Scholarship, Pedagogy, Innovation, and Research Excellence (InSPIRE) |
|
|
2:50 |
10 |
Questions |
Tami Keating |
|
|
3:00 |
|
Adjourn |
|
|
Wednesday, July 27, 2026 | 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. MT
Day 3: High-Impact Teaching Practices
|
1:00 |
5 |
Welcome and agenda |
Deana Pennington |
|
|
1:05 |
5 |
High impact and innovative teaching |
|
|
|
1:10 |
20 |
Peer review of syllabi |
Chris D’Arcy |
Breakouts |
|
1:30 |
10 |
Growth mindset |
Louie Rodriguez |
|
|
1:40 |
20 |
Quality Enhancement Plans (QEPs): Overview. UTEP Edge |
Katalina Salas, Director of UTEP Edge |
|
|
2:00 |
10 |
UTEP Engage & Internships |
Marisol Chavez, Assistant Vice President of UTEP Engage |
|
|
2:10 |
5 |
Break |
|
|
|
2:15 |
10 |
Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Inquiry |
Karina Cannaba, Director of the Campus Office for Undergraduate Research Initiatives (COURI) |
Lightning presentation |
|
2:25 |
10 |
Community-Engaged Learning |
Naomi Fertman |
Lightning presentation |
|
2:35 |
15 |
Incorporating High Impact Practices into your course |
Chris D’Arcy |
|
|
2:50 |
10 |
Questions |
Tami Keating |
|
|
3:00 |
|
Adjourn |
|
|
Tuesday, August 4, 2026| 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Day 4: Innovating Your Teaching
|
10:00 |
5 |
Welcome & agenda |
Deana Pennington |
|
|
10:05 |
5 |
High impact and innovative teaching |
|
|
|
10:10 |
20 |
Hybrid and Online Teaching |
Cira Montoya, Director of the Center for Instructional Design (CID) |
|
|
10:30 |
30 |
Teaching and learning with AI |
Cira Montoya and Chris D’Arcy |
|
|
11:00 |
5 |
Break |
|
|
|
11:05 |
10 |
Video, Podcasting and Multimedia |
Chris D’Arcy |
|
|
11:25 |
10 |
Lou Herman |
|
|
|
11:35 |
10 |
Library literacy & resources, Open Educational Resources |
Tessy Torres Angela Lucero |
|
|
11:45 |
10 |
Questions |
Tami Keating |
|
|
12:00 |
|
Adjourn |
|
|
Wednesday, August 12, 2026 | 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. MT
Day 5: Advancing Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities
|
9:00 |
5 |
Agenda |
Dr. Deana Pennington |
|
|
9:05 |
10 |
Introduction to R&I |
Marc Cox |
R&I |
|
9:15 |
20 |
Managing your startup |
Olaya Hernandez |
R&I |
|
9:35 |
40 |
Proposal development |
David Hernandez |
R&I |
|
10:15 |
5 |
Break |
|
|
|
10:20 |
10 |
Library research resources |
Angela Lucero |
|
|
10:30 |
10 |
Questions |
Tami Keating |
|
|
10:40 |
20 |
Setting up your research space
|
AD’s for Research CoB: Dr. Erik Devos CoED: Dr. Erika Mein CoEN: Dr. Eric MacDonald CoLA: Dr. Caitlyn Muniz CoS: Dr. Lixin Jin CHS: Dr. Emre Umucu SOP: Dr. Gabriel Frietze |
Breakouts
|
|
|
|
Adjourn when finished with breakout |
|
|
Dates to be decided in October:
Day 6: Tenure and Promotion for Tenure-Track Faculty
Day 7: Promotion for Instructional Faculty
Welome events hosted by the Office of the President
In addition to the New Faculty Orientation sessions above, the Office of the President will host a welcome breakfast and evening reception to celebrate your arrival. New faculty will receive a separate invitation for the events below.
New Faculty and Professional Staff Welcome
Monday, August 17, 2026
12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Location: Tomás Rivera Conference Center, Union East, Room 308
LA BIENVENIDA Evening Reception
Monday, August 17, 2026
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Location: TBD
