Professional development
Find training opportunities and resources, and get involved in University councils, committees and affiliate groups.
Professional development
Mandatory and voluntary training opportunities to help you succeed.
Professional development opportunities
Research & Innovation is focused on providing faculty, staff and student support that enables the University’s vision of producing impactful discoveries and fostering innovation and commercialization. Learn more about the division’s support for research and innovation through the faculty-focused research hub, including:
- Division announcements
- Proposal support and resources
- Funding opportunities and resources
- Research ethics, responsible conduct and safety information and services
- Commercialization of research and creative work
The University of Nevada, Reno is now a member institution of the NCFDD, an organization offering professional development, training, and mentoring resources to faculty members, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students at colleges and universities across the country.
The Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs hosts numerous workshops throughout the academic year in support of faculty. This includes new faculty and department chairs, promotion & tenure, annual evaluations, sabbatical, classroom management, etc. Notice of these events and opportunities are emailed to faculty periodically.
The Provost sponsors the Office of Advancements in Teaching Excellence to promote and support professional development as teachers, to share effective and innovative teaching practices and to offer services such as peer observation and feedback.
Advancements in Teaching Excellence offers a teaching orientation program to support new academic faculty in developing, advancing, and documenting evidence-based teaching practices.
The Mentoring Mentors workshop series covers best practices in evidence-based mentoring of graduate students and postdocs. The workshops are hosted annually by the Vice Provost of Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School.
College, school and department mentoring programs
All colleges have formal mentoring programs for assistant and associate professors. In some colleges this extends to additional/or specialized mentoring programs in individual departments. The important thing to know is that mentoring is available within your own discipline. Take the initiative and contact your department chair, associate dean or dean to inquiry about unique mentoring programs in your area.
Bridge is an online self-paced training series for Administrative and Financial Administrative Assistants. For more information, please email WorkdayLearning@unr.edu.
The Knowledge Base is a repository of articles for our users to research internal-facing policies, procedures, and how-tos. The Knowledge Base is available 24-7 and is your one-stop-shop for Workday, UNR-specific resources, and online training videos.
Classroom training is offered through various departments on campus, including Human Resources, Advising, Business & Finance, and others. Training topics include Workday, AssetWorks, recruitment, employee relations, and various subjects that change monthly.
IDET provides support to the faculty and staff across campus who use University-supported technologies for teaching, business, and communications. They offer workshops to help you create accessible documents, images, videos, web content, and email – all formats that are required to be compliant with WCAG 2.0 AA per the University Accessibility Policy. We recommend that all faculty, instructors, and administrative employees working with these formats take the following workshops:
- Basic Web Accessibility (useful for senders of email distribution lists as well);
- Creating Accessible Office Documents; and
- PDF Remediation for Accessibility.
Review and register for mandatory and voluntary EH&S training, including Defensive Driving, Laboratory Safety, CPR, and more.
The State of Nevada requires supervisors of classified employees to undergo supervisory training in core areas every three years. Learn more about what topics are required, and how to register.
The Nevada Chapter of College and University Professional Association (CUPA-HR) is free and open to all higher education employees but may be of particular interest to HR professionals. This chapter exists for the purpose of exchanging best practices, providing a mechanism for networking with others in the field and across campus, and providing meaningful educational opportunities on topics important and relevant to the human resources field.
Service and leadership opportunities
Selection process
- Most, if not all of the following committees, groups and volunteer initiatives are led by colleagues at all levels in the institution – that includes classified employees, faculty, administrative faculty and letters of appointment.
- The Faculty Senate and Staff Employees' Council (SEC) each send out an annual call via email asking for interested faculty and staff to rank their top committee choices. Be sure to check your official University email for these communications.
- Many committees, such as University and diversity committees, are not facilitated by the Faculty Senate or SEC. For these committees, view their webpage and/or reach out to the contact person for information about how and when new members are selected.
- For many committees, interest exceeds membership capacity. Unfortunately, sometimes interested employees do not hear back. It most certainly isn't personal. Committee chairs are sometimes overwhelmed with requests, but they might also be tied up with their regular job duties.
- If you express interest in a committee and you do not hear back, don't give up! You can reach out to the chair directly, or try again the following year. You can also reach out to other members on the committee and express interest. If you are passionate about serving on a particular committee, we encourage you to be persistent, but patient.
- Speak to your supervisor if you are interested in being asked to serve on a search committee or participate in a committee that exists only within your college, unit or division. If your supervisor knows you are interested, they're likely to invite you to participate!
Add, edit or remove committee from this page
Administrative faculty opportunities
All employees welcome!
- Arboretum Board
- Balloon Race Scholarship Committee
- Bicycle Safety Committee
- Nevada Safety Committee
- Safety Committees - Various
- Student Union Advisory Board
- Sustainability Committee
Classified employee opportunities
- SEC Annual Classified Recognition Reception
- SEC Benefits & Compensation Committee
- SEC Bylaws Committee
- SEC Classified Employee Recognition Program
- SEC Classified Staff Development Fund/ Educational Leave
- SEC Elections Committee
- SEC Open House
- SEC Website Committee
Diversity groups - all employees welcome!
- Alianza
- #BlackAtThePack
- Committee on the Status of Women
- Cultural Diversity Committee
- Queer and LGBT Advocacy Board
- University Disability Advocacy Committee
- Veteran Support Group
- Work, Life and Family Council
Faculty (academic and administrative) opportunities
- Faculty Senate Academic Standards Committee
- Faculty Senate Budget & Planning Committee
- Faculty Senate Bylaws and Code Committee
- Faculty Senate Campus Affairs Committee
- Faculty Senate Early Career Academic Faculty Committee
- Faculty Senate Executive Board Nominating Committee
- Faculty Senate Faculty Diversity Committee
- Faculty Senate Research and Grants Committee
- Faculty Senate Salary and Benefits Committee
- Faculty Senate University Athletics Committee
Leadership opportunities
- ASUN Senate | Elected representatives from Faculty Senate and SEC can serve
- Facilities Resource Committee | Elected representatives from Faculty Senate and SEC can serve
- Faculty Senate | Faculty members elected by their peers
- Staff Employees’ Council (SEC) | Faculty members elected by their peers
Volunteer opportunities
Watch for email invitations to volunteer for the following annual and semi-annual events:
- Commencement ceremonies
- Dormitory move-in (welcoming and assisting students and their families)
- Digital device initiative - iPad handout
- Search committees - Let your supervisor know you're interested and you might be asked to serve on one
- Inter-departmental committees and ad-hoc committees - Let your supervisor know you are interested should an opportunity arise in the future
The Staff Employees’ Council (SEC) represents all classified employees at the University of Nevada, Reno. The Council also serves in an advisory capacity to the president of the University with respect to all matters of classified personnel administration and employee relations, except in matters of formal appeals and hearings. The Council holds monthly meetings to provide a forum for employees' suggestions, questions or complaints, and to provide a means for disseminating information to classified employees of the University. Not ready to run for a seat? Consider joining an SEC Committee. An email goes out annually to all Classified employees inviting them to apply for committee service.*
*Please note, if you do express interest and do not hear back, it is likely because interest exceeded the number of seats available on the committee. We encourage you to try again the following year or reach out to the committee's chair if you don't hear back.
Faculty Senate is the principle representing body for both academic and administrative faculty. Its membership includes representatives from each academic and administrative major unit of the University. The Council also serves in an advisory capacity to the president of the University with respect to all matters of academic and administrative faculty administration and employee relations, except in matters of formal appeals and hearings. The Council typically holds monthly meetings to provide a forum for employees' suggestions, questions or complaints, and to provide a means for disseminating information to faculty at the University. Not ready to run for a seat? Consider joining a Faculty Senate Committee. An email goes out annually to all faculty inviting them to apply for committee service.*
*Please note, if you do express interest and do not hear back, it is likely because interest exceeded the number of seats available on the committee. We encourage you to try again the following year or reach out to the committee's chair if you don't hear back.
The University of Nevada, Reno Retired Faculty Association is made up of retired academic and administrative faculty, their spouses and partners, who want to maintain a productive relationship with the university. All are welcome to join and participate in helping realize the aims and purposes of the organization: to link, to support, to educate, and to advocate for the retired faculty of the University of Nevada, Reno.
The University of Nevada, Reno has several Diversity Committees and Affinity Groups focusing on campus-wide diversity initiatives. They are part of a structure for issues- and constituent-based action to ensure that many groups are working to create a diverse and welcoming campus climate.
The University Diversity Committees are open to all faculty and staff who wish to volunteer to participate in a variety of new and established initiatives and program development opportunities. Membership meetings are normally held monthly Sept.-Dec. and Feb.-May during the academic year.
Mentor an undergraduate student researcher
Undergraduate students have the opportunity to work under a faculty mentor and pursue EPSCoR (or other) funding for research projects. If you are interested, you can reach out to your Chair or one of the other mentors listed in your college.
Mentor a postdoctoral researcher
The Office of the Postdoctoral Affairs has recently required departments to post mentoring plans for postdocs online. These plans are often required as part of grant applications for institutions such as the National Institute for Health and the National Science Foundation. A formal centralized mentoring program does not exist, but you are encouraged to speak with your supervisor or department chair about opportunities for mentorship. Mentors do not need to be from within your own program, department, or college.
