Your Faculty Association
The Faculty Association of the University of À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ (FAUW—rhymes with "now") works to ensure academic freedom, equity, and collegial governance for faculty members at À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ. We negotiate and protect your working conditions, and are here to help when you need us.
While we represent all regular faculty, you do have to join to become a voting member.
Where to start
Human ResourcesÌýis your go-to source of practical information about benefits, immigration, relocation, medical services, and more, including information specifically forÌýnew employees.
Other key resources include:
-
New faculty checklists (PDF) – these are also available as interactive checklists in the Ìý
- Finance department's new employee informationÌý(login required)
- Office of Indigenous Relations
FAUW welcome video (2020)
Twelve things new faculty should know

The Daily Bulletin is a great source of campus news. Read it online, subscribe to have it emailed to you each morning, or listen to the podcast every Friday.

You are entitled to have a mentor in your unit, but you . If you need help finding a suitable mentor within or outside of your department, contact us.

There's a lot of teaching support available. The Centre for Teaching Excellence has liaisonsÌýin each faculty, as well as specific programming for new faculty. There are also teaching fellows, the EdTech Hub, and more.

FAUW offers workshops on contract renewal, tenure, and promotion every year. You can attend any workshop at any stage of your career.

Your annual performance evaluation (see section 13.5 of the Memorandum of Agreement) affects your compensation. It’s a good idea to start compiling information now. Talk to your chair, Council representative, or mentor, and review what’s required by your Faculty's Performance Evaluation Guidelines.

The University has several confidential services available to support you. If you are facing a personal hardship related to health or family, talk to an Occupational Health nurse or make use of the free Employee and Family Assistance Plan. The sexual violence response team, and the Equity Office are also available, and FAUW offers a confidential support service for any workplace issue.

It’s helpful to familiarize yourself with key policies and proceduresÌýbeforeÌýyou need them. Find out what's covered in policies and the FAUW Memorandum of Agreement with the University in our Faculty Guide.

If you're new to Canada, Legal and Immigration Services can helpÌýwith all of your immigration questions and paperwork. And the group is a great way for faculty members' partners to meet people and get to know the community.

You are entitled to several forms of leavesÌý– don’t shy away from taking them. We strongly encourage probationary faculty members to take the six-month pre-tenure sabbatical!

There are a number of professional development opportunities on campus that are stimulating, will help you connect with colleagues, and are key to a successful career. In addition to the Centre for Teaching Excellence and FAUW’s workshops, look for events and resources from Information Systems & Technology (IST), Office of Research, the Writing Centre, Organizational & Human Development (OHD), and more.

À¶Ý®ÊÓÆµ and Kitchener may not be the biggest cities, but there’s plenty to do for people of all ages and stages of life. Find events, restaurants and more at, (look for Andrea’s Five Fun Things to Do This Weekend each week), , the , and the.

The Centre for Career Development supports partners of new faculty members in their local job search, including one-on-one meetings. Partners can contact Sue Fraser at the CCD to book an appointment.
Recommended reading
- "" fromÌýTheÌýChronicle of Higher EducationÌý– Advice on three key aspects of an academic career that you don't learn in grad school
- On the tenure track? Check out "" (also fromÌýThe Chronicle) – NoteÌýthe first thing: "Keep records of everything from Day 1"
- "" fromÌýInside Higher Ed.
- "" from University Affairs.

For a list of doctors accepting new patients, contact Jenna Petker at the : jpetker@greaterkwchamber.com or 519-749-6043.