The Office of Faculty Affairs exists to help faculty members achieve professional excellence as we build a world-class public research university. The Office of Faculty Affairs supports all aspects of the faculty experience on campus, from recruitment through retirement and emeriti engagement. Generally, we facilitate communication between faculty and administration.
The work of the office is focused on six main areas:
Promotion
The office provides staffing, guidance and oversight for promotion of tenure-track, tenured, and professional-track faculty, including facilitating changes to policy and procedures, and organizing the campus level committees that review promotion cases and make recommendations to the Provost.
Recognition
The office facilitates the nomination and consideration of faculty for such campus awards as Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, Professional Track Faculty Excellence, and the Distinguished University Professor title, along with University System of Maryland awards such as the Board of Regents awards and the Elkins professorship.
Development
The office presents workshops and materials for a number of different areas of the faculty experience, such as mentoring, aspects of leadership, and networking. The office also prepares and manages various orientation activities for faculty and regular forums for academic administrators. Participation in the Big 10 Academic Alliance programs overseen in this office exposes faculty and administrator fellows to leadership training and networking with peer institutions.
Procedures
The office manages documentation for many aspects of faculty worklife, such as leaves, sabbaticals, and tenure delays. The office also staffs various review committees, such as dean’s reviews, task forces and investigations, and appeals of the tenure process.
Reporting
The office develops, supports, and leads a number of data analysis and reporting efforts regarding faculty, including faculty achievement, demographics, leaves/sabbaticals, and promotion and tenure.
Research/Scholarly Misconduct
The Office of Faculty Affairs enforces the University’s policy and procedures governing research and scholarly misconduct, managing all phases of the process set forth therein. The Senior Vice President and Provost has designated the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs to serve as the Designated Officer identified in the University’s Policy and Procedures. The Research Integrity Officer (RIO) in the Office of Faculty Affairs oversees inquiries and investigations into research and/or scholarly misconduct.
Faculty Affairs Staff
John Bertot is the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and a Professor in the College of Information Studies (the iSchool). Under Dr. Bertot, the Office of Faculty Affairs supports all aspects of faculty experience at the University, such as managing the APT process to ensure excellence and equity in tenure decisions, facilitating human resource functions, overseeing professional development opportunities for faculty, and advocating for faculty interests and perspectives in the leadership of the University.
He has been a Professor in the College of Information Studies (iSchool) since 2008, and has served as co-director of the Information Policy & Access Center (iPAC). John served as director of the iSchool’s Master of Library Science program from July 2011-July 2015. Prior to joining the iSchool, he was Professor in the iSchool at Florida State University. His research spans information and telecommunications policy, public service innovation, digital government, and library planning and evaluation. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University in 1996.
Dawn Culpepper is an Assistant Research Professor with the ADVANCE program, where she leads faculty education and training efforts and coordinates ADVANCE Programs. She also contributes to research and evaluation of ADVANCE programs. She has a PhD in higher education from the College of Education. Dawn's research examines equity in faculty careers and graduate education with a recent focus on issues of work-life, workload, and hiring.
Binsy Anil is the Program Administrative Specialist for the Office of Faculty Affairs. She acts as first line of reception for the office, and supports all administrative functions. She has a Masters of Social Work from Mangalore University in India. She is passionate about music, nature and photography.
Follman divides her time between the Provost and the Office of Faculty Affairs. She has a bachelor's in English from Northwestern University and an MLS and PhD from UMD's iSchool. Prior to joining the Office of Faculty Affairs, Follman was a high school English teacher and webmaster. She is an amateur photographer, plays the flute and sings alto when she can make it to choir rehearsal.
Michele manages various leadership and development initiatives including New Faculty and Administrator Orientations, faculty workshops; marketing and communications; and awards and recognition programs. She is also a liaison to the University of Maryland Emeritus/Emerita Association and the Professional Track Faculty Symposium Committee. She received a Master of Tourism Administration from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland.
Ms. Goltz oversees several policy-related processes pertaining to faculty, including reviews and APT/AEP plans and appeals, fields PTK human resource requests, helps with development programming for faculty and administrators, and reports faculty-related data. She joined the Office of Faculty Affairs in 2010 while earning a Master of Library Science degree at the University of Maryland's iSchool. In addition, she holds a master's in Art History from Penn State, with an emphasis on late 16th-century Roman art. Goltz lives in Hyattsville with her husband and is an avid enthusiast of Maryland and DC culture and cuisine.
Sharon Goodall joined the Office of Faculty Affairs in 2018 to manage the implementation of the faculty data reporting system. She also is a project manager in the Administrative Modernization Program. She has a master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Maryland and was previously involved in research in the CS department.
Bonnie Miranda is a professional administrator and cat herder formerly of the Department of Biology, joining OFA in June of 2017. She is primarily responsible for the administration and oversight of the University's Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure ("APT") procedures, workshops, and Committee. She also provides general support for the Associate Provost. Bonnie enjoys academic reading, creative writing, and coaching global leadership programs. She is most passionate about pursuing possibility and making a difference for all people. She resides in southern Prince George's County with her partner, children, and the best dog in the world.
Laura J. Rosenthal is Director for Faculty Leadership and a Professor in the English Department. Her position in the Office of Faculty Affairs has two major components: development of stronger and more effective faculty mentoring programs, and development and support for academic leaders. She is a liaison to the Big 10 Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Program and Department Executive Officers Seminar. Dr. Rosenthal previously served as the ADVANCE Professor for ARHU.
Her research has been supported by fellowships from the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Newberry Library, and the NEH. She specializes in Restoration and eighteenth-century British Literature, with particular interests in drama, fiction, gender, sexuality, the Enlightenment, property, and empire. She also edits the journal Restoration: Studies in English Literature and Culture, 1660-1700. She is currently completing a project on theater and cosmopolitanism in the Restoration and eighteenth century.
Linda Steiner is the director of the ADVANCE program; she facilitates its Keeping Our Faculty (KOF) workshop series for assistant professors and is involved with other ADVANCE initiatives. Dr. Steiner is also a Professor of Journalism in the College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. She has served on numerous campus diversity committees and on the President’s Commission on Women’s Issues, the University Senate, and the campus APT committee.
Steiner co-edited Front Pages, Front Lines: Media and the Fight for Women's Suffrage (2020). Other co-edited books published since 2010 include Key Concepts in Critical-Cultural Studies, Routledge Companion to Media and Gender; The Handbook of Gender and War; Race, News, and the City: Uncovering Baltimore; and Journalism, Gender and Power. Steiner was president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. She worked for a small newspaper before working on her Ph.D. at the University of Illinois at Urbana.
Melissa Thompson joined OFA in February 2020 to serve as the institution’s Research Integrity Officer (RIO). As RIO, Melissa oversees and manages misconduct proceedings conducted under the University’s Policy and Procedures Concerning Scholarly Misconduct. She also coordinates with various institutional offices and committees on other efforts related to the integrity of the research performed at UMD, including training in the responsible conduct of research and the identification of associated policy and program needs.
Melissa comes to UMD from Johns Hopkins University (JHU), where she served as the Director of Research Integrity in the School of Medicine, handling cases of research and professional misconduct and overseeing the Responsible Conduct of Research Program. She previously served there as the Assistant Director of Outside Interests, working on issues related to conflicts of interest in research. Prior to joining JHU, Melissa practiced as an associate attorney with a law firm in Towson, Maryland. She also worked in the field of journalism, most recently as the Assistant Managing Editor of The American Prospect, a magazine based in Washington, DC.
Melissa received her juris doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law, along with a certificate in health law. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Salisbury University. Melissa is a member of the Association of Research Integrity Officers. She enjoys spending time outdoors, preferably while hiking with her husband.