Jen Moon
“Jen makes good things happen! This past summer I was lucky enough to have her as my co-chair of the Online Education Task Force. Jen did much of the heavy lifting during the development of ideas and technology that resulted in the well-used task force Canvas website launched in July. That would have been full-time service for anyone but Jen. At the same time, she was directing the planning of the successful virtual New Faculty Symposium, COVID-19 edition. Like I said, Jen makes good things happen! ”
Q: What are you excited about right now?
Jen: As difficult as it is, I’m actually really excited about reformatting my courses.I got to try out some things I’ve never had the guts to do before and it’s working out okay.It’s pretty satisfying.I’m also seeing all kinds of potential ideas for iterations for the course the next time I teach it.I’m also excited about how much we, as a UT community, have been talking about making wellness a priority in these times, and the importance of being kind to each other.It’s like the pandemic has given us permission to be human in the workspace.I’m getting know my colleagues so much better than I ever have.I can’t help but think that this challenge we’re all going through has a silver lining in that it has brought us together as a community in a way that few other things could have.
Q: What change would you like to see and how are you involved with helping that change occur?
Jen: One of the things I’m really passionate about is how we can create a professional career track and support for our professional faculty, and by that, I mean our non-tenure track faculty, here at UT. Professional faculty make up 50% of UT Austin faculty body. Unlike many large state schools, most of our professional faculty are full time instructors rather than adjunct or part time faculty. That full time commitment to our students is one of our strengths, and we need to think about how we can better support those faculty who are interested in making a career here in teaching or research because everyone benefits from retaining faculty that are excellent at what they do. How do we make that happen? Creating a broader awareness of the role professional faculty play at UT to start. Also important is providing an environment that supports professional faculty within departments and colleges. There are numerous ways of doing this, but some of that work requires a bit of a paradigm shift in how we think about the ‘typical’ professor.
Q: In what ways does your work connect to the broader community and/or help foster a sense of engagement or belonging?
Jen: One of the things we hear from professional faculty from across campus is how isolating it can be. Unlike tenure track faculty, professional faculty may not be included in faculty meetings and so on. Some come in to teach their courses and then go home, missing out on the social connections and networking opportunities that can take place in a hallway or before and after meetings. For the past four years in the College of Natural Science, I have chaired the CNS NTT Faculty Committee with representatives from most of the colleges departments. We have four subcommittees (Policy and Guidelines, Mentorship, Work Climate, and Collegiality) and work directly with the CNS Faculty Affairs office on these topics. Our work includes everything from holding monthly social hours to writing up guidelines to help professional faculty with the promotion process. It’s been so exciting to see how much we’ve been able to accomplish in the last few years.
Q: What projects have you worked on recently and how do they support our UT community?
Jen: One of the projects I worked on this summer was the Transition to Online Teaching and Learning (TOTAL) website, an outcome of the Online Education Task Force I co-chaired with Brent Iverson and Dave Platt. Our faculty team created a Canvas site that featured mini-courses in teaching online, as well as extensive resources to support that transition. The timeline was really quick but I think we were able to provide a solid resource to our faculty and I’m really proud of what our team accomplished. Right now, we have over 1800 faculty enrolled. You can access that Canvas site here.
Q: What are you doing to maintain your own wellbeing this year?
Jen: I started exercising again and taking time to mediate.That’s helping me stay focused and, you know, breathe.I started to learn how to play the ukulele this summer, and when I get a chance, I love practicing because it requires me to focus on only one thing…and it’s not the computer screen.It’s a nice distraction!
For You
October can be a stressful month for students, creating real challenges for their mental health and well-being. Support them by promoting the Thrive at UT app by Healthy Horns. The app employs student input to help them make small changes in their routines that can have a powerful impact in their daily lives.
Join Us
The Student Emergency Fund has provided $3.3 million of support to students experiencing hardships due to campus closure and COVID-19 this spring. Join us in helping students by sharing the SEF application link, posting the donation link on social media, and also, if you are in a place to do so, donate to the Fund.
Take Care
“Selective neglect” can be a good and necessary practice at home and at work. Doing less often feels cliche and impossible, but asking yourself what matters most - and giving yourself permission to let things drop - can help on several fronts, such as increasing children’s independence and maximizing energy at work.
