Graduate Faculty Development Program Trainings

The Graduate Division Dean's office, in collaboration with Student Academic Affairs, will be providing the following trainings for faculty of the basic science PhD programs. For more information about faculty training requirements, see the Graduate Program Policies.

The Graduate Faculty Development Program trainings listed below will fulfill those requirements while also providing meaningful and practical guidance to faculty in their roles as mentors, supervisors and advisors to their trainees.

Faculty Participation Tracker

For the sake of transparency and accountability, faculty participation in our training is tracked and made available in our Faculty Participation Tracker. Graduate program directors and administrators use this data to enforce their program-specific policies regarding faculty training. Graduate students and Postdocs are also able to view this data. If you have any questions about our participation tracker, please reach out to Isaac Strong.

Faculty Participation Tracker

Non-GFDP Training Opportunities

We recognize that faculty often participate in trainings outside of the Graduate Faculty Developement Program (GDFP). Scroll to the bottom of this page to see our suggestions. Faculty who do so are encouraged to fill out our Non-GFDP Training Participation Form to provide us details about these outside trainings.

Non-GFDP Training Participation Form

**Please note: it is up to the graduate program directors if non-GFDP trainings will count toward your requirements. The Graduate Division Dean's office will use the information you provide to advise program directors if outside trainings align with the goals of the GFDP.**

UCSF is committed to making its facilities, activities and events accessible. To request accommodations for any of the events below, please contact Isaac Strong ([email protected] | 415.502.1803) as soon as possible, at least 24 hours before the event.

List of Trainings

Foundations in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Graduate Division DEI Primer (Central Resource)

What do we mean when we talk about diversity? How do the concepts of equity and inclusion factor into diversity? You may be passionate about being an active change-maker to address issues of Anti-Blackness and other forms of oppression at UCSF, but you might not know where to start and how to proceed. Made specifically by and for the Graduate Division, this primer to meant set some groundwork that will help you reframe your understanding of the diversity work that is needed locally and nationally. Our goal in creating this living document is to provide a shared language, allowing us to engage in dialogue and more effectively work together to address the unique needs of the Graduate Division community. This primer was adapted from the Differences Matter Initiative’s Antiracism and Race Literacy: A Primer and Toolkit for Medical Educators.

Everyone has an active role to play in the diversity work that is needed. This diversity work starts with each of us making changes in the spaces where we hold power. Together, our work in our smaller circles will contribute to the larger movement.

Objectives

The Graduate Division DEI Primer is meant to:

establish groundwork that is essential to empower research faculty to be active, committed participants in diversity work within the Graduate Division,
accompany and support the Faculty Guide: Talking about Race and Inequity in Science and support research faculty engaging in important conversations,
provide clarity on how equity and inclusion are integral components to diversity, and
serve as a living glossary of important terms and key frameworks, which faculty can refer back to as needed.

Graduate Division DEI Primer

DEI Champion Training

DEI Chamption Training

Facilitators: Various trained School of Medicine faculty members

Description: Most of us are not trained in how to handle bias and discrimination in the learning environment. When bias occurs, we don’t feel comfortable addressing it. Trainees have complained that these issues are not being addressed appropriately at UCSF, and that it negatively impacts their training.

In order to address bias and discrimination when and where it happens, and to increase awareness and skills for faculty and staff who work with our trainees, the Differences Matter initiative at UCSF has developed Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training. This training, offered through the Center for Faculty Educators in the School of Medicine, is an excellent opportunity to learn the important foundational terms, concepts, and frameworks underlying the best practices we must incorporate into our everyday actions as educators to ensure the success and well-being of our trainees, to support anti-racism throughout the University, and to specifically address anti-Black racism.

Faculty and staff from all UCSF affiliated schools, programs, and units who work with trainees are eligible to participate.

Importantly, recent adaptations to the DEI Champion Training curricula include making case studies more role-neutral so that they can be applied to most settings at UCSF. Even before the content adaptations, Graduate Division faculty who participated in the DEI Champion Training found it to be impactful and applicable to their unique training situations. Additionally, the Graduate Division Dean's office has been collaborating with the Differences Matter initiative to supply case studies reflecting our training environments and lab/research group dynamics so that, in the future, Training sessions can include a wider range of relevant scenarios.

DEI Champion Training counts as part of the Graduate Faculty Development program, and the Graduate Division Dean's office highly recommends that faculty and staff participate. We are confident that if you go into this training with an open mind, you will be able to apply what you learn to your day-to-day interactions with trainees.

Registration Information:

The DEI Champion training has been revamped to meet our need to physically distance, but still personally connect. The revamped training will still bring you the same content as the in-person training, via an online virtual format divided in 3 parts. The parts MUST be completed in the following order:

On your own, online, watching a few videos, short pre-work and a brief reflection. Time: 30-40 minutes.
Session 1 via Zoom with a group of faculty and staff from cross campus. Time: 3 hours.
Session 2 via Zoom with a group of faculty and staff from cross campus. Time: 3 hours.

Sessions 1 and 2 are offered separately. You can sign-up for any day you are available, but it must be in consecutive order. Please commit to a time for both parts 1 and 2.

**If you plan to attend and wish to have your participation recorded through the Graduate Faculty Development program (and to count toward your graduate program's requirement), register for both sessions and then contact Isaac Strong.**

**Please be aware that all sessions may be full, or you may be unable to register for both sessions at this time. More sessions may be added; check back periodically to see if more sessions are added. Vist the DEI Champion Training webpage for more information.**

Gathering in Community: a Training for Faculty and Staff

Gathering in Community: a Training for Faculty and Staff

Facilitators: Liz Silva, PhD and Isaac Strong, PhD

Description: Our goal is to provide participants with some of the skills needed hold healing spaces for members of their communities. These healing spaces will bring people together to grieve or express anxieties, to feel community, and to feel safe and supported in the aftermath of the election. Participants must be willing to commit the time and energy to both participate in this training and to setting and holding virtual gatherings with your learners, staff and faculty. This training will include specific instructions for structuring your gathering, a list of additional resources that can be shared broadly to help the members of your community seek the support and information they need, and email templates for reaching out to the members of your smaller communities.

Registration Information:

Session 1

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Event has concluded

Session 2

Thursday, October 22, 2020

2 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Event has concluded

Three Truths and Three Tries: Facing and Overcoming Critical Social Justice Challenges at the Micro, Mezzo, and Macro Levels

Three Truths & Three Tries:

Facing & Overcoming Critical Social Justice Challenges at the Micro, Mezzo & Macro Levels

Facilitator: Carlos Hoyt, PhD, LICSW

Description: This workshop will invite participants to engage with three crucial dimensions of social justice: inclusivity, race, and accountability. The workshop will be highly interactive. Participants will have opportunities to respond to the content and to each other in order to synthesize their praxis bearing (what they will DO) regarding the focal issues on micro, mezzo, and macro levels.

Participants are encouraged to explore Carlos’s website to get a sense of his perspectives on matters related to this workshop.

Of particular relevance are:

Registration Information:

Session for Faculty, Staff, Graduate Students, and Postdocs

via Zoom

February 16, 2021 | 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Event has concluded

and

February 18, 2021 | 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Event has concluded

Additional Resources:

Workshop Slides (PDF)
Graduate Division DEI Primer (PDF)
Talking About Race and Inequity in Science - Guide for Faculty
Race: The Power of An Illusion - for learning more about race as a social construct
Do you want additional guidance on having conversations about race, racism, inclusivity, or other important topics with your team? Request a restorative justice community circle and mention that you attended this workshop.

Past DEI Trainings

Equity and Inclusion in the Lab

Date: November 21-22, 2019

Facilitator: Carlos Hoyt, PhD, LICSW

Description: Each of these two-hour workshops will provide an opportunity for faculty, postdocs, and students to have an open, honest, empathic, constructive, and productive dialogue about equity and inclusion. These workshops will cover topics of intersectionality of identity, implicit bias, and cognitive dissonance. The major focus of these sessions will be on microaggressions - what they are, how they can have profound impacts on members of our community, and methods to respond to microaggressions in a respectful manner.

Resources from the workshops:

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Request for Feedback (PDF)

Science of Bias and Microaggressions

Date: May 2019

Facilitators: Dr. AZA Allsop and Dr. Bruce Birren

Resources from the workshops:

Slides from this session (PDF)

Acknowledging and Negotiating the Mentor/Mentee Tensions Inherent in the Research Lab

Date: April 26 & 27, 2019

Facilitator: Carlos Hoyt, PhD, LICSW

Resources from the workshops:

Slides from this session (PDF)

Diversity, equity, and inclusion Resources

Disentangling the Roles of Research Faculty

Sharpening Your Research Mentoring Skills

Sharpening Your Research Mentoring Skills

Facilitator(s): Isaac Strong, PhD

Description: By this point, you've heard about graduate programs' training requirements aimed at helping research faculty improve their mentoring skills. In this workshop, participants will explore ways in which mentoring in the context of science research training programs can be better seen as a balancing act, where research faculty have to skillfully manage mentoring, supervisory, and educational tasks simultaneously. We will dive into these different roles and discuss simple and effective strategies that faculty can employ for each. This workshop will involve presentation of information, breakout rooms, and discussions of case studies in small and large groups. This workshop is being offered at two different times in hopes to better accommodate and include faculty that have dependent care responsibilities.

Registration Information:

Evening Session

May 25, 2021 | 7 - 8:30 p.m.

Morning Session

May 27, 2021 | 10 - 11:30 a.m.

Past Trainings

Sharpening Your Mentoring Skills

Date: April 26 & 29, 2019

Facilitator: Sharon Milgram, PhD

Description: Dr. Milgram led the faculty participants in lectures and small group discussions designed to help them:

Distinguish the differences among the three roles the thesis mentor must fulfill for their students: scientific mentor, career mentor and supervisor.
Recognize situations where students may need additional support with career development, mental health and wellness.
Report an improved level of comfort around how to develop and discuss shared expectations with thesis students.
Recognize situations where psychosocial factors and cultural competency could negatively impact the lab environment and mentoring relationships.

Resources from the workshops:

Slides from this session (PDF)

NIH PI Management and Leadership Course

Date: 2017

Facilitator: Sharon Milgram, PhD

Resources from the workshops:

Slides from this session (PDF)

Roles of Research Faculty Resources

Research Faculty Role-Specific Trainings

Click on the drop-down menus below to view professional development opportunities for each of the roles of research faculty.

Trainings Focused on Your Role as a Mentor/Advisor

Growing Healthy Mentorship in these Unforgettable Times

Facilitator(s): Mica Estrada, PhD

Description: Building on Kelman’s (1958, 2006) tripartite integration model of social influence (TIMSI), Dr. Estrada will talk about how this model has been used to understand how students orient to their discipline communities and how this relates to persistence in those career pathways years after completing their training. By longitudinally tracking and examining psychosocial variables, we are better able to see what types of STEM training programs and mentorship are more likely to result in students persisting in STEM career pathways. Further, she will talk about how institutional policies and climate that provide kindness cues that affirm social inclusion may impact the integration experience for minoritized trainees, faculty and administrators. This workshop will include small group breakout rooms and large group discussions.

Registration Information:

Workshop for Faculty

via Zoom

March 31, 2021 | 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Event has concluded

Career Conversations

Facilitator(s): Liz Silva, PhD

Description: UCSF graduate students move into an array of positions after graduation. Most will spend a good deal of time during graduate school trying to figure out their next steps, and they may want to talk to you about it. In this workshop, you will learn about the features of effective career decision making, some of the driving factors in student and postdoc decision-making in the academic STEM environment, and you will be provided with tools and resources to support you and your students in balancing their career exploration with their graduate school commitments.

Registration Information:

Virtual Session via Zoom

July 20, 2021 | 6 - 7:30 p.m.

and

July 22, 2021 | 10 - 11:30 a.m.

Trainings Focused on Your Role as a Supervisor

Setting Expectations with a "Welcome to the Lab" Letter

Facilitator(s): Bill Lindstaedt, MS and Isaac Strong, PhD

Description: Clearly communicating equitable and inclusive expectations is key to effective team management. In her "Sharpening Your Mentoring Skills" seminar, Sharon Milgram recommended that research faculty adopt a "Welcome to the Lab" letter - a document that can be shared to set expectations and understandings around behavior, productivity, culture and research vision.

Do you need to create such a document but don't know where to start? Do you currently use such a document but you want to make your expectations more inclusive and equitable? Are you confused about how to effectively implement such a document with your team? Then this workshop is for you!

Drawing upon the diverse experiences and perspectives of UCSF faculty, Part 1 of this workshop will facilitate a crowd-sourcing activity to create a "Welcome to the Lab" template. This template will serve as a starting point for any faculty to create an expectations document adapted to their own needs. Part 2 of this workshop will serve as an opportunity for faculty to assess whether their expectations are clear, inclusive, and equitable, as well as learn about recommended strategies for effectively implementing a "Welcome to the Lab" letter with your research team.

**Faculty that already use something similar to a "Welcome to the Lab" letter are encouraged to attend to share content that has worked well for them.

Registration Information:

Part 1 via Zoom

December 1, 2020 | 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Part 2 via Zoom

December 8, 2020 | 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Event has concluded

Optimizing the Efficiency of Your Lab

Facilitator(s): Kirstie Keller, PhD

Description: Optimally successful labs harness the power of their collective group and create a product that is greater than the sum of its parts, while developing effective scientists in the process. A lab can be viewed in part as a small business, which requires the critical components of management, budgeting, and employee development, but has the unique additional pressures of publishing, funding, and systematic turnover. How then do we optimize performance in such an ever-changing environment? In this seminar, we will discuss the what, why, and how of effective laboratory leadership, providing tangible and tactical techniques to implement into your lab to simplify communication, develop your workforce, and take things off of your plate through delegation. After this seminar, you should be able to put processes in place that encourage the independence of your lab members and leverage the individual strengths of each member to expand the productivity of the entire group.

Topics:

Minding the gap at the intersection of supervisor and advisor, and why this matters
Project management tactics and tools
Models of delegation
Science (and art) of team building
How to build appropriate metrics of success

Registration Information:

Virtual via Zoom

November 10, 2020 | 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Event has concluded

Trainings Focused on Your Role as an Educator

Past Trainings

ACRA: Setting Training Expectations for Trainees on the Academic Career Track

December 12 and 19, 2019

Facilitator: Laurence Clement, PhD

Description: Mentoring graduate students and postdoctoral scholars involves providing career-development guidance and support, which requires an understanding of the hiring practices of diverse types of institutions. To this end, the OCPD team interviewed life science faculty members around the U.S. and asked them to identify the qualifications that were required for obtaining a faculty position at their institution, and the level of achievement candidates needed to receive a faculty job offer. The results were synthesized into a rubric, the Academic Career Readiness Assessment (ACRA). ACRA is an instrument used by trainees, graduate career educators, and faculty at UCSF and nationally to help prepare trainees for diverse academic careers, including careers at R1 institutions, primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs), liberal arts colleges (LACs) and community colleges. Last month, the ACRA project received the first prize for the 2019 AAMC Innovations in Research and Research Education award.

In this workshop, we will discuss ways in which this tool can be used to set training expectations with your trainees, provide feedback on progress, help trainees prioritize training activities, and prepare them for the faculty application process. We will also present the methodology used to develop ACRA. The workshop will end with a conversation around your own experience developing skills for a faculty position and your thoughts on how the ACRA can be expanded to support your mentoring needs.

Resources from the workshop:

Workshop presentation (PDF)

Academic Career Readiness Assessment (PDF)

ACRA Training Goals and OCPD Programs (PDF)

Promoting Student Mental Health

March 3 and 10, 2020

Facilitators: Jeanne Stanford, PhD and John Tighe, LCSW

Description:

Part 1: Promoting Student Mental Health and Assisting Students in Distress: A Presentation and Discussion (for Staff and Faculty)

---

Part 2: When You're Concerned: A Workshop to Practice Difficult Conversations with Students about Their Mental Health and Wellbeing (for Faculty only)

Effective Strategies for IDPs

Date: April 23, 2020

Facilitator: Bill Lindstaedt

Description: To help you determine how to effectively guide your trainees through an Independent Development Plan (IDP), this workshop will focus on key components of effective IDPs and IDP conversations. Bill Lindstaedt, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Career Advancement, International and Postdoctoral Services, will share his expertise in order to frame the underlying aspects that make the effort of an IDP worth the effort, as well as different strategies that you can employ to get the most out of an IDP conversation. Bill will also cover how you can adapt these strategies to help your trainees establish a COVID plan by working together to establish short-term and long-term goals that can provide much-needed structure during the current crisis. This workshop will include a presentation, small-group discussions of case studies using Zoom's breakout rooms, and large-group discussion/Q&A.

Materials from Effective Strategies for IDPs workshop:

Other Useful Resources:

Effective Strategies for IDPs for the Partial Resumption of Lab Research

May 26, 2020

Facilitator: Bill Lindstaedt

Description: To help you determine how to effectively guide your trainees through an Independent Development Plan (IDP), this workshop will focus on key components of effective IDPs and IDP conversations. Bill Lindstaedt, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Career Advancement, International and Postdoctoral Services, will share his expertise in order to frame the underlying aspects that make the effort of an IDP worth the effort, as well as different strategies that you can employ to get the most out of an IDP conversation. Bill will also cover how you can adapt these strategies to help your trainees establish a COVID plan by working together to establish short-term and long-term goals that can provide much-needed structure during the current crisis. This iteration of a previosuly-delivered workshop will is aimed at helping faculty think through equitable, team-based appraoches for the partial resumption of lab research at UCSF. This workshop will include a presentation, small-group discussions of case studies using Zoom's breakout rooms, and large-group discussion/Q&A.

Materials from Effective Strategies for IDPs workshop: (see above as well)

Mental Health in a Pandemic: Q&A for Faculty

April 30, 2020

Facilitators: Jeanne Stanford, PhD; Alexandra Thurston, PsyD; and Andrew Parker, PhD

Description: The Graduate Division conducted a pulse check survey of graduate students and faculty to understand the complex challenges that members of our community are facing (data coming soon). Understandably, our trainees are generally struggling with many complex mental health issues that are complicated by the uncertainty and disruption caused by the pandemic. Faculty face their own challenges during this crisis and our data reveal that the difficult task of attending to student mental health has become even more difficult.

Mental health support staff from Student Health and Counseling Services and from the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program will lead this session, aimed at providing you with guidance and an opportunity to voice your concerns.

Materials from Q&A Session:

Tools and Tips for Virtual Learning

June 10, 2020

Facilitators: Janet Coffman, MA, MPP, PhD; Dorie Apollonio, PhD; Lisa Leiva, MS; and Isaac Strong, PhD

Description: It can be difficult to know how to effectively adapt in-person courses to online formats. This webinar will present a conceptual framework and guiding principles that can help you strategically assess how to transition your current courses online. During this webinar, you will also learn about practical tools and resources available to you and learn from other faculty about what has worked for them.

Virtual Learning Resources

Mentor/Advisor Resources

Supervisor Resources

Educator Resources

Non-Graduate Faculty Development Program Training Opportunities

CTSI Mentor Training Program

Run through the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI), the MTP creates an integrated environment for mentors and mentors-in-training, encouraging creative and innovative networking, discussing a range of mentoring challenges and a myriad of solutions, developing a toolbox of strategies, and using discussions and collective experiences to build a community of mentoring excellence. In addition to research faculty, many residency and fellowship directors and others who run training programs have found the MTP to be very useful. All are strongly encouraged to apply.

The course consists of six core modules taught through web-based and face-to-face meetings that provide an overview of core mentoring competencies. We address the learning objectives, through readings (required and suggested), short lectures and videos, as well as self-directed exercises and case studies.

Learn more

Office of the Ombuds

UCSF's Office of the Ombuds is an excellent resource for UCSF staff, faculty, students and postdocs, offering a safe, confidential place to discuss UCSF-related issues and explore possibilities for informally addressing concerns. Importantly, the Office of the Ombuds offers trainings tailored to requests. Such trainings include, but are not limited to:

Conflict Coaching 101
Conflict Competence as a Core Leadership Skill
Conflict Manager Training
Taking the Difficulty out of Difficult Conversations
Giving and Receiving Feedback
Team Building

Office of the Ombuds

NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education

NIH OITE Mental Health and Well-being of Biomedical Researchers

Many of us observe first-hand the effects of the pressures under which trainees operate as they make the transition from their college or postbac experience to graduate or professional school or enter the job market. At the same time, Visiting Fellows and US trainees from marginalized groups are worried about their place in the scientific endeavor. Staff and faculty are also under stress, dealing with their own career progression, mentoring and supporting others, and finding time to take care of themselves. This is difficult for everyone given the culture of science, which values and requires long hours, intense focus, and sustained drive.

Culture change happens when stakeholders meet to learn new skills and to discuss issues in community. Therefore, the NIH OITE is pleased to sponsor a monthly virtual program focused on the health and well-being of the biomedical research workforce. The program is open to trainees at all educational levels and administrative staff, faculty, and other research supervisors at universities, the NIH and other research institutions. Our aim is to provide tools to help participants cope with their own stress and support others under stress. In addition, we hope to explore programs and program-wide systems that can increase awareness of the role of wellness and resilience in a successful scientific career and provide guidance on strategies for cultivating them.

Each virtual program will include an introductory lecture, time for Q&A, and an optional small group discussion facilitated by experienced mental health practitioners. The goal of the small groups is to share ideas and to learn new skills as we work to develop a culture of wellness in our research groups and programs. We will learn about various elements of mental health, discuss preventive strategies, and work to develop supportive language that can be used with trainees, peers, and colleagues. This interactive program will include role plays and the discussion of scenarios based on real-life situations.

Upcoming Topics:

~~Executive Function | April 6, 2021 | 9 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.~~
~~Psychology of Career Decision-Making | May 3, 2021 | 10 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.~~
~~Trauma | June 7, 2021 | 10 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.~~
Autism Spectrum | July 12, 2021 | 10 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.

Find out more and register ahead of time here

Faculty: If you want your participation in this program to be tracked by the Graduate Faculty Development Program, be sure to fill out the Non-GFDP Training Participation Form.

Preparing to Teach and Advise Biomedical Grad Students and Postdocs Around Career and Professional Development: A Train-the-Trainers Event

The NIH OITE has moved their Train-the-trainers event to a virtual format. This training is for advisors, staff and faculty who provide career and professional development programming and guidance to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in the biomedical sciences. We have substantially updated the agenda. We have adjusted the start time to accommodate West Coast attendees. Additionally, we have added a third day (Thursday- July 23) to provide content to help us all navigate issues arising from current events. All registrants will also be invited to participate in optional small group discussions (1-hour) to enhance their learning on July 22-24.

When: July 20-24, 2020

                     (lectures on July 20, 21 and 23. Optional small groups requiring a 1-hour commitment on July 22-24).
Where:         Virtual
Agenda:       Please see the full agenda online
Register:      There is no fee to attend this training, however advanced registration is required. Register here. Registration will close on July 3, 2020

This event will have content that is appropriate for first time attendees and returning participants. The first day will focus entirely on promoting the health and wellness of the biomedical research community. The second day will continue on the themes from day one with an additional focus on career advising and taking care of ourselves. Then, on Thursday we have added lecture and discussion for helping all of us navigate current events. Questions, please contact Dr. Lori Conlan and Dr. Phil Ryan at [email protected].

Resources from this event:

Updated on August 26, 2020

Graduate Faculty Development Program

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Non-Graduate Faculty Development Program Training Opportunities

NIH OITE Mental Health and Well-being of Biomedical Researchers

Upcoming Topics: