Updates for Faculty from Jodi Gentry, VP for UF Human Resources

Welcome Back!

I wanted to take a moment to welcome you back to the start of a new academic year and share a few updates you may have missed if you were away this summer.

Moving closer to our goal of hiring 500 faculty

Last week at New Faculty Orientation, we welcomed more than 250 new faculty members to UF, many of whom were hired as part of our Faculty 500 initiative. We’re pleased to announce that this year’s cohort of new faculty will be supported through their transition with a new Experience UF program. And, yes, it’s true. We are working to hire another 250 faculty this year.

Through your national and international networks, we are able to attract many prospective faculty candidates. As your department gears up for this fall’s season of active recruitment, you may find tips for hiring more effectively by visiting this website. To support the academic hiring process, we will be introducing the use of Interfolio, an applicant tracking system exclusively for faculty and postdoctoral hiring. Watch for more details in the weeks to come.

Seeking ways to improve your experience

If you are on a 9-month appointment, you may now elect to have your pay distributed over 12 months. This option is really designed to support a savings plan for those faculty members who would like to opt in. This change will not affect your overall pay, your effort reporting, or your department or college bookkeeping.  The deadline to enroll is Aug. 23, and you can learn more about it here.  We are pleased to partner with University Payroll and Tax Services to provide this service.

Four new cabinet members

Please join me in welcoming four new cabinet members to UF.  Early this summer, we welcomed three new leaders. Amy Hass, who has been here since 2006, was formally appointed General Counsel. Mark Kaplan, who previously served as chief of staff to then Governor Jeb Bush, is now our Vice President for Government and Community Relations. We also welcomed our first-ever Chief Diversity Officer and Senior Advisor to the President, Antonio Farias, who joins us from Wesleyan University.  Nancy Paton, who comes to us from the University of Buffalo, will be starting as Vice President for Strategic Communications and Marketing on Oct. 1.

Stay informed and stay in touch

You can continue to stay in touch with what’s happening in the UF workplace by reading (or at least skimming!) our UF at Work e-newsletter every two weeks and by joining the conversation by following UF at Work on Facebook and/or Twitter. You may also learn about the many wellness resources, programs and events available to faculty and staff by emailing hrs-wellness@ufl.edu to subscribe to the UF-UF Health Wellness listserv.

My best wishes to all of you for a wonderful fall semester,

Jodi Gentry, Vice President
UF Human Resources