Who are we?

OFASD is a unit within the Office of the Provost that facilitates cross-institutional connections among individuals and entities in support of the advancement of academic careers. We are building on the foundations established by our predecessor, the Office of Faculty & Organizational Development.

Whom do we serve?

We serve academics of every rank, appointment type, and career stage.

How do we do our work? 

We support our colleagues as they develop productive careers reflective of their individual aspirations and help them understand how those aspirations contribute to institutional priorities. We create and offer programs and resources, promote relevant resources that others offer in their domains of expertise, and partner with others to provide programs and resources involving groups of stakeholders.

Within the OFASD and across campus, this work requires collaboration, coordination, and commitment to inclusive and diverse working environments.  Our work (1) is grounded in research and evidence, (2) privileges innovation as a way to promote growth and development, and (3) is designed to improve our institution’s culture with regard to academic advancement. Across our work, we seek to facilitate connections between career goals of individual faculty and academic staff and institutional priorities.

How are we organized?

The Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development is organized around four nodes, each covering a topic that is crucial to the development of the careers of faculty and academic staff.

The Academic Career Paths Node supports academics striving to create meaningful and productive professional and personal lives across the arc of a career.

The Leadership Development Node focuses on two broad areas: facilitation for current campus leaders and cultivation of future leaders.

The Research and Scholarship Node addresses an array of issues related to building and sustaining impactful research and scholarship programs.

The Teaching and Learning Node is helping MSU develop both a core of shared learning goals for teacher learning and robust communities of practice.