Images (Left - National Mentoring Month graphic) (Right - Faculty Mentor Jerry Hubbard with his Mentee Keven Carr)

National Mentoring Month: UTA Initiatives - 1/18/2024

January marks National Mentoring Month, a campaign dedicated to raising awareness about the profound impact of mentoring throughout the nation. Originating in 2002, through the Harvard Mentoring Project, an initiative by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the aim was to establish a nationwide commitment to providing mentors for young individuals facing challenges in leading healthy, productive lives. Today, the influence of mentorship is undeniable. Recent findings indicate that mentorship programs can attract talent, build culture, reduce brain drain, and engage older employees. Surveys reveal that 82% of hiring managers believe job candidates are more attracted to companies that offer mentorship programs, and 85% of job seekers concur. Furthermore, 74% of adults mentored in their formative years attribute their success to their mentors.

UTA is launching a structured staff mentoring program, Maverick Momentum, this month. A collaborative effort between the Staff Advisory Council and Belonging & Engagement, the program connects staff with mentors in leadership positions, offering a structured mentoring program covering topics like personal marketing and branding, solutions orientation, feedback, and autonomous engagement. While in its pilot year, the program aims to expand across the university in the future. For more information regarding Maverick Momentum visit the Belonging & Engagement website.
At UTA the impact of mentorship is evident through programs like the First-Year Pathway available to full time Non-Tenure Track and Tenure Track faculty. Originating as an extension of the Fall and Spring New Faculty Orientations, the program facilitates monthly meetings addressing pertinent topics such as sponsorship, teaching, research, annual reviews/promotions, and building resiliency. These sessions foster interdisciplinary connections and collaborative opportunities. Additionally, early career faculty can participate in a 1:1 traditional mentorship model, pairing early career faculty with experienced counterparts. Both programs enhance faculty belonging and engagement and continue to expand. For more information about faculty mentorship contact the Division of Faculty Success at FacultySuccess@uta.edu.

Join the national movement and celebrate National Mentoring Month by becoming a mentor, expressing gratitude to mentors, and sharing impact stores on Thank Your Mentor Day on January 25th, 2024, using #MentoringMonth and #MentoringAmplifies on social media.

Connect, build, cultivate, and empower – these are the actions that define Lisa and Kristine’s commitment to making UTA a welcoming space for veterans. Their initiatives have laid the foundation for a more veteran-friendly environment at UTA, where authenticity is celebrated, and individuals thrive. As UTA continues to expand its efforts in serving veterans and enhancing veteran hiring, the Serving Those Who Serve military cultural competency training, aimed at faculty, staff, and invested students, represents a crucial step forward. Join us in applauding these Champions of Belonging for their unwavering dedication to creating a more engaging workplace at UTA. For more information or to nominate someone for the BE Spotlight as a “Champion of Belonging,” please reach out to Belonging & Engagement at beuta@uta.edu.

Photograph: UT Arlington Color Guard

Hiring

UTA proudly provides employment preference to veterans and veteran dependents. Our veteran employees have made significant sacrifices in the service of this nation, and thus have various rights and benefits designed to facilitate their integration into civilian life. To learn more about UTA’s Veteran Employment preference visit here.

Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, employers are required to actively recruit, hire, promote, and retain protected veterans. A noteworthy initiative in this regard is the Maverick Military Job Advancement Pathway. This program aims to provide resources, tools, and services, offering a clear pathway for the military and veteran population to secure employment at UTA and will be launching on Wednesday, November 15th, 2023, at the Military and Veteran Services Center from 2:30-3:30pm.

Benefits

In addition, for veterans receiving health benefits administered by the Veterans Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, UTA upholds the Medical and Mental Health Care Leave policy for up to fifteen days of paid time off. To learn more about the Medical and Mental Health Care Leave policy for veterans visit here, and for the full Military Leave of Absence procedure visit here.

Self-Identification

In addition to hiring opportunities and benefits, UTA is embarking on a campaign encouraging employees to self-identify. As a federal contracting organization, UTA adheres to reporting requirements from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) by inviting employees to self-identify every five years. We ask all veteran employees to verify your veteran status to ensure accurate reporting data. For more details about this campaign or how to self-identify through UT Share, please visit here.

Employee Resource Group

The Military and Veteran Services (MAVS) is collaborating with Belonging & Engagement to introduce the Military and Veteran Employee Network. This network seeks to provide transition support, education, professional development, and outreach opportunities for veterans and veteran-connected employees. The official launch will take place during the UTA Faculty & Staff Recognition of Military Service breakfast.

Photograph: Military Services Breakfast Event

Recognition

For the past eight years, UTA has hosted a breakfast to honor UTA faculty and staff members who have served in the military and are now applying their dedication to UTA's students and employees. This year, the breakfast will be held on Friday, November 10th, 2023.

Whether you identify as a veteran, veteran dependent, or an ally, we invite you to help raise awareness about the resources available to our UTA veteran employees, who have made significant contributions to our nation and workforce. For more information about your rights as a protected veteran please visit here. For more information regarding Belonging and Engagement visit our website or contact beuta@uta.edu.

Photograph Credits:

• Picture on the right: Photograph of Beth Haller in Australia as a Fulbright Specialist at the University of Sydney and Curtin University in 2015.
• Picture on left: Black and white photograph of Shirley Sue Smith at the wedding of Gay Grumbles Haller and Richard L. Haller in August 1960 in Atlanta, Texas.

As we continue to honor National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), the Office of TCE | Belonging & Engagement extends an invitation to explore rich narratives and contributions of the past, highlighting those who served as Champions of Belonging to the UTA community, in hopes of cultivating a more accessible future.

Dr. Haller stands out as a Champion of Belonging for her contribution in removing barriers for people with disabilities. Dr. Haller was an adjunct faculty for the Minor in Disability Studies here at UTA from 2019-2022. She also donated the Shirley Sue Smith collection, which offers oral histories and additional gifts that support Disability Studies at UTA. She has significantly shaped the discourse around mass communication and disability representation in media through her work as a professor at Towson University and other universities. She is the co-director for a non-profit, the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment - she has left an indelible mark on disability advocacy.

Dr. Haller skillfully employs a humanizing narrative and vividly portrays the journeys of people with disabilities. She goes beyond conventional storytelling by incorporating impactful quotes that shed light on societal misconceptions. She emphasizes the layers of misunderstanding that persist among nondisabled people and how these misunderstandings can impact their relationships with people with disabilities.

Dr. Haller’s legacy serves as a poignant testament to the profound impact of purposeful communication. Through her scholarly pursuits, she fearlessly champions the rights of individuals with disabilities to embrace every facet of their identities. Her advocacy empowers them to present their most authentic selves in professional and educational realms. Implicit in her discourse is a passionate call for these individuals to cultivate community, forge connections, and foster a sense of belonging. Dr. Haller emerges as a resolute Champion of Belonging. As we recognize NDEAM, let us honor the voices of the past, celebrate UTA’s champions of belonging, reflect on ways to cultivate belonging our workplaces, and envision a future where accessibility moves beyond a mere concept, and becomes a lived reality.

These narratives are captured in the Shirley Sue Smith collection, part of the Texas Disability History Collection, which is hosted by UTA Libraries Special Collections in partnership with the Disability Studies Minor and the Department of History. The Shirley Sue Smith oral histories, recorded by Dr. Haller, are part of more than 200 oral histories in the Texas Disability History Collection. In addition, UTA’s own disability history is recorded in the digital exhibit Building A Barrier-Free Campus, curated by Trevor Engel and Dr. Sarah F. Rose with help from UTA Libraries, Adapted Sports, the Department of History, and other entities.

For more information regarding Belonging and Engagement contact beuta@uta.edu.

As we continue into October, designated by the U.S. Department of Labor, as National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), we embark on a journey to advance awareness and accessibility for students and employees with disabilities at UTA.

NDEAM is not just a symbolic gesture but a call to action. Nationally, “college students with disabilities are 40% less likely than nondisabled peers to graduate, even when allowed 8 years to finish as opposed to the standard 6 years” . In 2022, the labor force participation rate for people with disabilities was 21.3%, while for nondisabled people it was 65.4%. In addition, the unemployment rate for people with a disability was 7.6%, double the rate for nondisabled people, 3.5%.

UTA intentionally seeks to dismantle these inequities through multifaceted initiatives. New talent pathways are being developed to strategically recruit people with disabilities. This month UTA will be launching an Employee Network for employees with disabilities and allies to promote visibility, foster community, and cultivate resources. In addition to educating students in disability studies—DS students have completed over 35 different majors at UTA—the Disability Studies Minor has a required internship program which provides students with tangible job skills. Students are encouraged to pursue graduate and professional degrees, which has culminated in 85% of Disability Studies minors graduating or on track to graduate. In addition to impacting graduation rates, the “overall GPAs of graduates with disabilities rose .22 after starting Disability Studies core classes, compared with just a .12 increase for nondisabled students.”

As we observe National Disability Employment Awareness Month, we are invited to be mindful of how we represent those who have tirelessly advocated for people with disabilities. Educating ourselves on inclusive practices within the workplace is crucial. Avoiding assumptions based on appearance, understanding worksite accessibility, seeking consent before offering assistance, and choosing language that centers personhood are essential steps.

The journey of educating ourselves on disability etiquette begins individually. We encourage you to learn more about UTA’s ADA & ADAA for faculty and staff. Additionally, we encourage you to explore the digital exhibit Building A Barrier-Free Campus, and participate in events promoting awareness and education through the Disability Studies Minor and the SAR Center, as well as student organizations such as Mavericks with Disabilities, Neurodiversity at University, and Mav THAT ASL. This month, the Office of TCE | Belonging & Engagement, will be launching a new Employee Resource Group (ERG), Employee Disability Network to promote visibility and build community for people with disabilities and allies. Please express your interest in participating here. For more information regarding Belonging and Engagement, please visit our website.