How Seed Grants Strengthened Faculty Communities

Deep in the woods, a group of faculty gathered around a campfire and roasted a goat. At a restaurant on Ninth Street, another group talked about ways to foster a culture of collaboration. On campus, faculty role-played a scenario involving AI and academic misconduct.

These activities were part of faculty-led projects on the theme of deepening engagement and improving the faculty experience, which the Office for Faculty Advancement supported through seed grants in 2025-26.

Exchanging knowledge through shared experiences

Three Nicholas School colleagues set out to bring faculty together across the four divisions, including faculty based at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort. “There’s very little that we do all together as a matter of course,” said Rebecca Vidra, senior lecturer in the division of marine science and conservation, who led this project with Joel Meyer and Brian McAdoo.

Inspired by an annual student campout, they organized an overnight experience in Duke Forest. Many faculty brought their families and pitched tents, and one person led a guided walk to identify different trees. “Even though we’re all in the Nicholas School, not all of us study trees,” Vidra said, “so that was really fun.” A roasted goat was the centerpiece of a potluck lunch.

Other activities included two kayaking outings with the Coharie Tribe on the Black River and the Great Coharie River. “Some of us faculty already have connections with some of the tribal members,” Vidra explained. “This trip allowed some folks who hadn’t met these people or seen this amazing landscape to go out with us.”

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Another well-attended event was a workday at Catawba Trail Farm, where many of the faculty have been engaged in work with this community partner.

Faculty also learned about shellfish farming efforts in Beaufort and took part in a festive dinner when Beaufort-based faculty came to Durham for the master’s project symposium. 

Vidra emphasized that “in all of these things, there’s a social component and there’s a learning/connecting component. We’re connecting with each other’s community partners, and it’s also been a really nice way to get to know each other’s work.”

Supporting non-regular rank faculty 

This project was designed to address disparities in resources, mentorship and scholarly support between regular and non-regular rank faculty in the School of Nursing. Participants dubbed the initiative CAMP, for the Consulting Associate Faculty Mentoring Program. 

Thirty non-regular rank faculty participated consistently throughout the year. Each person was paired with a regular rank mentor based on scholarly interests. 

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A workshop series offered sessions on CV and biosketch development, virtual presence and personal branding, executive presence coaching, writing for publication and a discussion with regular rank faculty who transitioned from non-regular rank roles. 

“These sessions strengthened faculty relationships, enhanced the non-regular rank faculty’s sense of belonging and supported their preparation for regular rank opportunities,” said Benjamin Smallheer, associate clinical professor, who led the project with Stephanie Gedzyk-Nieman.

“A particularly meaningful outcome was the overwhelming support from regular rank faculty and external contributors,” Smallheer said. He and Gedzyk-Nieman hope that CAMP will continue to strengthen the professional development pipeline and, ultimately, enrich the learning experience for nursing students.

Building community through a restorative justice approach

This project aimed to strengthen the Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics community by applying restorative justice principles within its Master of Biostatistics program. “We have a very large department with five degree programs,” said Steven Grambow, associate professor, who led the project with Jesse Troy and Laine Thomas. “Not everyone in our department teaches, and we’ve also had a lot of new faculty.”

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The three colleagues drew on their backgrounds in restorative practices (which emphasize repairing harm over punishment). They offered an initial workshop for faculty focused on curriculum updates and student support to provide a deeper understanding of the program philosophy. A second meeting focused on the program’s AI use policy, in which they role-played a scenario involving a student and academic integrity concerns related to AI.

In the third session, they held flash talks with faculty who shared their course learning objectives, their teaching philosophy, how they are currently incorporating AI in their courses and what support they would like from the program to do so. “The discussion generated interest around AI, and we’re starting a community of practice around that,” said Troy, who is associate professor. “What we’re trying to do now is take the temperature of our students. In a focus group, we’ll use an abridged version of the role-play to explore what students believe is fair, educational and trust-preserving when these situations arise, and if these scenarios should be part of orientation for incoming students.”

“Our hope is to roll this out more broadly to our faculty,” Grambow said.

Learning to thrive together

Inspired by Duke’s emphasis on student well-being, this project supported an interdisciplinary faculty learning community focused on sustainable teaching and well-being.

Jennifer Ahern-Dodson organized Thriving Together with Cecilia Márquez. “This project set out to explore the question, what does it mean if thriving is a practice for faculty?” said Ahern-Dodson, who is associate professor of the practice in the Thompson Writing Program.

“We recruited faculty across schools and invited them to help build a space where faculty can connect authentically and put well-being at the center of our careers. Cecilia and I wanted our group to consider in our teaching and across our many roles what it looks like to be ambitious and engaged without burning out. Through this community, we hoped we each could stay connected to the joy and curiosity that brought us here, and to carry that commitment to holistic well-being into our research and our teaching.”

At a two-day retreat that included an invited guest, participants discussed what they hoped to do more of and less of, and what that might look like. Through monthly gatherings, the group kept asking those questions as a means of supportive accountability and collective problem-solving.

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One challenge participants encountered is that they “all wanted to do more, like piling our plates higher,” Ahern-Dodson said, but thriving involves recognizing one’s capacity. “We are not inexhaustible resources,” Ahern-Dodson said, “and that recognition is an important part of cultivating thriving as a practice.”

The group also reflected on the 2030 Teaching and Mentoring Excellence report and discussed what it would mean to be thriving in their own teaching and mentoring practices. 

“I was grateful for the care taken by Cecilia and Jennifer in curating a small and powerfully committed cohort for this fundamentally self-reflexive endeavor,” said Sarah Wilbur, associate professor of the practice of dance. “And while I felt that all of the external resources (guest facilitators, online resources) that were shared helped me to navigate the ever-growing responsibilities that accompany academic and faculty careers, my most cherished resources were the members of the group themselves.”

“Thriving Together has been an incredibly meaningful experience,” said Emilie Aguirre, associate professor of law. “It has given me the opportunity to reflect holistically on my life as both an academic and a person, and to think more intentionally about how to thrive while balancing the demands of research, writing, teaching, service and family care. I feel very fortunate to have been part of this group and connected with such a wonderful community.”

Maria Tackett, associate professor of the practice of statistical science, described Thriving Together as a special community. “It has been a place where we can focus on our whole selves, not just who we are as educators and scholars,” she said. “Through conversations and other activities, I have learned many valuable strategies for having a sustainable and joyful career.”

Participants aim to carry this work forward into their departments and, by building faculty engagement around the question of well-being, make their classrooms more empathetic and effective learning spaces and help sustain their research engagement over the course of their careers.

Establishing a science and culture network 

“Our goal was to create a network of faculty at Duke who are interested in the history, sociology and philosophy of the sciences,” said Robert Mitchell, professor of English, who led the project with Stefani Engelstein and Cate Reilly. “Though there are many such scholars at Duke, there are relatively few occasions for connection.”

They organized sessions to help participants learn about scholarly projects underway at Duke in order to facilitate discussion, create avenues of communication across disciplines and seed future collaborations.

Following a kickoff meeting to discuss a short article about science and progress, the next four meetings each brought together two Duke scholars to discuss their own work. An end-of-semester evening meeting took place at a Durham restaurant.

“A number of scholars who had not met one another had a chance to meet and discuss their own work and the work of others, introducing colleagues with similar interests who otherwise wouldn’t have met,” said Mitchell. 

Strengthening a culture of collaboration

Two colleagues in the Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science used their seed grant to initiate an in-depth look at undergraduate advising while strengthening a culture of collaboration. 

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Through the grant, “we have a community of six faculty members from the department, three staff members from the dean’s office and five students,” said Rebecca Simmons, professor of the practice. The aim was to foster collaboration and mutual engagement throughout the department by emphasizing advising as means for growth, career readiness, a sense of belonging and a strong department culture.

She and Walter Neal Simmons organized monthly meetings, including faculty-student dinners on various themes. Choosing restaurants close to east campus seemed to boost participation, since students signed up for the dinners right away. Faculty asked what they could be doing better to engage and support students, and the students suggested ways the department might help.

The group also conducted a student survey as well as career readiness and interview prep activities. A new chatbot helps students prepare for advising meetings. For an upcoming student focus group, a panel of four faculty will help students start thinking about how courses are connected.

This comprehensive approach to advising benefits faculty as well as students, as the new practices promote sharing responsibility and working together to support students.

About Faculty Advancement Seed Grants

This annual funding opportunity supports novel, faculty-led initiatives in academic units. The aim is to promote a vibrant and inclusive academic community and cultivate networks for faculty to collaborate and form meaningful relationships. See descriptions of the 2025-26 and 2026-27 projects.

Main image: Faculty members went kayaking on the Great Coharie River, guided by members of the Coharie Tribe.