University of Arizona faculty excelled last year, advancing world-class research and innovation thanks to strong institutional support for professional development and career growth, according to the university's Faculty Affairs Annual Report. 

The report highlights an increase in faculty numbers, enhanced faculty onboarding programs, peer mentoring initiatives and a strategic focus on career advancement.

"We have world-class faculty who are making significant contributions in their teaching, research, scholarship, creative activities and service," said Andrea Romero, U of A vice provost for faculty affairs. "We are pleased to recognize their outstanding achievements."

As of the 2023-2024 school year, the university had 5,212 faculty members, including 4,083 active faculty and 1,129 emeritus professors – an increase from 5,013 total faculty members the previous year. Notably, more than 40 tenure-track or tenure-eligible positions were added, along with 63 career-track appointments.

Among the successes spotlighted in the report:

• Faculty Affairs' onboarding initiatives, designed to ensure new faculty are well-equipped to navigate the university's various resources and opportunities, had a 95% satisfaction rate based on participant surveys. The comprehensive faculty orientation process includes an in-person event, virtual resource fair and scheduled meetings with department heads. Over 270 faculty members participated in the fall 2023 in-person orientation, while more than 100 joined the virtual resource fair. 
   
• More than 200 faculty, students and staff engaged in university-based mentoring programs designed to foster career growth and prepare participants for leadership roles. Over 800 faculty and graduate students also completed the university's new Best Practices in Mentoring Training, which helps satisfy National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation mentoring and training requirements and is now available to external institutions for a fee.
   
• The university's HeadsUP program, which supports department heads and directors with training on vital topics such as shared governance, budget management and work-life balance, hosted 10 forums and workshops during the 2023-2024 school year.
   
• The U of A was one of two winners of the prestigious 2023 Delphi Award from the Pullias Center for Higher Education for making considerable efforts to enhance working conditions for career-track faculty over the past decade. The U of A was recognized for developing the Career-Track Faculty Model, a system that addresses challenges faced by faculty members and provides pathways for promotion. The university will use the $15,000 award to develop a speaker series to further enhance professional development opportunities for career-track faculty.
   
• The university was featured as a case study in the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities' Modernizing Scholarship for the Public Good Project for its innovative policies addressing career pathways and workplace satisfaction.
   
• The Partner for Hire Scorecard, a National Science Foundation-funded project based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, ranks the U of A No. 6 among R1 research universities for supporting couples who work in academia and providing resources for families in which both partners are pursuing professional careers.

"We are proud to see that our efforts to support, promote and retain faculty are being recognized amongst our peers at the national level," Romero said.