How it Works

The committee

Most launch committees start meeting in the first semester that the new faculty member arrives at Penn State. In the summer before this, the committee members are selected. The committee consists of:

the new faculty member;
the department head;
one member from inside the department;
one member from outside the department; and
the convener from the Launch Conveners Committee.

The committee members are chosen primarily by the Launch Conveners Committee and the department head. An effort is made to choose faculty members who will be helpful in addressing any issues that the new faculty member is facing; for example, if they are involved in interdisciplinary research then the outside member could come from the corresponding outside department.

Meetings

Two college members talk while seated at a table during an Evidenced-Based Teaching Academy event organized by The Grove Center.

Launch committees meet once per month for one hour during the fall and spring semesters during the first year of the appointment. As necessary, special guests (facilities manager, business manager, etc.) may be brought into the meeting if they would be relevant to the discussion.

In the week before each main scheduled meeting, the new faculty member and the launch convener usually meet one-on-one to set an agenda for the next meeting. The convener provides minutes of the launch committee meetings that are shared with the launch committee after the meeting.

Topics Covered

A non-exhaustive list of topics covered by launch committees include research, teaching, funding, service, graduate students, laboratory space, time management, the transition to departmental mentoring, and life in State College. However, the purpose of the committee is to address any issues that are of importance to the new faculty member.

Evaluation

To gauge the efficacy of the Launch program, surveys are sent to the new faculty member on three occasions throughout the year. The entire committee receives a survey at the end of the Launch program. The surveys are confidential, and the Eberly College of Science receives anonymized aggregate data to assess the Launch program.

Beyond

Once the launch committee has stopped meeting, the new faculty member continues with mentoring within their own department.