A&S Faculty Affairs Team Building on First Semester’s Service

Arts & Sciences’ new Faculty Affairs team hit the ground running this semester and is already working on a lineup of spring semester events supporting A&S faculty.

Led by Assoc. Dean for Faculty Affairs Alison Levine, the team serves A&S faculty in three principal areas:

• Faculty lifecycle processes ranging from their recruitment through their retirement, including guidance on faculty hiring searches, procedures for faculty leaves, promotion, tenure and renewal, and related A&S policies.
• Faculty development, including support and design of professional development programming and the development of a shared practice for faculty recognition. 
• Other A&S policies covering faculty.

Earlier this fall, A&S Faculty Affairs hosted several lunches for new faculty. It also organized a workshop titled “Mentoring 101: Finding your Network at UVA,” featuring Erin Furtak of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity, and an introduction to research administration for all faculty. 

Next spring, the team has an exciting lineup of events planned, including "Every Semester Needs a Plan," a Jan. 26 workshop on productivity and work-life balance for all faculty; two information sessions on promotion and tenure; and a second introduction to research administration (back by popular demand). The upcoming lineup of spring semester events includes "Every Semester Needs a Plan," a Jan. 26 workshop on productivity and work-life balance for all faculty; two information sessions on promotion and tenure; and a second introduction to research administration (back by popular demand).

Interested in joining the mailing list to learn more about Faculty Affairs events or want to weigh in on the type of programming you'd like to see in the future? Sign up here. 

You can learn more about the four members of the A&S Faculty Affairs team, including its newest member, Director of Faculty Affairs Katie Schmitt, who is scheduled to join the Dean’s Office team on Dec. 11, below.

Alison Levine, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs

This is Alison’s second term working in the Dean’s Office. A Professor of French, she previously served the A&S community as Associate Dean for the Arts and Humanities. She served as a dedicated voice for our arts and humanities missions — especially during the most challenging stretch of the pandemic in 2020 — in that earlier role.

She rejoined the A&S senior leadership team last July 17 as our new Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. She now leads career development and advancement for A&S faculty and serves as a liaison to Dean Christa Acampora and A&S Chief of Staff Kerry Searle Grannis for the A&S committees working on faculty review, promotion, and tenure cases. Alison also oversees the development and administration of programs and practices designed to enhance faculty success, recognize faculty excellence, and help build a robust and inclusive A&S community.  

Katie Schmitt, Director of Faculty Affairs

Currently serving as Chief of Staff at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development, Katie is joining the A&S Faculty Affairs team on Dec. 11. A strategic, thoughtful administrator who is deeply committed to cultivating collaboration, fostering community, and driving operational excellence, Katie brings extensive experience in faculty and staff affairs, finance, student affairs and human resources.

Before her arrival at UVA, Katie worked more than 10 years across multiple roles at the University of Michigan before serving for three years as Executive Director of Academic Administration and Special Advisor to the Provost at Teachers College, Columbia. 

Claire Reeger, Assistant Director of Faculty Affairs 

Claire works closely with the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Director of Faculty Affairs to manage processes throughout the faculty lifecycle. She has experience improving faculty affairs processes and creating stakeholder-specific resources; before this role, Claire was the Assistant Director of Faculty Affairs in UVA’s School of Medicine. She served as the first point of contact for departments and managed promotion and tenure, leaves, appointment letters, and search exceptions. She also audited faculty appointment data and verified information for the board of visitor’s docket.

Claire has a master’s degree in public administration from Virginia Tech and an undergraduate degree in sociology from Bridgewater College. She moved to Charlottesville in 2013 when her husband was hired as a Charlottesville police officer. Before her role with the School of Medicine, she worked at the Rare Book School and UVA’s Center for Teaching Excellence.

Ella Durbin, Faculty Affairs Specialist 

Ella joined the Faculty Affairs team in September. She serves as a team specialist and provides administrative support for Faculty Affairs leadership. Ella graduated from James Madison University in 2021 with a B.S. in health services administration. Before joining A&S Faculty Affairs, Ella worked as the faculty operations coordinator at Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing in Richmond, where she supported the nursing faculty and facilitated many faculty processes and events.