Frits Pil, Professor of Organizations and Entrepreneurship, was recently named one of the University of Pittsburgh’s first two Provost Fellows for Faculty. Faculty members who receive this one-year appointment work with senior leaders across the University to strengthen the Pitt faculty community.
Pil will work closely with Laurie Kirsch—Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, Development, and Diversity. In discussing the role, Pil says, “Provost Ann Cudd’s initiatives resonate strongly with me, including her vision to foster a strong culture of diversity, to strengthen our teaching and research climate, and to bring research and data to bear on efforts to enhance the student learning experience. The Fellow role gives me a unique opportunity to understand how decisions are made and new pathways are fostered in the Provost’s office, and I am excited to help push forward issues that are important to me.
“I am looking forward to exploring how we can strengthen faculty development opportunities for all faculty,” says Pil. “This includes working with Vice Provost Kirsch to develop offerings for appointment stream and tenure stream faculty looking to grow in their roles as faculty members, and to design learning pathways for those colleagues who wish to advance in leadership roles.” Pil also looks forward to engaging deeply in diversity efforts. “I want to contribute to efforts that foster a faculty environment that welcomes and embraces all facets of diversity, and that draws on the strengths that diversity gives us,” he says.
Pil’s new role as Provost Fellow complements his prior appointment as the director of instructional innovation and faculty development for the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration (CBA). His work to date has included technology; student mental health; deploying a teaching portfolio approach for all faculty promotion, tenure, and retention evaluations; and establishing a standardized teaching observation protocol.
At Pitt Business, Pil also has launched a mentorship program to enhance the teaching efficacy of tenure to faculty in their first three years in the tenure stream. “Frits and I share the view that faculty mentorship is a critical component to faculty learning and development,” says Arjang A. Assad, Henry E. Haller Jr. Dean of Katz and CBA. “We purposefully connect faculty from different disciplines, and across tenure and appointment stream status. The University allows us to harness the varied ideas and perspectives that enrich our campus to further our individual strengths and contributions.“