From the Provost
UCF Faculty Update: 2020 Closes With Better Times Ahead
Thu Dec 10
Congratulations on navigating a challenging year. I am grateful for our faculty’s hard work, adaptability, and creativity in these tough pandemic times. The coming availability of vaccines gives me optimism that next year we will begin to return to normality. Last week we received a reminder of how meaningful it can be to work in…
Faculty Guidance for Spring Semester 2021 Planning
Fri Oct 16
From Dr. Michael D. Johnson, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs I am grateful for all of your hard work supporting our students during this challenging semester. As we plan for the spring semester, we are working to offer substantially more face-to-face classes than we have this fall. We know the on-campus experience…
A New Name and Phase for a Key UCF Project to Shape the Future
Thu Sep 24
From Michael D. Johnson, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs; Misty Shepherd, Interim Vice President for Administration and Finance; and Joseph Trubacz, Interim Chief Financial Officer We are pleased to introduce the UCF community to Knight Vision, a transformational effort to improve business processes across the university. Formerly known as the “Cloud ERP…
Welcome to the “What Do You know About?” Video Series
Thu Sep 17
We recently took to the internet to see how much the UCF student body knew about UCF’s Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs. We asked several students a set of questions, and we’ve created a series based on their interesting responses. What do you know about the Office of the Provost and Academic Affairs?…
COVID-19 Faculty Responsibilities
Wed Sep 9
September 9, 2020 From Michael D. Johnson, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs I appreciate the efforts so many of you are making to ensure our students are receiving a high-quality education while your classes follow the university’s COVID-19 policy. However, I am concerned — really, shocked — about several reports of faculty members…
New Academic Alignment Aims to Enhance the Student Experience
Fri Aug 28
From Michael D. Johnson, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs I am pleased to announce a realignment of academic units to promote student success and strengthen the university’s academic enterprise. The organizational changes in the Division of Academic Affairs will affect UCF Connect, UCF Global, the Division of Student Learning and Academic Success,…
UCF Faculty Guidance for COVID-19 Cases in Your Classes
Fri Aug 28
From Michael D. Johnson, UCF Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Thank you for your dedication to giving our students a first-class education despite the many challenges of COVID-19. I am writing to give you guidance on the process if one of your students tests positive for the virus. For entirely remote classes,…
Guidance to UCF Faculty for a Successful Fall
Thu Aug 13
I am pleased to welcome you back for fall and share what you most need to know for a successful start to this unusual semester. This fall will be challenging – teaching in unusual circumstances, uncertainty about controlling the pandemic, the potential of a pivot to remote teaching, and the anxiety that all of us…
A Faculty ‘Thank You’ and Update from the President and Provost
Wed Aug 5
From UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright and Interim Provost Michael D. Johnson We want to share our heartfelt appreciation to our faculty members for your perseverance and dedication to our students, and your innovative thinking that has kept us successful during this once-in-a-century pandemic. For many of our students, learning, living and having access to…
Why UCF is Reopening, and Questions about Fall
Tue Jul 14
Since we posted our updated class schedules on July 1, many of you and your families have asked good questions related to this fall. There is no easy, one-size-fits-all answer. But I would like to explain more about why we are working hard to welcome many of you back to campus this fall, and what…
For Students: Fall Class Schedules Updated in MyUCF
Tue Jul 7
From Michael D. Johnson, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs I look forward to welcoming our new and returning Knights this fall. Our semester will look much different from what you have already experienced or expected college to look like, but we are committed to delivering an engaging on-campus and remote experience and…
Fiscal Year 2020-21 Brings Changes for UCF’s Information Technologies and Resources
Mon Jun 29
From Dr. Michael D. Johnson, interim provost and vice president for Academic Affairs Several organizational changes are underway for Information Technologies and Resources (IT&R) to coincide with the July 1 retirement of Joel Hartman, vice president of IT&R and chief information officer. First, let me thank and applaud Joel for his remarkable 25-year career at…
Addressing Intolerance in Our Community
Fri Jun 5
By UCF President Alexander N. Cartwright, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael D. Johnson, and Interim Chief Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Officer S. Kent Butler At a time when so many of our community members are hurting, we are disgusted by the racist posts one of our faculty members has shared on…
Interim Provost to Host Virtual Town Hall on Fall 2020 Teaching
Tue May 26
Join Interim Provost Michael D. Johnson and other campus leaders for a faculty-oriented Return to On-Campus Instruction Town Hall on Friday, May 29, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Zoom. Dr. Johnson will provide a brief update on fall academic planning and will be joined in fielding questions by a panel of campus experts…
Guidance for UCF Faculty on Fall Syllabus and Football Planning
Fri May 1
From Dr. Michael D. Johnson, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs I remain grateful for how our faculty have adapted and supported our students during this historic semester in the wake of COVID-19. We do not yet know how the pandemic will impact our fall semester, including our classes and our athletics events.…
Bringing a Challenging Semester to a Successful Close
Mon Apr 20
From Dr. Michael D. Johnson, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs As the end of an historic semester approaches, I want to tell you how very proud I am of how our faculty have responded to the greatest teaching challenge of our professional lives. The abrupt shift to remote teaching required a heavy…
Training Helps UCF Faculty and Staff Better Serve the Mental Health Needs of Students
Tue Apr 14
From Dr. Michael D. Johnson, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs The Florida Board of Governors has asked all state universities to help faculty and staff better understand how to identify a student who may be experiencing psychological distress and how to refer them for help through our Student of Concern process. I…
Remote Instruction at UCF to Continue Through All Summer Sessions
Fri Apr 10
From Dr. Michael D. Johnson, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Dr. Maribeth Ehasz, Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Services UCF will expand its period of remote instruction for all summer sessions to include Summer B, along with summer sessions A, C and D. This means that the earliest face-to-face…