From recruitment through retirement, the Office for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, or FASA, at Michigan State University plays a vital role in supporting faculty and academic staff through governance, policies and professional development. Formerly known as Academic Human Resources, or AHR, and the Office of Faculty and Organizational Development, FASA has grown into a robust team, adapting to the growth and needs of our campus community.

The office has undergone several iterations, most notably in 2006–07, when its operational and data reporting positions were reassigned to Human Resources. Following this change, Theodore Curry, associate provost and associate vice president emeritus for AHR, and Donna Zischke, director emeritus for AHR, assumed responsibility for managing all inquiries and issues across the university. At the same time, they worked to strengthen the unit’s capacity to focus on overarching strategy, faculty and leadership development, and policy advancement through academic governance.

The creation of the Graduate Employees Union in 2001 and the Union of Nontenure-Track Faculty in 2009 also created a central role for AHR in negotiating and administering the collective bargaining agreements for the two union groups. Inquiries increased, needs changed and Zischke made the decision to retire — so AHR recruited three additional employees over time to serve the colleges. All this led to the support structure FASA provides today.

In addition to these structural changes, AHR oversaw major initiatives like ADVANCE ADAPP, or Advancing Diversity through Alignment of Policies and Practices. AHR closely collaborated with the MSU office charged with ensuring equal opportunity and affirmative action in employment, known today as the Office for Inclusive Excellence and Impact.

Then, in 2008, AHR was awarded a 3.98 million Institutional Transformation grant from the National Science Foundation to fundamentally align its policies to advance excellence and diversity across the university. Former Provost Kim Wilcox served as the principal investigator and Curry represented AHR as the co-PI, helping support the team’s collective efforts to accomplish ADAPP objectives. The grant initially focused on increasing the inclusion and advancement of women in STEM, with efforts centered on the College of Engineering, the College of Natural Science and the College of Social Science. In 2010, Provost Wilcox provided central funding to expand ADAPP initiatives to all MSU colleges.

“When I think about the ADAPP initiative and the ADVANCE grant, one of the first things that comes to mind is the lasting impact of requiring every faculty member to have access to mentoring within the college and/or within the department,” Curry said. In addition to mentoring and career support tools, the grant supported the establishment of Faculty Excellence Advocates to promote excellence and inclusion across colleges. Additionally, the Office of the Provost issued the Faculty Mentoring Policy in 2011 as a direct outcome of the grant.

To increase the level of its support capacity, AHR’s team expanded and rebranded as the Office for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs in October 2021, aligning more effectively as a support unit within the Office of the Provost. FASA is now led by Vice Provost and Associate Vice President Teresa Mastin. This process set the foundation for closing system and policy gaps through new policy development, education, guidance and support.

FASA’s work is vast and impactful, and their support framework is defined by three pillars:

1. Strengthening the foundation: Advancing people, policy and progress for institutional excellence

2. Faculty and academic staff career success: Access and support

3. Leadership development: Present and future

Embodying the three pillars, FASA’s goal is to provide resources and support at every stage of a person’s career, develop policies that are equitable and support faculty and academic staff well-being, and create a work culture that values faculty and academic staff.

“If we are responsible for the [work] culture, how can we do everything in our power to ensure that faculty and academic staff have the time they need to focus on the things that are critically important?” Mastin shared.

Operating within a decentralized institution, FASA has become a one-stop shop for connecting colleges and units with the resources to promote a positive and supportive work culture. Its efforts encompass everything from recruitment, promotion, tenure to union negotiations, policy development, professional development opportunities, and training programs.

> Related reading: Videos spotlight staff, faculty making a difference at MSU and in students' lives

Building connections to support faculty and staff needs

Enhancing and developing policies in addition to providing support requires proactive, consistent communication. Each college is assigned a specific FASA liaison who provides policies, guidance, resources and support for questions related to faculty and academic staff employment matters. College and unit representatives meet regularly with their assigned FASA director to discuss current issues, gain support in the moment and identify opportunities to address systemic problems.

This partnership creates space for FASA and unit representatives to share ideas, including policy changes or development. As these conversations continue, they become building blocks for revisiting policy challenges.

“Having a liaison for each college is very important,” said Kendra Cheruvelil, dean of Lyman Briggs College. “It gives us clarity about who we go to and gives that person an opportunity to know our circumstances. They know the big picture and know us and our unique context, balancing the institutional view with the local view.”

Liaisons help to connect FASA’s knowledge base to individual units. If college or unit leaders transition out of their roles, FASA can share knowledge to help guide incoming deans, directors, chairs and others. If a situation arises that a unit has never encountered before, leaders can reach out to FASA to learn if it has happened elsewhere and how it was handled.

“We can now collaborate better by asking if [a situation] has happened in another college and figure out how to manage these situations in terms of what the policy says, what the university says and what is best for the human,” said Shannon O’Brien, human resources manager in the College of Social Science.

In addition to collaborating with colleges and units, FASA partners with Academic Governance and its committees such as the University Committee on Faculty Affairs and the University Committee on Faculty Tenure. This partnership allows FASA to bring revised or new policies and issues for feedback and for elected faculty and academic staff to share ideas, specifically, on how changes could impact them.

As the team proactively addresses faculty and academic staff employment matters, FASA has led several landmark initiatives that have strengthened equity and improved the faculty and academic staff experience at MSU. One example includes changes to the policy formerly known as the Course Fee Courtesy, which provided half-off tuition for children and spouses of employees, beginning with the fall 2025 semester. The new policy, named the Tuition Benefit Program, increases the credit limit from 120 to a maximum of 134 credits or until the first bachelor’s degree is completed. It also eliminates the five-year waiting period previously required for full-time fixed-term faculty and academic staff and staff employees.

In addition, FASA collaborated with a working group, including faculty governance and administrative offices, to establish retirement matching contributions for academic year faculty receiving a summer salary effective in the summer of 2025. Under this change, AY faculty and academic staff who receive a summer salary will now receive a 10% matching retirement contribution.

A new Paid Family Sick Leave Policy was implemented for salaried faculty and academic staff to support family caregiving needs related to medical issues, including but not limited to diagnosis, illness, treatment and preventative care. A major goal of FASA is to create a working environment, through policies, systems and structures, where faculty and academic staff feel valued and respected not only for their professional contributions but also as individuals and human beings.

Trending toward the future

As FASA continues to strategize and plan for years to come, several trends may impact the future of the office’s work, spanning policies and well-being. Changing student demographics present the need for updated tools and educational programming. The rise and impact of generative artificial intelligence challenge ideas of how teaching and learning occur. The ever-increasing digital connectivity of the work environment also increases concerns about mental health and burnout. Furthermore, the team must consider the implications of having five generations in the workforce.

Beyond thinking strategically about these trends, FASA is working to create unified support for faculty, academic staff and leadership. They have merged with the Office of Faculty and Academic Staff Development, or OFASD to create one cohesive unit. This change provides an integrated structure and expanded capacity to enhance collaboration and streamline support for MSU’s academic community. Additionally, it aligns with the “One Team” approach supported by President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., and other university leaders.

Throughout the fall semester, FASA continued to develop faculty, academic staff and administrators with various programs, including Lunch and Learn sessions, Leadership Institutes, orientations, fellowships and more. The office is also evaluating all training and programming to align with community needs and the university landscape. In addition to focusing on current programming, the team plans to create fresh learning modules to support new and seasoned academic leaders.

“Our goal is to provide opportunities for our academic colleagues to develop and grow throughout their careers. This includes a special emphasis on enhancing the success of current leaders while also creating space to cultivate new leaders,” said Cindi Leverich, director of academic leadership development.

Programming that relates to teaching and learning, including the Adams Academy and Lilly fellowships, the learning communities, and the Student Perceptions of Learning Survey, will now be part of the Teaching and Learning Innovation unit to strengthen institutional alignment.

The integrated team is committed to the success of all faculty, academic staff and academic leaders, emphasizing the three pillars to guide their work. No matter what the future holds, FASA will continue to provide the resources people need to have successful careers. “We want to make their lives better in their day-to-day work,” said Kara Yermak, assistant provost for FASA. “We want a workplace where [faculty and academic staff] feel supported, and we are working to improve the workplace.”