New Faculty Orientation
1. General Administration - Things to Do upon Arrival on Campus
2. Building Information
3. Courses/Teaching
4. IT Support
5. Health and Safety
6. Staff Contacts
7. General Office Procedures
1. General Administration - Things to Do upon Arrival on Campus
- New Employee Welcome and Orientation and New Faculty Symposium - New faculty are strongly encouraged to attend both.
- Mandatory Employment Forms - Paycheck Profile, Directory Information, Ethics Statement, General University Compliance Form, Online Compliance Modules.
- I-9 Verification - Must be completed within the first three days of employment. Can be done at the New Faculty Orientation, or see Julie Kniseley.
- Claiming the W-4 – Online form.
- Faculty Moving Expenses - College of Liberal Arts guidelines.
- Optional New Employee Orientation - Covers insurance and retirement options.
- UT Electronic Identity (UT EID) - How to find or reset a UT EID. High Assurance UT EID - How to upgrade a UT EID permanently in person or temporarily from a remote location.
- UT Austin Email Address - Sign up for a UT Austin email address with a UT EID.
- UT Identification Card - The ID Center is located on the first floor of the Flawn Academic Center (FAC). Valid photo ID (eg driver's license) required. The UT ID also serves as an electronic key for the building interior hallway doors (eg the main office front door) and for the building after hours.
- Office Keys - Obtain a key letter from Julie Kniseley and go to the Service Building (SER) with a UT ID card to get an office key.
- Telephone (Smart Voice) - Voicemail instructions. Julie Kniseley will give faculty their office phone number.
- Department Faculty Web Profile - How to manage the faculty profile webpage. Upload a photo here.
- Parking - Information on permits, garage/lot locations, and fees.
- UT Austin Faculty Web Central - A comprehensive list of resources for faculty.
- UTDirect - The main web portal where all of the above can be accessed (UT EID required).
2. Building Information
The Department's offices are located in Patton Hall (RLP). The main office (3.306) hours are Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. Undergraduate Advising (1.216) hours are Monday to Friday, 9 am to 12 pm, and 1 pm to 4 pm. Graduate student cubicles are on the 2nd and 3rd floors.
Main Office Phone: (512) 232-6300
Undergraduate Advising Office Phone: (512) 232-6344
Fax: (512) 471-1748
Mailing Address
The University of Texas at Austin
Department of Sociology
305 E 23rd St, A1700
Austin, TX 78712-1086
Internal Campus Mail Code
A1700
3. Courses/Teaching
- CLIPS and Canvas - Online tools for managing classes.
- Uploading Syllabi and CVs (House Bill 2504) - The State of Texas requires that all faculty upload their CV and syllabi each semester before the 12th class day. They must comply with these specific State guidelines. Upload them here. Please contact Valerie Goldstein with questions.
- Classroom Media Console Key and Code - Please go to Mezes Hall (MEZ) 2.104 with a UT ID to obtain a classroom media console key, if needed. Please see front desk for the computer access code.
4. IT Support
- Desktop Support - laits-help@utexas.edu, 471-5000
- Classroom Support - 232-5400 (RLP), 471-9666 (other Liberal Arts buildings)
- General IT Support - 475-9400
5. Health and Safety
- UT Austin Police Department - Call 471-4441 (or 1-4441), or 911, from a campus phone.
- Emergency Text Alerts - Sign up for text alerts to receive prompt notice of emergencies, other safety issues, and weather closings.
- Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL) - 232-5050. BCAL is a service that provides faculty, students, and staff an opportunity to discuss their concerns about another individual's behavior.
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - 471-3366
- Maintenance and Trouble Calls - 471-2020
- UT Austin Child Development Center - UT Austin childcare services.
- More Information and Resources
6. Staff Contacts
- Julie Kniseley - Executive Assistant. jkniseley@austin.utexas.edu, 232-6305, RLP 3.724.
Overall office management
Faculty recruiting, hiring, onboarding
General faculty and staff HR
Faculty meetings
Faculty leaves
Visiting scholars
Liaison with International Office (faculty and visiting scholars)
Account management
Budgeting (general office, teaching, grad program, events, etc.)
Non-tenure teaching budget and planning
Administrative reporting
Event planning
Manage Health and Society major administration - Kevin Hsu - Senior Administrative Associate. kevin.hsu@austin.utexas.edu, 232-6345, RLP 3.306E.
Accounting (purchase orders, vendor payments, etc.)
Promotion and Tenure
Mid-Probationary and Comprehensive Periodic Reviews
Faculty elections
Faculty award submissions
Student fellowships (payment)
Travel for faculty recruits, new faculty, visitors
Oversee office supplies, copiers and general equipment
Office organization
Manage student assistants
Manage Sociology and Health and Society websites
Manage listservs - Valerie Goldstein - Senior Administrative Associate. valerie.goldstein@austin.utexas.edu, 232-6302, RLP 3.306G.
Course scheduling
Course instructor surveys
Syllabi uploads
Room reservations and assignments, including proximity (BACS) access - Michael Schmidt - Graduate Program Administrator. mschmidt@austin.utexas.edu, 232-6347, RLP 3.732.
Graduate program coordination (admissions, recruitment, orientation)
Day-to-day graduate student management, including cubicle/locker assignments
Student fellowships (planning and budgeting)
Reporting requirements (e.g., 18 Characteristics)
Comprehensive exams - Debbie Rothschild - Undergraduate Advisor. dcr@mail.utexas.edu, 232-6344, RLP 1.216.
- Megan Conner - Undergraduate Advisor. meganf@austin.utexas.edu, 232-6344, RLP 1.216.
7. General Office Procedures
- Mail - The Sociology Department main office and mail room are open during regular business hours; after hours, they can be accessed with a UT ID. Mailing within the UT Austin campus is free, and the Department will pay for business mail to outside the University as long as the Departmental address is used as the return address.
- Copying/Printing/Faxing - The Department has two machines for faculty, staff, and graduate students to use for official business matters.
- Telephone - To call a campus number, dial only the last 5 digits (eg 2-6300); to call locally outside the University, dial 9+area code+number; to make a long-distance domestic call, dial 9+area code+number; to call a toll-free number, dial 9, then the number (excluding the 1); to make an international call, dial 88+six-digit authorization code+*+011+number.
- Room Reservations - Please contact Valerie Goldstein.
- Supplies - To order office supplies and equipment, please see Kevin Hsu or Julie Kniseley.
- Letterhead - Please see Julie Kniseley for Departmental letterhead.
- Kitchen - For use by all Sociology faculty, staff and graduate students. Coffee is complimentary.
- Custodial Service - Offices are cleaned once a month. To have trash removed for the next business day, please set bins in the hall outside offices.
- Accounting and Travel - Faculty who have an account and would like to know their account number and/or balance can check it here. Requests for Travel Authorization and accompanying receipts should be submitted online. If an account or trip is funded by the Population Research Center, please see PRC staff. Before making an expense, check with Julie Kniseley or Kevin Hsu first to confirm reimbursement eligibility.
- Leave - Please see Julie Kniseley if planning to take leave.
- Clerical assistance - For class- and research-related matters, faculty should ask their TA and/or RA for assistance. The Department undergraduate student assistants can help with some clerical tasks. Please see Kevin Hsu if temporary assistance from student workers is needed.
