Who We Serve

The ADVANCE Center works with faculty, graduate students and higher education leaders at WVU as well as other institutions across the country.

Our wealth of strategies aim to achieve the success of ALL faculty and students.
Our services are grounded in an assets-based approach through CliftonStrengths activities, the NCFDD platform and our own tried-and-true strategic processes.
We offer mentoring, focused on sponsorship so you can learn how to champion your own work.
We apply best practices that support all scholars – from those who are just entering academia, those who hail from different backgrounds and cultures, and those who’ve been in their field for decades.
We provide individualized planning sessions to clarify your goals, whatever your career stage, and identify steps to reach them.
We also offer workshops and work-sessions for groups, including departments, to clarify their mentoring and support practices.

FACULTY

Whether you are a tenure track, teaching track, research track, clinical or service track faculty member, a post-doc, a visiting faculty or an instructor - we’ve got you!

Our approach is to center your needs as a faculty member, and then build outward to develop a cohesive development network that enables you to meet your personalized goals.

Our mentoring philosophy employs a culturally responsive framework, recognizes the need to attend to your individual needs, and fosters an assets-based approach.

We recognize that academic institutions must adapt to support their communities through broader participation among the academic faculty, which involves bringing first-generation faculty into a context with which they are unfamiliar.

WVU ADVANCE is here support learning academic norms and processes among all faculty regardless of their title or career stage.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

You’re in a critically important stage of your academic career as you study to become a field expert or a rigorous researcher.

We’ve been there. We know that you’re 100% dedicated to completing your dissertation, finding a postdoc or fellowship, and/or finding your first tenure-track position.

How ADVANCE Can Help

WVU ADVANCE team members come from a range of disciplines across campus and have extensive experience working in a collaborative, team-oriented context.

In addition to professional development and problem-solving, team members can provide subject area expertise if you are interested in helping to solve real world problems in your home disciplines through broader participation and socially relevant research.

We want you to thrive at WVU and in your future career!

WVU LEADERS

Innovative leaders are an integral part of the future of higher education, especially as the composition of the student body changes in response to larger demographic shifts. Yet, innovation requires time and energy, and department chairs, deans, and other leaders must meet new challenges before academics adapt to new contexts.

WVU ADVANCE is here to support you. We provide one-on-one consultation services to identify how best to engage your work group, whether you’re working with faculty, students or staff. As collaborators, we help you navigate inevitable conflicts using healthy practices while working with you and your team to build stronger, productive, inclusive climates.

We recognize the sacrifices you make to serve your units and are here to help you succeed, while maintaining your personal happiness.