You spend an afternoon trying to solve a research or teaching problem, then discover there's an office on campus that helps with exactly that task. It's a familiar kind of relief, with a little frustration mixed in. If only you'd known earlier.
The handbook encourages new faculty to learn the support landscape before a deadline forces the search. Start with five kinds of resources and find out what your institution actually offers.
1. The library's research and publishing support
Ask about services relevant to your work: literature searching, citation management, data support, publishing questions, or research tools. Be specific about the task you're facing. 'I need help tracking literature for this question' gives someone a clearer starting point than 'Show me everything the library can do.'
Keep the useful contact and the resource link together.
2. The research office and funding guidance
Find out where funding opportunities, internal awards, travel support, and proposal processes are explained. Ask about internal deadlines before preparing a submission. Learning the route early can keep a promising opportunity from becoming an avoidable last-minute scramble.
Availability and eligibility vary, so check the actual opportunity rather than assuming a general announcement applies to you.
3. Faculty review workshops
A workshop can help you understand the format, sequence, and common questions in an evaluation process. Bring the applicable criteria and your own uncertainties. Afterward, turn the information into a checklist instead of leaving it in a folder of slides you'll never reopen.
4. Writing groups and feedback communities
Ask whether there are groups for quiet writing, draft exchange, or accountability. Those are different kinds of support. Choose the one that fits your immediate need and the time you can sustain.
If no formal group is available, one colleague and a clear agreement can be enough to try a small routine.
5. Professional learning and grant workshops
Look for training connected to a real next step, such as improving a study design or preparing a proposal budget. A useful workshop should help you do something you need to do. You don't have to attend every session to show commitment to development.
Subscribe selectively to the channels that announce relevant opportunities. Review them at a regular time so useful information doesn't vanish into an overflowing inbox.
Arrive with enough context to make the help useful
A consultation works better when you can explain the task, what you've tried, and what decision you need to make. If you're discussing a literature search, bring the question and a few relevant sources. If you're asking about a proposal process, bring the actual opportunity and its deadline. Follow the office's guidance about what to send in advance.
Then leave with a next step you understand. That might be using a resource, revising a search, or returning with a more developed draft. Keep the advice somewhere you can find it when you resume the work.
Don't treat support as a way to hand over every decision. These services can help you work more effectively while you retain responsibility for your project and follow the applicable procedures. A small, well-prepared request is often more productive than waiting until the problem is so large that you're asking someone to rescue the entire deadline.
Choose one problem you're currently working on and locate the campus resource most likely to help. Send a focused question or schedule the appropriate consultation. Building a support network is easier when it begins with a task you can name.
Adapted from The New Faculty Handbook by Zafer Unal, pp. 26-27.
