NEXUS Program

NEXUS is a program that is designed to orient new full and part-time faculty to state, district and campus policies and procedures. It is also designed to acquaint new faculty with services and support available on campus both for faculty and for students.

The NEXUS Co-coordinators for 2019-2020 are Patrick Leong, Professor of English and Puente Co-Coordinator, pleong@dvc.edu, 925-969-2406, and Lisa Smiley-Ratchford, Professor of Sociology, LSmiley-Ratchford@dvc.edu, 925-969-2448.

Download the NEXUS Mentor Handbook

This handbook was designed as a guide to assist DVC Faculty in understanding the role and expectations behind the NEXUS Mentoring model as well as providing examples of mentoring tools.

Tenure track faculty

First year tenure track faculty are required to do 50 hours of Flex activities; the NEXUS program provides most or all of these activities. A key element of the NEXUS program for tenure track faculty is the relationships built among the new faculty – each cohort has the opportunity to share professional issues and concerns, and to build a community that will sustain throughout their service at DVC.

Mentors for tenure track faculty

Tenure track hires are paired with faculty mentors for their first full time year. It is not mandatory that faculty mentors work in the same department or division as their mentee. Mentors should not serve on the new faculty’s tenure review committee Mentors can fulfill their FLEX obligation through the time spent with the new hires at NEXUS meetings and during formal and informal meetings with their mentees.

Required NEXUS meetings for tenure track faculty

NEXUS meetings are scheduled during mandatory Flex days at the beginning of each term, and for the second Thursday of each month, 4-6 pm, throughout fall and spring. Additionally, new hires attend a 2-day district orientation in August: one day covering policies and procedures, the second day being a bus tour of the district’s campuses and service area.

New and returning part-time faculty

Orientation sessions and workshops on the part time faculty evaluation process are offered at the beginning of each term for new and returning part time faculty. Additionally, a workshop titled Demystifying the DVC Hiring Process is offered semesters in which full time faculty positions are open. This workshop is open to all interested in applying for tenure track, full time positions.