Faculty Development

faculty development

New Faculty Orientation and Mentoring. Because of the significance for new faculty members of the University’s new vision to combine student centeredness with its research responsibilities, the orientation and mentoring of new faculty members has taken on increased significance. The importance of these processes
was heightened by the University’s goal of further diversifying its faculty by the addition of more women and colleagues from previously underrepresented groups. The burden of increased expectations was heightened for new faculty members by the uncertainty of how new standards will be applied in their individual cases. Since faculty-review processes and standards for tenure and promotion differ widely among the schools and colleges, much of the burden for orienting and mentoring new faculty members falls upon the local units, which have developed a variety of ways of carrying out these responsibilities.

University orientation program. The University-level new faculty orientation is designed to begin building a new faculty culture on campus, stressing the importance of student centeredness and collegiality across administrative lines--to provide initial collegial support, and facilitate integration into the institution. In addition, its goals are to provide useful information and assistance to new faculty members in an effective and timely manner to enable them to become more effective teachers, researchers, and colleagues; introduce leading members of the University’s central administration; orient new faculty members to the campus and its facilities; convey the history and culture of the University; provide knowledge of University processes and procedures as well as programs of interest to new faculty members, such as the home purchase plan.

The formal orientation is a one-day program including group discussions led by senior members of the faculty, sessions with University administrators, and introductions to the library and classroom technologies. Also, the evening before the orientation, a progressive dinner for the new faculty members and their guests introduces new faculty members to each other, to some of the major buildings on campus, and to a sample of the academic leaders and programs of several schools and colleges. During the academic year, periodic "working lunches" focus on some of the special needs and interests of new faculty members. Past topics have included the prevention of and response to sexual harassment, the meaning of "student-centered research university," and efficient teaching techniques.

Mentoring. In 1994 Chancellor Shaw charged the schools and colleges to develop mentoring programs for new faculty by March 31, 1995. The goals of the mentoring program are to welcome new faculty into the academic unit; to provide practical assistance and support in teaching and advising, creative and scholarly work; to convey in an effective manner the standards and expectations for promotion and tenure; to encourage collaboration with colleagues within and outside of the department; to provide useful and timely reports on progress toward tenure and promotion, indicating areas of weakness or needed attention; and to provide guidance on becoming involved in University, school or college and departmental service.

Programs to Foster Teaching. At the same time that teaching is being given greater attention in the faculty evaluation processes, a number of new programs help faculty improve their effectiveness.

Gateway Fellowship. The Gateway Fellowship is an organization of 14 to 20 faculty members who are responsible in their departments for the major introductory courses for first-year students. In monthly meetings, the group members engage in cross-departmental and cross-disciplinary conversations among themselves on pedagogical issues. The central theme of these conversations is how to facilitate students’ transition from high school to college in the context of their courses. They also receive reports from some of the recipients of the Faculty Instructional Grants, which are awards of up to $3000 to help faculty members make instructional improvements in their courses.

Since 1994-95, the Gateway Fellowship has also sponsored a very popular "Focus on Teaching" luncheon series. Each luncheon focuses on a topic such as promoting active learning and discussion; teaching with an international perspective; obtaining and using student feedback during the semester; and articulating the goals of an introductory course. Small group discussions follow an initial "catalyst presentation" by one of the Gateway Fellows and other presenters. A booklet of selected readings on the topic of the day is also handed out. As a rule, all available seats are reserved in advance, with attendance ranging from 35 to about 75. Also, in the winter of 1996, the Gateway Fellowship organized an evening student forum (billed as a "Dessert Spectacular") to which each Gateway Fellow invited four first-year students and four seniors, for discussion of topics ranging from the academic climate and advising to the social climate and residence life.

Peer Review of Teaching. Syracuse is one of twelve national universities participating in the national project, From Idea to Prototype: Peer Review of Teaching, coordinated by the American Association for Higher Education and funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. The goal of the project is to explore the concept of peer review of teaching and strategies for instituting it comparably to peer review of research. The more particular goals of the program are:

to promote a wider menu of strategies (beyond classroom observation) for documenting the effectiveness of teaching and learning;

to develop prototypes for capturing what teachers know and do;

to promulgate approaches to peer review that can contribute to the improvement of student learning;

to foster a view of teaching as scholarly work worthy of documentation, evaluation, and reward;

to create a culture that values excellence in teaching and learning.

Each university put forward three departments to participate in the national project. The initial participants from Syracuse were the departments of History, Mathematics, and the School of Management. Subsequently, Sociology and Chemistry were added to the project in place of History and Mathematics. One of the specific outcomes was in the School of Management, where teaching portfolios have broadened the range of evidence use to evaluate teaching performance. In Chemistry, the peer review project has been joined with the departmental efforts in the program to assess student learning.

Teaching Tools. For the past eight years, the University’s Faculty Academic Computing Support Services has sponsored an annual Teaching Tools conference, with participation of faculty members from neighboring educational institutions. The conference provides participants an opportunity to explore ways to employ technology in teaching and learning and to share lessons about what works and what doesn’t. The conference consists of demonstrations, discussion panels and presentations of works in progress and a showcase of student projects. Topics range from the World Wide Web, visualization tools, copyright law, and asynchronous learning to courseware development.

Meredith and Tolley Professorships. These newly endowed professorships recognize some of the University’s outstanding teachers; more significantly, they provide structured, faculty-led programs for improving teaching and calling attention to some of the intellectual issues raised by the changed environment in which faculty members carry out their responsibilities.

Meredith Professors for Teaching Excellence. A substantial bequest from the estate of Dr. L. Douglas Meredith, a 1926 graduate of The College of Arts and Sciences, enabled the creation in 1995 of the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorships to recognize and reward outstanding teaching at Syracuse University. Each recipient of the title will be designated Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for a period of three years. Normally there will be a total of six Meredith Professorships. They each receive a $20,000 supplementary salary award and an additional $5,000 fund for professional development for each year of their appointment. As part of the selection process, each nominee will identify an investigation of some aspect of teaching or learning that he or she intends to pursue during the term of the appointment. This investigation could variously be described in such terms as the scholarship of teaching, classroom research, outcomes assessment, or curriculum development.

At some point during the three-year tenure, each Meredith Professor will be expected to present a public lecture or seminar at a forum of his or her choice. This may be the occasion at which the Meredith Professors share with the community the results of the investigation they are conducting during their tenure as Meredith Professors. Also, each year, each Meredith Professor will be expected to teach an elective course, for one to three credits, on a topic of special interest to him or her outside the department’s regular offerings. The goal is to create for students from a variety of disciplines a specially interesting and innovative classroom experience led by an outstanding professor to whom they otherwise may not be exposed.

Beginning with the 1997-98 academic year, the full complement of Meredith Professors has been appointed, representing The College of Arts and Sciences, Public Communications, Maxwell, Education, and Engineering and Computer Science. In addition to their individual projects and elective courses, as a group project, the Meredith Professors in collaboration with the Gateway Fellows are sponsoring a collegial consultation service for faculty on any aspect of teaching; they have also agreed to collaborate in the New Faculty Orientation program as small group discussion leaders. Also, in September, 1997 they hosted the visit to campus of Wilbert J. McKeachie, author of the classic Teaching Tips.

Tolley Teaching Professorship in the Humanities. This distinguished teaching professorship was established in honor of William Pearson Tolley, Chancellor from 1942 to 1969. His vision for the University is associated with enhancing the diversity of the student body and opening international vistas for students and faculty. The Tolley Professor is appointed to a three-year term and carries out his or her responsibilities under the advisement of a board of advisors from the humanities faculty at Syracuse University. The Tolley Professorship was funded by a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and major gifts from alumni and benefactors.

The Tolley Professorship supports a number of programs to enhance the quality of teaching. These include the Tolley faculty forum which is a public, all-University town meeting on teaching held twice each semester. The forum engages two faculty members who initiate discussion on important contemporary questions about teaching in the University. The presentation is followed by discussion and informal conversation with the goal of stimulating dialogue regarding the art and science of teaching among faculty from many disciplines. The Tolley teaching seminar for new faculty in the humanities provides an opportunity for new members of the humanities faculty in The College of Arts and Sciences to meet informally to discuss issues confronting college teachers. The Minnowbrook summer symposium on teaching allows up to 30 professors of differing rank to gather in an informal rustic setting to discuss issues of university teaching. In particular, difficulties encountered in teaching undergraduate and/or lower division courses are considered. Finally, the Tolley professorship provides summer stipends for new faculty to engage in course development. Stipends of up to $750 are available.

Department Chairs Leadership Program. Departmentalized schools and colleges have developed a variety of ways of supporting their department chairs. The all-University program supports the growth of department chairs and other faculty leaders within the non-departmentalized schools and colleges. The program’s goals are to promote a sense of collegiality and empowerment among participants; to help chairs align the mission and vision of the departments with those of the University; and to provide useful information about the University and effective means of using its resources; and to promote professional development in their roles.

The program revolves around an annual off-campus summer conference for the program’s participants and a series of seminars throughout the academic year. The program for each conference is designed and led by the chairs themselves. At the 1996 conference, Professor Joan Girgus, chair of the Psychology Department at Princeton University and a nationally recognized expert on the forces driving higher education, was the keynote speaker. Typically, two lunch-time seminars each semester and a dinner in the winter provide an opportunity for chairs to participate in workshops on topics of particular interest to them. During the 1996 -97 academic year, lunch sessions focused on ways of maintaining scholarly or creative momentum while serving as a department chair and on ways of developing and leading departmental staff. In addition, the program supports a listserv to facilitate communication among department chairs. A steering committee with rotating membership of approximately six chairs provides ongoing leadership and planning for the program.

Findings.

Finding 12. One the greatest sources of anxiety among new faculty members is uncertainty about the implications for them personally of the University’s new vision. To what standards will they be held accountable for tenure and promotion? To whom may they turn for reliable advice and guidance? How can they best invest their time and energy among the many competing demands? Therefore, in this period of change, mentoring takes on a greater importance than in the past. For women and for members of underrepresented ethnic groups, the problems of finding effective mentors are compounded, especially when they are isolated within their academic units. New faculty members need to have timely opportunities to discuss with their deans their mentoring needs and interests. Effective mentors need to be recognized in the reward system.

Finding 13. The recent establishment of endowed professorships for distinguished teaching has sent an important message regarding the importance of student learning at the University. Their mission of helping to stimulate systematic thought on campus about teaching, however, is less clearly seen by most faculty than is the recognition for excellence. The participation of the Meredith Professors in the new faculty orientation program and the role of the Tolley Professor in helping mentor new faculty members in the humanities are promising models of collegial cooperation and support. The same can be said of the lunch-time seminars sponsored by the Gateway Fellows and the collaboration of the faculty members involved in the peer review of teaching project. However, additional means for supporting the development of faculty members as teachers are needed.