Creating the Future of Faculty Development: Learning from the Past, Understanding the Present

In recent years, new expectations of higher education from parents, employers, trustees, and government leaders have contributed to broad institutional changes. Recognizing that the quality of a university or college is closely related to that of its faculty members, many institutions have increased their efforts to support and enrich faculty work. Creating the Future of Faculty Development addresses this growing need for faculty development by exploring how faculty development has evolved and envisioning its future.

Based on a study of nearly 500 faculty developers from all institution types, the book examines core issues such as the structural variations among faculty development programs; the goals, purposes, and models that guide and influence faculty program developments; and the top challenges facing faculty members, institutions, and their programs. Several key questions are addressed, including

• What are the structural variations among faculty development programs?
• What goals, purposes, and models guide and influence program development?
• What are the top challenges facing faculty members, institutions, and faculty development programs?
• What are potential new directions and visions for the field of faculty development?

Creating the Future of Faculty Development summarizes the challenges and pressures now facing developers and higher education as a whole. In this book, readers will find reason to rethink how they approach, organize, and support faculty development as they engage in institutional planning for the future.

"There is no one more qualified to chart the progress of faculty development since its founding than the authors of this book. Their research will provide new and experienced faculty developers alike with great insights for continuing that growth."

—Marilla D. Svinicki, former directer, Center for Teaching Effectiveness, University of Texas–Austin

"This book is an essential and accessible work that touches upon the major issues facing not only faculty and faculty developers but also higher education as a whole and does so by putting these issues in a variety of institutional contexts, from research and comprehensive universities to small liberal arts and community colleges."

—Michael Reder, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning, Connecticut College

"This indispensable book provides a concise look at the evolution of faculty development, an informed portrait of current campus practices, and an insightful view of promising future scenarios for the network development of this burgeoning field."

—W. Alan Wright, Université du Quebec, Canada

"An outstanding resource that clarifies the present and future purposes of faculty development. This book beautifully illustrates how faculty developers can respond to higher education challenges."

—Phyllis Blumberg, Director, Teaching and Learning Center, University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

Creating the Future of Faculty Development summarizes the challenges and pressures now facing developers and higher education as a whole. In this book, readers will find reason to rethink how they approach, organize, and support faculty development as they engage in institutional planning for the future.

Efforts to support and enrich faculty work—particularly in a changing context—are critically important to faculty members, institutional leaders, and higher education itself. This book surveys faculty development from its beginnings, summarizes the challenges and pressures now facing developers and higher education as a whole, and proposes an agenda for the future of faculty development. Based on a study of nearly 500 faculty developers from all institutional types, this book offers a vision of what the field might become, addressing several key issues such as the structural variations among faculty development programs; the goals, purposes, and models that guide and influence program development; and the top challenges facing faculty members, institutions, and faculty development programs.

Contents include:

• The Evolution of Faculty Development
• A Portrait of Current Faculty Development: Personnel and Programs
• Influences on Developers and Programs
• Current Issues Addressed by Faculty Development Services
• Future Priorities for Faculty Development
• Future Directions for Faculty Development: Open-Ended Responses
• Faculty Development in the Age of the Network

Mary Deane Sorcinelli is associate provost of faculty development, director of the Center for Teaching, and an associate professor in the Department of Educational Policy, Research, and Administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her research and publications concern academic career development, teaching improvement and evaluation, and faculty development policy and practice. She served as president on the executive board of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education from 2000-2004. She was visiting scholar to the American Association for Higher Education from 1999-2001, and is currently a Whiting Foundation Fellow, studying faculty and teaching development practices in Ireland (2003-2005). Her books include Evaluation of Teaching Handbook (1986, Indiana University-Bloomington), Academic memories: Retired Faculty Member Recall the Past (1988, Western Sun), Developing New and Junior Faculty (coedited with A. Austin, 1992, Jossey-Bass), Writing to Learn: Strategies for Assigning and Responding to Writing Across the Disciplines (coedited with P. Elbow, 1997, Jossey-Bass), Preparing a Teaching Portfolio (with F. Mues, 2000, Center for Teaching, University of Massachusetts Amherst), and Heeding New Voices: Academic Careers for a New generation (with R. E. Rice & A. Austin, 2000, American Association for Higher Education).

Ann E. Austin is professor in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education Program at Michigan State University. Her research and publications concern faculty Careers, roles, and professional development; teaching and learning issues in higher education; and organizational change and transformation in higher education. She was a Fulbright Fellow in South Africa (1998), the president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (2001-2002), and is currently co-principle investigator of a National Science Foundation Center concerning preparing future faculty in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Fields. Her books include Paths to the Professoriate: Strategies for Enriching the Preparation of Future Faculty (coedited with D. H. Wulff, 2004, Jossey-Bass), Higher Education in the Developing World: Changing Contexts and Institutional Resources (coedited with D.W. Chapman, 2002, Greenwood Press), Heeding New Voices: Academic Careers for a New Generation (with R.E. Rice & M.D. Sorcinelli, 2000, American Association for Higher Education), and Developing New and Junior Faculty (coedited with M. D. Sorcinelli, 1992, Jossey-Bass).

Pamela L. Eddy is an assistant professor of higher education at Central Michigan University. She serves as an associate editor for Community College Enterprise and is incoming book review coeditor for the Community College Journal of Research and Practice. She is a board member of Division J of the American Education Research Association and a board representative for the Council for the Study of Community Colleges. Her research concerns leadership and faculty development at community colleges, new faculty roles, and teaching and learning issues.

Andrea L. Beach is an assistant professor in teaching, learning, and leadership at Western Michigan University, where she teaches in the higher education leadership doctoral program. She received her Ph.D. in higher, adult, and lifelong education from Michigan State University as well as her master's in adult and continuing education. Her research centers on issues of organizational climate in universities, teaching and learning, doctoral education, and faculty development. Recent projects include a national survey of community college faculty development, a national survey of faculty development at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and creation of a compilation of online teaching. She is currently external evaluator on three grants addressing faculty development and faculty learning communities.

About the Authors.

Preface.

Introduction.

1 The Evolution of Faculty Development.

2 A Portrait of Current Faculty Development: Personnel and Programs.

3 Influences on Developers and Programs.

4 Current Issues Addressed by Faculty Development Services.

5 Future Priorities for Faculty Development.

6 Future Directions for Faculty Development: Open-Ended Responses.

7 Faculty Development in the Age of the Network.

Appendix 1: Envisioning the Future of Faculty Development: A Survey of Faculty Development Professionals.

Appendix 2: Tables.

Appendix 3: Hesburgh Award Winners: 1993–2004.

Bibliography.

Index.