Academic Affairs

Faculty Development

The Faculty Development Program, led by the Director of Faculty Development in collaboration with the Dean of Academic Departments and Programs and the Dean of Diversity and Inclusion/CDO, has as its goal the continued renewal and growth of the faculty in all aspects of their professional lives. Faculty fulfill a variety of roles: as teachers who provide their students with expert instruction and guidance, as members of the community of scholars within their disciplines and as participants in the collegial community of a liberal arts college. Programming and resources for faculty development are designed and developed to:

  • Support and promote effective teaching and instructional design that can further advance the student learning objectives of the college and ensure satisfactory adjustments to changing environments in instruction and within disciplines.
  • Support and promote faculty scholarly activity including writing, conducting research, presenting at conferences, publications and grant writing.
  • Support and promote professional development including the balancing of work-life concerns.
  • Support the development of early career faculty through orientation programs and mentoring opportunities.
  • Facilitate a culturally and ethnically diverse faculty by recruiting and retaining faculty and staff from diverse backgrounds and encourage all employees to contribute to and support the cultural fluency and diversity of the campus.

The Director of Faculty Development develops programming in collaboration with the Committee on Teaching and Advising (COTA), members of the Grants Office, the Head of Schaffer Library and the Office of Instructional Technology and Learning Environments, and communicates these opportunities and resources to the Union faculty. Programming is designed to foster an organizational environment in which faculty feel empowered to continually work toward improved educational scholarship. The effects of the program will be seen, ultimately, in the quality of the instruction students receive and in the quality of scholarly activity and collegial involvement on campus.

Here faculty will find valuable information including teaching and advising resources at Union, news and announcements, calendar of Faculty Development events, grant and research opportunities, links to Higher Education organizations and publications, as well as useful links both in and outside Union College to support teaching, research, diversity and mentoring needs.