Abstract
Faculty development is designed to forestall facultyobsolescence, but determining how to provide for thedevelopmental needs of a diverse faculty isproblematic. At the University of Cincinnati aFaculty Development Program was organized aroundcompetitive proposals and university institutes.
The developmental grant proposals were for individualfaculty, groups of faculty, and departments and alsoprovided funds for institutes for collaborative groupsof faculty who had shared developmental needs andgoals. More than 800 faculty members (42% of thetotal faculty) applied for these funds over athree-year period. Nearly 400 faculty were funded.
The question remaining, following this initial cycle,was ``Did this support for faculty development make asignificant difference in the way learning,scholarship, and research was conducted?'' To betterascertain the extent of the project's influence on theinstitution, a survey was distributed to all 1,925faculty at the university -- regardless of whether ornot they received support. The returns of the surveywere sufficient to allow for an analysis.
The results held both anticipated results (e.g.,upgraded skills and increased use of technology) andunexpected results (e.g., cooperation among facultyfrom diverse disciplines and multiplier effects onscope and nature of the projects). The results of thesurvey, regarding the Faculty Development Program'simpact, clearly show that it has changed the wayinterdisciplinary faculty collaborate and it hassignificantly facilitated the ability of faculty toaddress specific developmental needs.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baiocco, S. and DeWaters, J. (1995). 'Futuristic faculty development', Academe 81, 38–39.
Blackburn, R. and Lawrence, J. (1995). Faculty at Work: Motivation, Expectation, Satisfaction. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Bland, C. and Schmitz, C. (1990). 'An overview of research on faculty and institutional vitality', in Schuster, J., Wheeler, D. and Associates (eds.), Enhancing Faculty Careers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, pp. 41–61.
Collective Bargaining Agreement between University of Cincinnati and American Association of University Professors, University of Cincinnati Chapter (September 1, 1995 to August 31, 1998). University of Cincinnati.
DiLorenzo, T. and Heppner, P. (1994). 'The role of an academic department in promoting faculty development: Recognizing diversity and leading to excellence', Journal of Counseling and Development 72, 485–491.
Drucker, P. (1980). Managing in Turbulent Times. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
Elbe, K. and McKeachie, W. (1985). Improving Undergraduate Education Through Faculty Development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Feldman, R. (1997). Development Across the Lifespan. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Gaff, J. and Simpson, R. (1994). 'Faculty development in the United States', Innovative Higher Education 18, 167–176.
Hubbard, G. and Atkins, S. (1995). 'The professor as a person: The role of faculty well-being in faculty development', Innovative Higher Education 20, 117–128.
Hynes, W. (1984). 'Strategies for faculty development', in Brown, D. (ed.), Leadership Roles of Chief Academic Officers: New Directions for Higher Education, no. 47. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, pp. 31–38.
McMillen, L. (1987). 'Faculty development programs seen often marginal to important campus needs', The Chronicle of Higher Education, 15-16.
Millis, B. (1994). 'Faculty development in the 1990s: What it is and why we can't wait', Journal of Counseling and Development 72, 454–464.
Nelson, W. (1983). 'Faculty who stay: Renewing our most important resource', in Baldwin, R. and Blackburn, R. (eds.), College Faculty: Versatile Human Resources in a Period of Constraint. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, pp. 67–83.
Riegle, R. (1987). 'Conceptions of faculty development', Educational Theory 37, 53–59.
Schuster, J. (1990). 'The need for fresh approaches to faculty renewal', in Schuster, J., Wheeler, D. and Associates (eds.), Enhancing Faculty Careers: Strategies for Development and Renewal. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, pp. 3–19.
Schuster, J., Wheeler, D. and Associates (eds.) (1990). Enhancing Faculty Careers: Strategies for Development and Renewal. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass Publishers.
Sikes, W. and Barrett, L. (1976). Case Studies on Faculty Development. Washington, D.C.: Council for the Advancement of Small Colleges.
Sullivan, L. (1983). 'Faculty development: A movement on the brink', The College Board Review 127, 21 and 29-31.
University of Cincinnati (1998). Faculty Development (UCPub 8998). University of Cincinnati Printing Office.
Weldman, J. and Strathe, M. (1985). 'Faculty development in technology: A model for higher education', Educational Technology, 15-19.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Camblin, L.D., Steger, J.A. Rethinking faculty development. Higher Education 39, 1–18 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003827925543
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003827925543