9/20/94

Mankato State University

CENTER FOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

POSITION PAPER:
MISSION STATEMENT:
"The mission of Mankato State University University as a high quality, public, comprehensive university is to educate citizens for the global community."

In building on our university's mission statement, the mission of the MSU Center for Faculty Development (CFD) is to promote faculty and staff development by generating, coordinating, communicating, and sponsoring activities for MSU faculty and staff in the areas of teaching, learning, research, continuing preparation, and service.

The CFD Team defines faculty development as including the seven competencies outlined by Sell and Chism (1991):

Engaging in needs assessment activities
Designing and developing strategies that promote individual, pedagogical, curricular, and organizational growth
Organizing and implementing specific programs, projects, and studies
Planning and delivering oral presentations
Producing print and non-print communications
Conducting research about teaching and learning
Establishing and maintaining consulting relationships

The Center for Faculty Development at Mankato State University directs its efforts toward full- and part-time faculty and staff as well as graduate teaching assistants. Our CFD already plays an important role in conducting workshops, seeking grants to support instructional improvement, co-sponsoring University Development Day, and helping faculty improve teaching skills. Just as importantly, our future plans call for the Center to play a visionary role--by taking the lead in promoting a spirit of innovation and collaboration among faculty, staff, students, and administrators at Mankato State University.

RATIONALE FOR CONTINUED GROWTH OF THE CENTER

During the tenure of the Bush grants (Bush I, 1989-92; Bush II, 1992-95), the mission of the CFD has been linked with the three areas emphasized by the Bush Grants: general education, critical thinking, and cultural diversity. Because the Bush grant will end on June 30, 1995, the CFD Team has felt the need to analyze the mission that the CFD has fulfilled over the past five to six years as well as develop a vision concerning the future mission of the CFD. The future mission of the CFD will be linked with the areas of cultural diversity, global awareness, technology development, and assessment initiatives.

The coordination, liaison, and visionary roles of the CFD offer essential support for the future development of MSU faculty and staff on the local, state, and regional levels. The attached interactive circle diagram (see Appendix A) illustrates the present scope of interrelationships among MSU's Center for Faculty Development and various levels of the MSU administration and academic community. This position paper describes those interrelationships and offers a vision for the future role of the CFD at our institution of higher learning.

The examples below illustrate ways in which the Center for Faculty Development at Mankato State University has functioned in coordination, support, and liaison roles at the regional, state, and local levels. Following the examples are our recommendations for future CFD involvement in coordination and liaison functions, following the completion of the Bush grant funding in June 1995.

A. Examples of Regional Involvement: CFD team members Jeff Pribyl and Suzanne Bunkers have served as Conference Organizers for the Bush Regional Collaborative Conferences, which occur in the fall and spring of each academic year. Jane Earley serves on the Bush Regional Collaborative steering committee. Jeff Pribyl has also served as a core faculty member at the Bush 1993 Summer Institute on Portfolios. Six MSU faculty members, led by CFD team member Guynel Reid, attended the Bush 1994 Summer Institute on Development of a Comprehensive Assessment Package for the MSU College of Education.

CFD team member Sheryl Dowlin coordinates outreach programs with Tribal Colleges in South Dakota to further faculty development in the area of cultural diversity. CFD team members Suzanne Bunkers, Guynel Reid, Sheryl Dowlin, Jeff Pribyl, and two MSU graduate assistants, Christy Steele and Alexandria LaFaye, have served as presenters of values inquiry as a tool for critical thinking. Two conference workshops have been prepared and presented: 1) National Professional and Organization Development Conference (POD) in October 1993, and 2) Bush Regional Collaborative Conference in February 1994. In addition to CFD team members, a number of other MSU faculty have presented workshops at Bush Regional Collaborative Conferences.

Current Resources for Involvement

Membership in POD (Professional and Organization Development)
Association with Bush Regional Collaboration
Faculty Development regional newsletter
Current membership of CFD Team at MSU
1/2 time Graduate Assistant program support

Recommendations for Future Regional Involvement

Continued faculty involvement and networking with other CFD teams
Emphasis on assessment, global awareness, cultural diversity, and technology development
Planning for regional conferences
Outreach to tribal colleges (e.g., Sinter Gleska College, Rosebud, SD)

Recommendations for Future Resources for Regional Involvement

Continued funding (i.e., release time) for CFD team members
Continued funding for travel to regional conferences, communication among regional associations, etc.
Continued funding for exchanges with tribal colleges
Continued graduate assistant program support for CFD activities
Continued POD membership
Efficient mechanism for distribution of Bush Regional
Collaborative mailings to MSU faculty
Emphasis on cultural diversity, global awareness, technology development, assessment initiatives

B. Examples of State Involvement: CFD team members Frank R. Birmingham and Jeff Pribyl serve as MSU representatives to the Bush General Advisory Council (GAC) and at Bush Undergraduate Conferences. The CFD team coordinated, hosted, and evaluated the Bush Undergraduate Teaching Conference in November 1993. Individual CFD team members and other MSU faculty members have conducted workshops on cultural diversity and critical thinking at other State University campuses (e.g., Bill Wagner and Clark Johnson presented a workshop on "Creative Thinking: The Traveling Good Medicine Show").

Current Resources for Involvement

CFD Team members
Association with Bush General Advisory Council (GAC)
Sponsorship of 1993 Bush Undergraduate Teaching Conferences
Sharing of information about workshops, mini-conferences, grant opportunities via electronic means, US mail, inter-campus mail, etc.
Faculty Development Workshop Directory 1993 (See Appendix B);
for example:

Recommendations for Future State Involvement

Assessment Initiatives
Cultural Diversity Initiatives
Global Awareness Initiatives
Technology Initiatives
Continued participation in GAC, Bush Undergraduate Teaching Conference, and general sharing of information

Recommendations for Future Resources for State Involvement

Funding for CFD team members, secretarial and graduate assistant support, etc.
Implementation of system-wide faculty development GOPHER
Funding for faculty to take part in workshops and conferences at other state institutions (e.g., travel, per diem, registration)
Funding to invite faculty from other SUS campuses to present workshops at MSU (e.g., stipends, travel, per diem, lodging)
Year-long workshop at MSU on "Technology Use in the Classroom"
Funding for duplication, printing, postage, etc.

C. Local: The CFD is becoming a well-established entity at MSU, staffed by faculty from a broad spectrum of disciplines. The CFD team has developed into a cohesive unit that initiates and facilitates communication among faculty, staff, graduate assistants, and administrators on our campus and within the Bush Collaborative. The CFD team meets weekly to discuss and plan ways to envision, support, initiate, and coordinate MSU faculty development activities.

The CFD team has developed the Faculty Development Resource Center, which houses books, videotapes, bibliographies, etc., addressing the issues of general education, critical thinking, cultural diversity, global awarenss, and assessment. The Resource Center also houses a state-of-the-art IBM computer linked electronically across and beyond the MSU campus.

The CFD team, under the past leadership of chair Frank R. Birmingham and the present leadership of chair Suzanne Bunkers, assists the Office of Academic Affairs in the planning and coordination of the annual University Development Day open to administrators, faculty, staff, and students at MSU. The CFD also coordinates and supports mini-grant writing workshops for faculty, and the CFD has organized Friends of the Center for Faculty Development, a working group of faculty, staff, and students interested in designing and implementing future development initiatives on our campus. In fall 1994, as our ten-year North Central Accreditation Self-Study gets underway, the Center will co-sponsor Dr. Reed Johnson, who will conduct an assessment institute at MSU.

CFD team member Audrey Metro, in her role as Director of the MSU Learning Center, acts as the CFD liaison to staff and students there. Finally, the Center for Faculty Development supports individually designed faculty development projects. For additional information, see Appendix C.

An important ongoing function of the Center is to broaden the base of faculty and staff participation in faculty development activities and to foster a spirit of collegiality and collaboration at our university. Toward this end, the CFD acts as a liaison and support with other working groups such as the Q-7 Council, the Q-7 Global Learning Lab, the Q-7 Worlds of Thought Resident Scholar Series (coordinated by Suzanne Bunkers), the MSU administration, and the MSU colleges' and departments' faculty development activities (e.g., College of Business seminars).

Current Resources for Local Involvement

Current CFD Team members
Secretarial and clerical support
Co-sponsorship of University Development Day
Support for MSU colleges on faculty development issues (e.g., College of Business workshop on "Critical Thinking"; College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Institute on "Applications of Technology to College Classrooms."
CFD's role as liaison with District 77 schools, ECSU, the MSU Lab District, and the MSU Learning Center
CFD's coordination with MSU Graduate Office, Grants and Sponsored Programs, Q-7 Initiatives
Initial steps toward assessment initiatives at MSU

Current Sources for Local Involvement

1989-92, 1992-95 Bush Grants (providing replacement pay for one member of CFD team)
1989-92, 1992-95 Bush Grants (providing support for external programming (e.g., consultants, speakers, workshop leaders)
MSU Matching Grant (providing replacement costs for four additional CFD team members as well as additional replacement pay for the CFD team coordinator)
MSU Matching Grant (providing necessary program support, e.g., postage, duplication, long-distance phone, etc.)

For detailed information, see Appendix D (Mankato State University Second-Year Bush BUdget, 1993-94, and Second-Year Bush Budget Summary Prepared by Anita Dittrich).

Recommendations for Future Local Involvement

Implementation of orientation and mentoring programs for new MSU faculty and staff
Development of orientation and development program for department chairs
Workshops on such issues as learning styles, gender issues
Continuing emphasis on cultural diversity (e.g., cultural intersections)
Emphasis on global awareness issues (including liaison work and shared activities with Center for Global Studies)
Implementation of wide-ranging assessment initiatives (including North Central Accreditation Self-Study)
Technology Development (including year-long workshop on technology development at MSU)
Co-sponsorship of University Development Day 1995. Theme: "Diversity"
Coordination of faculty development with MSU graduate office, faculty research and improvement grant programs, etc.
Coordination of efforts between the Center for Faculty Development and the Center for Excellence in Teaching
Improved communication among all MSU faculty development programs and/or organizations (e.g., development of campus-wide CFD Newsletter, comprehensive MSU calendar)
CFD Team's access to current and accurate budget information

Recommendations for Future Resources for Local Involvement

Continued funding (i.e., release time) for Director of the Center for Faculty Development, who will monitor CFD budget, facilitate expenditures, distribute information to CFD team members and across campus, edit CFD Newsletter
Continued funding (i.e., release time) for CFD team members
Continued funding for secretarial and graduate assistant support
Development of MSU Faculty development newsletter
Collaboration among MSU Center for Faculty Development, Center for Excellence in Teaching, Center for Global Studies, Global Learning Lab

Recommendations for Future Sources (Budget) for MSU Center for Faculty Development

TOTAL BUDGET: $39,592

The current CFD team recommends that the future CFD team work with the MSU Office of Academic Affairs, MSU University Advancement Office, and the MSU Grants and Sponsored Programs to identify and secure sources of external funding that will supplement internal funding for the Center.

CONCLUSIONS This analysis of roles of and responsibilities carried out by the Center for Faculty Development at our university illustrates how vital the Center is to the future of this university and to its ongoing interactions with other state universities. The Center plays a crucial role in developing and implementing initiatives in the areas of teaching, learning, research, continuing development, and service.

The termination of the Bush grant will certainly have a long- range impact on MSU faculty in terms of severely limiting opportunities for the generation of creative teaching, learning, and research opportunities for faculty, staff, and students. This fact underscores the importance of developing and funding a permanent, well-structured Center for Faculty Development at Mankato State University, with faculty dedicated to serving as team members for the Center.

To summarize, the MSU Center for Faculty Development functions to facilitate a cohesiveness among participating faculty as well as a sense of appreciation and personal value to this institution--all of which are essential for a healthy, satisfying work and learning environment. The current members of the CFD team strongly encourage MSU administration, faculty, staff, and students to work together to build on the base already established by the Center for Faculty Development.

SOURCE CITED

Sell, G. R., and Chism, N. V. (1991). Finding the right match: Staffing faculty development centers. Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education. To Improve the Academy: Resources for Faculty, Instructional, and Organizational Development, 10, 19-32.