Roy R. Charles Center
New Faculty Orientation Program
Program Goals
Administered by the Charles Center, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences introduced a yearlong orientation program for new faculty in 1998-99. The goals of the program are to provide new faculty with in-depth information about the multiple resources that are available on campus to support their teaching and research; to encourage new faculty to take advantage of the workshops and discussions on teaching themes that are set up in association with the University Teaching Project; to establish multiple opportunities for new faculty to meet in a relaxed, collegial environment outside of their department; and to provide new faculty with an experienced faculty mentor. Above all, the program seeks to introduce our new colleagues to the strong culture of teaching, scholarship, and institutional involvement that distinguishes faculty life at William and Mary.
While many institutions have one- or two-day orientations for new faculty, the College's Program integrates orientation activities throughout the faculty members' first year.
Program Description
Thanks to the enthusiasm of new faculty and strong encouragement from the dean, we have had 100% participation in the program from new faculty in each of the years that the program has been in existence. These participants are divided into 3 “small groups,” one each in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Each of these groups is coordinated by a faculty mentor from an appropriate department. In 2005-06 these are Professor Laurie Koloski (humanities / History), Jennifer Mellor (social sciences/ Economics), and Dan Criston (sciences / Biology).
The program begins each year with a day long retreat held approximately one week before Fall classes begin. Considerable emphasis is placed on introductions and social interaction. In addition, Trish Volp, Dean of Students, provides information on the Study Skills office, disability issues, the Counseling Center, and other Student Affairs resources. Detailed information is circulated about the resources of the College's Grant's Office, the Writing Resource Center, and the Charles Center (and especially its May Seminar, University Fellowships, and University Teaching Project programs). Finally, participants spend some time meeting with their mentors and the other members of their disciplinebased small groups. The day concludes with an informal barbecue for mentors, the new faculty, and their families and partners.
The discipline-based small groups then meet approximately 4 times each semester. Once again, social interaction is emphasized, but the groups also focus on a range of specific issues of interest to new faculty. For instance, they all discuss grading issues, including College and departmental norms, strategies for setting student expectations, writing tests that generate appropriate variance, arguments for and against "curving," and so on. They all also discuss different methods to get student course evaluation feedback, including midterm evaluations; they look closely at strategies for managing faculty time and striking a balance between the demands of teaching, research, and institutional involvement; and they discuss ways to integrate students into faculty research projects.
The new faculty also attend several of the workshops on teaching themes organized by the University Teaching Project. In the past this has included a workshop on advice for using technology in the classroom (student listserves, computer simulations, etc.), and a workshop on integrating different kinds of writing assignments into courses. In addition, the new faculty also attended informal lunch sessions on topics of interest, including presentations on admissions and financial aid issues, and on the College's Honors System.
Link Between the New Faculty Orientation Program and the Undergraduate Research Program
"Undergraduate research" is one of the core themes of the undergraduate curriculum at William and Mary. The main objective of this program is to emphasize active learning, independent and small group inquiry, and original research at all levels of the student's undergraduate experience. We have made a special effort to find support for students to undertake research projects in the summer.
To complement this initiative, we have created several workshops designed to introduce new faculty to our undergraduate research program. Many new faculty come from large institutions where it is PhD students, not undergraduates, who have the opportunity to work closely with faculty on research projects, and it is our goal to help our new colleagues see how it is also possible for undergraduates to collaborate with faculty on research projects.
To help new faculty see this potential the Charles Center has provided funding for new faculty to work with research students in the summer after their first year of teaching. For instance, in a recent year David Lewis, a new member of our Government Department, worked with Jon Rogers, an undergraduate Government major, on a study of the factors that determine the longevity, or resistance to change, of federal agencies. This collaboration will provide Mr. Rogers with an invaluable educational experience; it will also help Professor Lewis understand the significant contribution that capable and motivated undergraduates can make to faculty research projects.
Evaluation
To assess the New Faculty Orientation Program, Joel Schwartz, Director of the Charles Center and the program's coordinator, has asked all participants - new faculty and mentors - to evaluate it at the end of each year. These evaluations suggest that the program has been very successful. New faculty have many things in common, and it is clear that they appreciate and profit from having a structured opportunity to meet with each other. In addition, while it is possible to communicate a certain amount of information in a one or two day orientation, our new colleagues can get a much more thorough orientation to the College and its programs when it is spread out over a year. One of the new faculty summarized her evaluation of the New Faculty Program as follows:
I want to communicate to you that the teaching workshops and new faculty orientation program have been IMMENSELY helpful to me. As a new teacher AND new faculty member, my first year has been fraught with new challenges. This program really helped me make it through this difficult time. Barbara [King her mentor] has been a wonderful role model for me. She is always willing to help and support me. Thank you so much for assigning her as my faculty mentor. As a Physical Anthropologist, I would not have thought that she'd be my first choice. As it turns out, I have learned a TREMENDOUS amount from herdespite our disciplinary differences. In addition, she is a terrific person, so it's been great to get to know her as a colleague. I hope that this program continues and even expands. It represents an extremely valuable experience for new faculty.
Finally, while we have looked for multiple opportunities to enrich the experiences of new faculty, we have also remained alert to just how busy new faculty are and, hence, to the importance of not overwhelming them with an orientation program that is too demanding or time consuming. From the evaluations that the new faculty have completed it appears that level of programming is about right.
Copyright ©2008 · Arts & Sciences at The College of William and Mary