Building Community for Teaching Faculty

Abstract

At large, research-intensive universities, hiring specialized teaching faculty to teach their sizable populations of undergraduate students has become increasingly common. However, these instructors are often on the fray of the fabric of their departments, disconnected from conversations, committees, and decisions that have traditionally been in the realm of tenure-track faculty. In response to such lack of community, the College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recently established a Teaching Professionals Program (TPro2) for its specialized teaching faculty. This paper reports on the inception of the program, its goals, and its outcomes to date. We also provide advice for others interested in developing such a program at their own institution.

Maintaining Excellence in Undergraduate Education: The Faculty Development Seminars of the Baylor University School of Engineering & Computer Science (ECS) Over the Last Six Years

“…It is important at any institution that a culture of educational excellence building community among the faculty must be developed. Han and Herren address this in the context of non-tenure track faculty, often called adjuncts or lecturers [17]. They suggest that the latter titles are pejorative suggesting a second class status in the academic environment.…”