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Faculty
Professional Development Center: Center Information
Mission
~
History ~ Orientation
~ Facilities
Who the Center Serves
~ Programs ~
Advocacy
Expertise ~
Projects ~
Contact Info
Mission
The
Center mission is to support the faculty in their scholarship and
professional work: teaching, research and creative activity, and
service. The long-term aim of the Center is to facilitate building
a community of scholars. This entails making opportunities for professional
development to all faculty members and supporting programmatic change
to institutionalize elements of faculty professional development.
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History
The
Faculty Professional Development Center (FPDC) had its beginnings
in the collaborative efforts of the Faculty Professional Development
Study Committee (FPDSC), a body initiated by the American Association
of University Professors (AAUP), developed with the Administration,
and put forth in the contract agreement signed in April, 1993. In
their report, based on two and one-half years of study, the committee
drew attention to the many and diverse forms of support for faculty
professional development in existence at Kent State University,
most notably the University
Research Council (URC) and the University
Teaching Council (UTC). The report contained suggestions for
strengthening some of these efforts, for making all efforts more
broadly known and available, and for creating other opportunities
as needed. The committee offered a conceptual framework for faculty
professional development and recommended the creation of the Center.
The report was presented to the President and to the Faculty Senate
for discussion. President Cartwright and Senate Chair Robert Johnson
created a planning committee to provide detailed recommendations
on housing, staff, budget and reporting. In February of 1997 the
planning committee submitted its report. By late August 1998 a director
was appointed and in September the Center and its staff began formal
operations.
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Orientation
The
Center offers an invitation and an opportunity to be supported in
growing professionally. Our orientation is career-long development
and the enhancement of scholarship.
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Facilities
The
Center is comprised of a director, assistant director, secretary,
receptionist, and two new media support staff who conduct seminars
and workshops in support of faculty professional development (fpd).
Our physical location is in Moulton Hall on the Kent State University
Kent Campus and includes the:
-
Director’s office: 209 Moulton Hall
- Studio,
Resource Center and lounge: 217 Moulton
- Electronic
Laboratory
- Moulton
Scholars' Offices - faculty members housed per semester in Moulton
Hall for special projects and use of technology resources and
support staff.
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Who
the Center Serves
Faculty,
Graduate Students, Administrators, & the University Community. The
Center with the Faculty Professional Development Council works in
support of the mission by studying and recommending policies for
the operation of the Center, programming for faculty development,
and articulation with other faculty development initiatives at the
University, and providing leadership for working groups associated
with the Center.
The
Center has four main areas of service to:
- connect,
network, and support continuity in opportunities for professional
and staff development.
-
communicate opportunities for professional and staff development.
- provide
advocacy and support for professional development as members work
with individual colleagues, committees, and groups to enhance
opportunities for long and short-term growth.
- offer
expertise and consultation related to specific areas of scholarship
and professional work.
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Programs
The
Center sponsors and co-sponsors various workshops, seminars, forums,
and conferences throughout the year. Multimedia and electronic technology,
stress and time management, colleague, staff, and curriculum development,
reappointment, tenure and promotion workshops and others are among
the topics offered.
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Advocacy
The
Center calls attention to the implications and influences of professional
work and functioning of groups and of policy making on fpd. For
example, the University Research Council and the University Teaching
Council, for example, support the scholarship of research and teaching
(and curriculum development). Their work on behalf of scholarship
through networking and communication raises awareness of professional
development dimensions of work and policies. For example, "How might
scholarship be strengthened (PD enhanced) through the processes
we use in deliberation over grant proposals?" Council members can
give written feedback and offer workshops on proposal writing.
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Expertise
Forums,
workshops, speakers, written and electronic publications each enhance
fpd by offering expertise to those who want it. The Center, through
its constituency and on-going data collection, locates expertise
and makes it available. Individual and group consultation to support
and encourage scholarship is provided. New Media Services, in support
of the Center offers several professional development workshops
and seminars throughout the academic year.
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Projects
These
are designed with others for various purposes. The Center supports
Grant-work in conjunction with RAGS, the URC, and UTC in the forms
of conceptualizing projects, proposal writing, and working through
and across units. The Faculty Refresh computer programs for example,
provides an opportunity for Center staff to work with faculty members
to facilitate the use of new technology for scholarship (teaching,
research, creative activity). Center staff help faculty members
conceptualize, design, and use new media and technology within disciplinary
contexts. For example, what does this new technology mean:
-
to my (and our) teaching and learning (research, creative activity)?
- for
curriculum and program development?
- for
faculty – student roles and relationships?
- for
faculty – faculty roles and relationships?
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Mary Louise
Holly, Director
Judith E. Jones, Assistant Director
Jody Khlem, Senior Secretary
Albert Ingram, Faculty Associate
Jason Piatt, Studio Educational Consultant
Faculty
Professional Development Center
Kent State University – 217 Moulton Hall
Kent, OH 44242-0001
E-mail: fpdc@kent.edu
Phone: 330-672-2992
Fax: 330-672-3815
FPDC
Council Members
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