Faculty Development Center

About Us

What is the Bruce K. Nelson Faculty Development Center (FDC)?

The FDC was reconfigured one year ago to provide a centralized service for faculty and lecturers that will support their teaching/learning, research and service. This is our first attempt at designing a web site that puts all of the available resources, conferences, workshops, etc. available to faculty in one place. We want to make this site as all inclusive as possible. If you know of other resources that we have missed, please do not hesitate to Contact Us.

About our Name: The Bruce K. Nelson Faculty Development Center.

Functions of the FDC

The FDC is responsible for designing, implementing and evaluating a comprehensive program of support for all instructional faculty across a broad range of professional practice domains:

Enhancing excellence in teaching through b) demonstrating and assessing significant student learning outcomes
Promoting scholarly inquiry and/or creativity
Providing professional development opportunities, including leadership and organizational development
Incorporating the effective use of technology
Actively promoting and facilitating awareness and sensitivity to issues of culture and diversity and community-building/service activities that support faculty excellence

Guiding Principles for the FDC

The FDC is based on a number of principles of practice that support and guide our actions and decisions. The FDC:

Recognizes and champions faculty in their multiple roles (e.g., as teacher, scholar, professional, community member) and acknowledges the broad range and depth of their varied accomplishments;
Reflects an awareness of the variety in faculty growth and development and offers comprehensive, on-going, developmental, and flexible support programs;
Supports and promotes teaching/learning strategies that promote meaningful, higher-order learning for students, e.g., active or collaborative learning;
Involves faculty in reflection and critical self-evaluation of their academic practices, and assists faculty in transforming their practices into scholarship.
Encourages cross-departmental, school and unit interactions and fosters collaboration among faculty with shared interests and professional development goals;
Creates opportunities for discipline-specific, as well as cross-disciplinary shared learning and experimentation emphasizing transferability of knowledge;
Encourages and appropriately supports faculty in undertaking new roles and responsibilities and in skill development, with emphasis on instructional technology and cultural competence;
Recognizes that individuals who seek our services do so voluntarily;
Maintains confidentiality for all who are served; and
Models actions and practices that are non-judgmental, respectful, trustworthy, collaborative and cooperative.