Yesterday afternoon I traveled from NSU’s satellite campus in Broken Arrow to its main campus in Tahlequah in order to attend a webinar over faculty development and evaluation.
As you can see from the map, the 61.1 mile journey (122.2 round trip) runs very near several of Northeastern Oklahoma’s beautiful lakes. Something you can not see from looking at the map are the magnificent rolling hills that surround this scenic drive, which, in combination with the lakes, offers breathtaking views such as the one below:
*Image accessed via River Dreamer’s Flickr account
The webinar was hosted by NSU’s Center for Teaching & Learning and held on the sixth floor of the W. Roger Webb Education Technology Center.
*Image author Caleb Long
Though the focus of the webinar was directed at university administration, the session offered important insight for anyone who oversees the professional development and assessment of others.
One important point the speaker addressed is that it is part of an administrator’s job to help faculty build upon the skills necessary to become and/or remain an effective member of the faculty. One of the primary ways this development can occur is through the process of “encouraging and mentoring faculty.” By openly sharing the knowledge gained through previous experience, mentors can help new faculty more quickly establish a foundation upon which to build professional skills. Mentoring also helps new faculty better understand expectations, so they are more likely to develop the skills that will help them to meet those expectations (i.e., they can’t read minds or adhere to the unclear). Various ways mentioned on how an established member of faculty can help mentor new faculty included such things as helping them to better understand their new environment through an orientation process, assisting with the setting of goals, helping them stay on track in obtaining these goals, and acting as an advocate as new faculty form relationships with those who are more seasoned. The best mentoring process, according to the speaker, is that which includes both an internal mentor, one from within the new environment, and an external mentor, one who has an expertise in the field but does not work for the same institution. Though the reasoning behind such a process was not thoroughly discussed, it was my guess that including both an insider and an outsider as mentors will help faculty to become both participant and observer of the new environment. Another method of mentoring the speaker did not discuss (until I relayed the question at the end of the presentation) was the importance of reverse mentoring.
To be continued…
Linda Summers
Letters from the Library 
