New Faculty Orientation (NFO) seeks to prepare our new faculty for success in teaching, research, and in other aspects of the Indiana State environment throughout their careers. The program is required for those with one of these regular faculty designations:

  • A newly-hired tenure track faculty
  • A faculty member who was previously an instructor or lecturer here at ISU, who is beginning a tenure track assignment
  • A newly-hired instructor
  • A faculty member who was previously a lecturer here at ISU, who is beginning an assignment as an instructor

NFO helps new faculty develop an awareness of expectations related to teaching, research, and service. The program also helps faculty to build a network of contacts to support their efforts in these areas. NFO therefore provides a foundation for success for individual faculty. It also fosters an understanding of the mission of the institution and current areas of emphasis that promotes active engagement of new faculty in support of institutional goals.

The program begins in early August with introductory sessions that focus on welcoming our new faculty, introducing them to campus culture and our students, and assisting them in their preparations for the beginning of classes in the fall semester. It continues through the fall semester, and focuses on a variety of topics, including:

  • Teaching excellence
  • Research expectations and support services
  • Career information, including promotion and tenure process and requirements, faculty portfolio development, etc.
  • Administrative elements such as the process for ordering textbooks, advisement, etc.

Sessions are generally held one day a week, and each session will be about two hours in length. The fall semester segment will run from late August (just after classes begin) until early November.

Beginning with the academic year 2015-16, the program will also include a series of electives offered during spring semester. These are existing programs in the Faculty Center for Teaching Excellence, programs offered by the Library or other campus units specifically for new faculty, or conferences offered by various campus departments such as the Office of Student Success. From a variety of such events, new faculty will be asked to choose four to attend.

In addition to these development sessions, we plan several social gatherings throughout the fall and spring semesters. These might have a theme (e.g. shared governance) or they might be intended simply to assist in developing relationships among our new faculty and others on campus.

NFO is a significant part of ISU’s Strategic Plan Goal 6: Recruit and Retain Great Faculty and Staff. For the great new faculty we hire, we want to ensure as an institution that we are providing support that allows their careers to get off to the best start.