Faculty Scholars

All Scholars will be faculty who have taught at VSU for at least six years. All Faculty Scholars who are not the Scholar in Residence will receive a one course load reassignment and a maximum $2,000 stipend per semester. Each will receive a base stipend of $1,000 (except the Scholar in Residence) and then receive additional monies based on the number of circles/groups the scholar leads during the semester and the number of workshops the scholar gives. The number of Faculty Scholars selected will depend on the applicant pool, the budget, and the programmatic needs of the IDEA Center.

Faculty Scholars may focus their activities in a number of areas (see below), but all have the following responsibilities:

·  Meet regularly with the Scholar in Residence and other Faculty Scholars to plan and implement IDEA Center programming

·  Maintain regular hours at the IDEA Center

·  Design and deliver outreach activities (workshops, teaching circles, retreats, etc.) in the Faculty Scholar’s area of expertise

·  Mentor individual faculty members.

Scholar in Residence

Receive a one course load reassignment and $5,000 stipend each semester for these duties:

·  Supervision and Management in the IDEA Center

o  IDEA Center Budget

o  IDEA Center Graduate Assistant (if budget permits)

o  IDEA Center programming (in coordination with the other faculty scholars)

·  Involvement in the Mission of The IDEA Center

o  Coaching and mentoring (approximately 5 faculty per semester)

o  Directing at least one Dissertation Dive Group (online or face-to-face) in conjunction with the Graduate School

o  Planning and implementing New Faculty Orientation activities

o  Representing the IDEA Center as needed at meetings (on campus and USG)

·  It is helpful to have knowledge of (or to receive training in) Cascade (basic, intermediary, and MyVSU ad creation); R25 Calendar program; and Qualtrics.

SPECIFIC DUTIES OF FACULTY SCHOLARS

Teaching Faculty Scholar

This Scholar will foster and enhance the teaching skills of VSU faculty in an effort to hone skills in the traditional teaching environment while developing skills in new and rapidly emerging teaching environments.

Specific additional duties could include, but are not limited to:

·  Exploring ways of developing more effective teaching techniques, which may lead to:

o  Faculty becoming more effective teachers

o  Improvement in faculty member's SOI scores

o  Development of peer review techniques and models

o  Improvement in super-sections pedagogy

·  Working with the Graduate School on the continued development of graduate assistantships

·  Preparing faculty for the different types of classes they might teach (online, super sections, face-to-face, hybrid, weekend style) and different types of students (returning adult learners, students with disabilities, military students and veterans, digital natives, etc.) that they might encounter in classes

·  Sharing best practices of developing and refreshing courses

·  Sharing best practices of using graduate assistants in the undergraduate learning process

·  Assessing the best way to reward good teachers.

Teaching with Technology Faculty Scholar

This Scholar will foster a multi-disciplinary learning community that explores possibilities and good practices in technology-rich learning environments, produces scholarship in this area, and advances faculty leadership around these issues.

Specific additional duties could include, but are not limited to:

·  Collaborating with eLearning, Information Technology, and other entities with technology expertise to aid faculty with best use of new technological teaching strategies

·  Showcasing best practices in technological pedagogy through workshops, webinars, or other appropriate means

·  Effective use of technology in teaching which would assist in:

o  Creation of online classes

o  Teaching across disciplines

o  Delivery of super-sections

Research, Writing, and Publishing Faculty Scholar

This Scholar will foster strong academic writing skills across the campus community. The person will work with individual writers to develop better writing habits, address writing issues, and understand the publishing process.

Specific additional duties could include, but are not limited to:

·  Leading 1-2 writing groups per semester

·  Lead at least 1-2 Dissertation Dive In groups (face to face and/or online)

·  Lead AcWriMo on campus

·  Offer workshops about writing and publishing

·  Helping faculty apply outcomes of their research to the other areas of excellence, i.e., teaching, community engagement, technological innovation, diversity and social equity, and entrepreneurship

Community Engagement Faculty Scholar

This Faculty Scholar will encourage collaboration between institutions of higher education and local/state, national, and global communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity. Will lead at least one teaching circle/semester and lead at least one workshop/semester.

Specific additional duties could include, but are not limited to:

·  Building relationships (outreach) and helping to implement change

·  Helping to fold international students and their cultures into VSU’s and our region’s cultural patterns

·  Working with faculty, staff, and community partners to create community-based activities which are well integrated into the learning process

·  Devising ways for VSU to interact more effectively with the many communities in which it participates:

·  Enhancing curriculum, teaching, and learning through interaction with regional communities

o  Facilitating community retreats

o  Addressing critical societal issues

o  Establishing a partnership of university knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity

·  Preparing educated, engaged citizens who incorporate democratic values and civic responsibility into their decisions and who work toward the public good

Note

Much of the content of these descriptions arose from comments about faculty needs, which were stated in the Faculty Excellence Initiative’s surveys done in Spring 2012, from its focus groups conducted in Fall 2012, and from data gathered from similar Centers across the country, as well as language from educational policymakers, such as the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.