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California University of Pennsylvania
Faculty Professional Development Committee
"Enriching Professional Development Through Collaboration"
Faculty members often find themselves working alone as they address the many demands of professional life. This isolation is at times necessary; however, faculty life can also be enriched through collaborative efforts, as well. This year, the Faculty Professional Development Committee (FPDC), its subcommittees, and its Center will make a special effort to provide professional development opportunities that encourage faculty to engage in collaborative efforts related to teaching, scholarship, service, and grant development. Please join us and your fellow faculty members as we work together toward the goal of “Enriching Professional Development Through Collaboration."
Faculty Professional Development Committee
The Faculty Professional Development Committee (FPDC) serves as a major conduit for faculty professional development and as the recommending body to the president of the University or his/her designee for activities pertaining to faculty professional development.
Faculty Center is located in Azorsky 134
The College of Liberal Arts faculty have voted to elect Craig Smith (History and Political Science) as their representative to the Faculty Professional Development Committee. The College of Liberal Arts faculty should forward to him any faculty development concerns so that he can present them to the FPD Committee. The candidate with the next highest number of votes was Peggy Roche (English) who will serve as an alternate in the event that the duly elected representative cannot fulfill his duties throughout the four-year term of service on the FPD Committee.
Philosophy
Faculty development is a process whereby faculty members seek to:
- improve teaching and learning
- add to their discipline's body of knowledge
- enhance the quality of life through community outreach
- integrate the three developmental activities
Faculty development at California University of Pennsylvania may be thought of as individual professional growth that is consistent with personal goals, departmental goals, university missions, and the State System's 2000 document 'Imperatives Affirmed.'
It is the mission of the FPDC to support, by whatever means possible and prudent, and as available resources allow, any faculty members' need for professional growth consistent with the above definition.
Mission and Objectives
The mission of the FPDC is to promote and support teaching, scholarship, service, appropriate use of technology, and the University's core values of civility, responsibility, and integrity.
The objectives of the program are to:
- define, promote, and encourage scholarly activity at California University of Pennsylvania
- identify means of recognizing and rewarding scholarly accomplishments of faculty
- define the university's role in supporting scholarly activity
- clearly define the policies and procedures governing the university's commitments to the scholarly endeavors of the faculty
- oversee, coordinate, manage, and assess the Faculty Professional Development Center, the committee and its sub-committees and various FPDC functions under its charge
- plan for the future and amend the by-laws as needed
Scholarship Defined
Scholarship can be broadly defined 'in ways that enrich, rather than restrict, the equality of campus life' (Boyer; 1990, p. 1). Boyer (1990) felt that scholarship should match the 'full range' of creative activities performed by faculty within a variety of academic disciplines. Accordingly, he defined scholarship in terms of our 'separate yet overlapping functions': discovery, integration, application and teaching (p. 16).
Boyer defined the scholarship of discovery as traditional research where knowledge is sought for its own sake or for practical purposes through systematic modes of inquiry designed to identify problems, state hypotheses, collect data, test hypotheses, and develop conclusions concerning the solution of problems. He defined the scholarship of integrations any effort designed to bring meaning to isolated facts, especially when new perspectives or connections are made across disciplines. This form of scholarship is closely related to the scholarship of discovery and typically occurs at the boundaries where fields of knowledge converge.
Boyer also indicated, that individuals engaged in the scholarship of integration fit their research or the research of others into larger intellectual patterns to provide a larger, more comprehensive understanding' (p. 19). Boyer defined the scholarship of applications the performance of service-related activities requiring specialized knowledge from one's discipline of expertise. Finally, he defined the scholarship of teachings creative activities which stimulate active, not passive, learning and encourage students to be critical, creative thinkers, with the capacity to go on learning after their college days are over (p. 24).
Since Boyer's publication, Scholarship Reconsidered (1990), the university has added yet another dimension to scholarship: technology. As the dawn of the new millennium approached, the university community is inundated with newer, faster, and more technology than at any other time in history. In order for faculty to meet the needs of students and prepare them for the new millennium, it is imperative that the definition of scholarship also encompass the knowledge and judicious use of technology. This scholarship of technology is not necessarily a new and separate scholarship, but gives faculty another resource with which to pursue scholarship in the areas that Boyer defines as discovery, application, and teaching. This form of scholarship is most closely aligned with Boyer's definition of scholarship of integration.
Faculty Professional Development Organizational Structure
The FPDC oversees the program through activities developed and supported by the Faculty Center and various FPD subcommittees. All FPDC activities follow established policies and procedures approved by the committee, the Provost, the President, and the Council of Trustees of the University.
Contact Information
Address: California University of Pennsylvania
250 University Avenue
Azorsky 134
California, PA 15419-1394
Phone: 724-938-4505 | Fax: 724-938-4370 | E-mail: fpdc@calu.edu
FPDC Co-Chairs: Ali Sezer and Lisa Solomon-Driscoll
Center Coordinator : Kurt Kearcher
Assistant: Patricia McClain
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