College of Charleston Faculty Get New Tools to Thrive
The second cohort of CofC faculty participated in an intensive summer boot camp offered by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity.
Via a partnership among the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, the Office of the Provost and the deans’ offices, the second cohort of College of Charleston faculty recently completed the 10-week summer Faculty Success Program offered by the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity.
Why would these 14 faculty members immerse themselves in an intensive boot camp over the summer? Simple: They want to improve work-life balance, increase productivity and achieve academic excellence. Faculty members’ specific reasons for participating ranged from overcoming self-doubt and managing work-life balance to preparing for a promotion and getting back on track with research and writing.
Through the online program, College of Charleston participants networked with a community of colleagues from across the nation. According to NCFDD, participants “benefit from expert-led training, peer support and personalized academic coaching, gaining valuable insights for their academic journey.”
RELATED: Read more about how the College’s NCFDD membership promotes and supports faculty.
“We’re thrilled to continue our membership in the NCFDD and provide their array of valuable resources to College of Charleston faculty,” says Deanna Caveny, associate provost for faculty affairs. “A particular highlight is our co-sponsorship of summer FSP participants. Through their own commitment to the program and via support provided by our Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, led by Margaret Hagood, our FSP participants are prepared to strengthen their professional skills and strategies in the ways most suited to them and their own career objectives.”
Kate Pfile, associate professor and chair of the Department of Health and Human Performance, joined the program to achieve her research goals, which were substantial: She aimed to revise and resubmit a peer-reviewed journal article; submit an IRB for a new area of research; work with a former student to update her honors bachelor’s essay and submit it as a manuscript for peer review; finalize plans for an ongoing research project; and write an initial draft for a manuscript from a previously presented abstract.
After participating in the program, Pfile implemented four organizational strategies that she learned through the program to help balance her responsibilities.
“First, I developed a semester strategic plan to establish goals, projects, tasks and timelines,” says Pfile. “Second, I set meetings with the two mentors I identified during the program to discuss my semester goals and how they align with my larger professional aspirations, prioritizing meeting expectations for earning a promotion to professor. Third, I now hold a weekly planning meeting with myself to reference my strategic plan and identify additional tasks I need to accomplish the following week. Lastly, I am blocking time into my schedule to focus on these priorities.”
Naturally, implementing the strategies has not come without hiccups, but Pfile is committed to applying them, as they help her prioritize her individual faculty work and professional goals, rather than solely reacting to others’ needs and expectations, given her administrative responsibilities.
In addition to mindfully curating her work as a chair and College of Charleston faculty member, Pfile was able to achieve the first four of her five research goals, including getting an article approved for publication.
Kenneth Johnson, assistant professor of English, joined the program to improve work-life balance skills, specifically when it comes to research and writing.
“I learned lots of tools to manage my time and plan for the semester,” says Johnson. “It can be difficult to confront yourself as a roadblock to productivity, but it was so helpful.”
Learn about the College’s involvement with the NCFDD, past College of Charleston FSP participants and Margaret Hagood ’92, who facilitates cohort conversations, on the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning Hub site.
Below are the faculty members who participated in the summer 2024 FSP:
- Dawn Bagwell, Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education
- Rebecca (Becky) Ferrell, Assistant Professor, Arts Management Program
- Amy Gordanier, Assistant Professor, Department of History
- Kenneth Johnson, Assistant Professor, Department of English
- Morgan Koerner, Associate Professor, Department of German and Russian Studies
- Amanda Kraft, Librarian II/Research and Instruction Librarian, College of Charleston Libraries
- Brandon Lewter, Librarian II/Access Services Coordinator, College of Charleston Libraries
- Funke Oladimeji, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering, Computing, and Mathematics
- Kate Pfile, Associate Professor, Department of Health and Human Performance
- Sarah Platt, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
- Serena-Kaye Sims, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology
- Gareth Smail, Assistant Professor, Department of International and Intercultural Studies
- Mary Trent, Assistant Professor, Department of Art and Architectural History
- Leah Worthington, Librarian II, Digital Projects Library; Associate Director, Lowcountry Digital Library
