Facilitating Mid-Career Faculty Programs A Guide for Supporting Purposeful Career Development

SECTION I

MAPP Program Context and Preparation

Introduction: Finding Our MAPP

1 Facilitating MAPP

2 Invitations and Destinations

3 Finding True North

4 Envisioning the Path

5 Navigating the Path

6 Advocating for the Path

7 Thriving Beyond the Path

8 Adapting MAPP

9 Re-MAPPing the Professoriate

Biography

Diane E. Boyd is the Executive Director and Associate Dean of Faculty Development at Furman University, USA. She researches Threshold Concepts in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, course design for educational equity, and increasing agency and vitality via values-infused mid-career programming.

Nancy L. Chick is Director of Faculty Development at Rollins College, USA. After becoming Full Professor of English in Wisconsin, she shifted her focus to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and has authored and edited many publications on the results of SoTL projects and on the field of SoTL itself. 

With Contributions From:

Linda M. Boland is a Professor of Biology and formerly served as Associate Provost for Faculty at the University of Richmond where she was also the founding director of a faculty development center for teaching and scholarship. Her research, with undergraduate student mentees, focuses on neural excitability.

Eriberto “Fuji” Lozada is Senior Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of Anthropology at Davidson College in Davidson, NC. He brings his disciplinary training as an anthropologist to bear on his extensive faculty development and teaching and learning.

Katherine A. Troyer is the Director of The Collaborative for Learning and Teaching at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Her bookshelves (which place SoTL books next to horror scholarship) reveal her interest in how spoken and unspoken fears—whether in a horror film or in the classroom—shape thoughts and ideas.

“Institutions and campus administrators need to provide robust resources and support to faculty developers as critical campus partners — their importance, and our reliance on their expertise, will only grow in the coming years. Facilitating Mid-Career Faculty Programs answers this call and does so in the most informative, accessible way.”

Vicki L. Baker, E. Maynard Aris Endowed Professor in Economics and Management at Albion College, USA

 

“This book provides a much-needed road ‘MAPP’ for faculty, faculty developers, and institutions interested in creating meaningful supports to help mid-career faculty thrive. The book offers a robust intervention for addressing mid-career challenges — a thoughtfully designed, evidence-based program that can be implemented as-is or adapted to different institutional contexts. The sample activities and resources help facilitators create time, space, and community for important self-reflection and conversations.”

Deandra Little, Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs and Professor of English, Elon University, USA

 

“Facilitating Mid-Career Faculty Programs is an essential exploration into the often-overlooked stage of a faculty member’s career. This book delves into the unique challenges of mid-career faculty, those who have navigated tenure and promotion but are still years away from retirement. It sheds light on the ‘mid-career malaise’ that pervades across disciplines and demographics, highlighting the need for more institutional support and resources for this critical group. A must-read for anyone invested in the future of academia.”

Melanie Hamilton, Director, Jane and Ron Graham Centre for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, University of Saskatchewan, Canada

 

“Participating in the MAPP pilot provided both a jolt of energy and a breath of fresh air at a needed point in my career. The program enabled time for valuable reflection. In particular, I have revisited the professional development plan first completed in MAPP as an annual check-in with myself. This practice has helped me refine my decision-making about new projects and develop boundaries around my time and talents.”

Rose Stremlau, Charles A. Dana Associate Professor of History, Davidson College, USA