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Teaching and Learning

Our faculty work to transform and empower our students.

Faculty reading groups

Organized by the Associate Dean of Faculty Development, Academic Affairs regularly sponsors reading groups for faculty and staff discussions of topics relevant to teaching and working in higher education. Recent topics have included issues surrounding diversity and inclusion, a holistically approach student learning and interdisciplinarity. Faculty with ideas for future topics can approach the associate dean with their ideas.

Holistic advising

Our system of holistic advising helps students articulate personal, educational and career goals, as well as make plans for accomplishing those goals. Each entering student is assigned a faculty advisor. For first-year students, this person will be the instructor in their “Introduction to Liberal Arts” course. The advisor helps the student select courses and serves as a person to talk to about all aspects of life and the transition to college life.

Support for students can be found beyond the faculty. Academic and Career Excellence is in Hewes Library. Known as the ACE, it includes the Accessibility Services Office, the Office of the Registrar, the Wackerle Center for Career, Leadership & Fellowships, and the Office of Global Engagement. Additional support for students is available through the Hewes Library staff or at our Writing Center.

Classroom equipment

While some programs have their own independent sources of funding, the Faculty and Institutional Development Committee also oversees a non-science equipment fund used to support teaching.

FIDC’s Guidelines for Non-Science Equipment Fund

Funding requests for equipment designated for scholarly work or for classroom/lab work may be made to the non-science pool. Requests should be for less than $500; larger requests will be considered at the end of the funding cycle if the budget is not depleted. Requests may be made for single item or a group of items. Each request should include a description of the item(s), the cost of the item(s), and the item(s) functional purpose. Small requests (<$300) may be approved by the FIDC Non-Science pool manager, while larger requests will be reviewed by the entire committee. Funds from this pool will not be used for the purchase of computer software as this should be covered by departmental funds, if available. Software requests should be directed to the Dean of the Faculty. Requests for a computer, a computer peripheral, or other specialized equipment cannot be considered, unless the NS pool is designated for specific curriculum-related items. Any requests by an FIDC member will be reviewed by the entire committee. The non-science equipment pool manager will report all requests to the entire committee. The non-science equipment pool manager will regularly report distribution of pool funds and balance of pool funds through the monthly FIDC e-report to the faculty.