from VCCA Journal, Volume 3, Number 1, Spring/Summer 1988, 36-38
© Copyright 1988 VCCA Journal
Presenters:
The Central Virginia Faculty Consortium, comprising four senior institutions--Virginia Commonwealth University, William and Mary, Randolph-Macon College, Virginia Union University--and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College, was created in 1985 to address the issue of professional development for senior faculty. In an era of limited job mobility, when most faculty will remain in their present positions until retirement, providing opportunities for professional development that will help faculty maintain interest in and commitment to their careers is increasingly important. For community college faculty in particular, continuing professional development is critical because of the limited number of courses they teach, most at the survey level, and the limited time and opportunity to be involved in research.
Research, conducted by a team at VCU, on senior faculty career patterns and perceptions formed the basis of a grant proposal submitted by the Consortium to the Ford Foundation. Among the findings of the research was the desire for a greater sense of community and the need to find a "niche." Additionally, the most satisfied senior faculty appear to be those whose energies and interests can be accommodated by job related activities.
Under the leadership of VCU, a representative planning group applied successfully for a separate Ford Foundation grant to experiment with professional development activities. These have included summer seminars for senior faculty from each of the Consortium college; Consortium sponsored courses team-taught by faculty from several institutions that are open to students from all the colleges; and teaching courses and giving lectures at other Consortium institutions by faculty.
The senior-faculty summer seminars were designed as intensive interdisciplinary experiences of one to two weeks duration led by prominent faculty members from Consortium institutions, with each institution selecting two senior faculty members to participate in each seminar. The two topics during the first summer program were "The Bill of Rights," led by Professor Melvin Urofsky of VCU, an historian and attorney; and "The Social and Ethical Impact of Computers," led by Professor Michael Wessels of Randolph-Macon, a psychologist. In addition to the seminar itself, each group of faculty fellows met periodically throughout the following academic year for follow-up activities and to report on the projects they designed and implemented on the basis of their work in the seminar. The seminars for the second summer were "Geometry and Reality," led by Professor John Berglund, a mathematician at VCU; and "Studies in Mass Communication," led by Professor Scott Donaldson of William and Mary. Both faculty participants and the seminar leaders were paid stipends from grant funds.
In addition to the opportunity to explore academic topics in depth, the creation of personal and professional networks across institutional boundaries has been an extremely positive result as faculty from all the institutions became colleagues. Formal and informal evaluations that have been very favorable are a measure of the program's success.
Undergraduate Consortium courses are taught by teams of faculty from the Consortium institutions and are open to a limited number of undergraduates from all the member institutions. The first was "Nuclear Issues and National Security," led by Bruce Unger, a political scientist from Randolph-Macon. He team-taught the course with a biologist from J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College; a psychologist from Virginia Union; an historian and two physicists from VCU; and a philosopher from William and Mary. The team members met as a group to plan the course and were responsible for one to three class sessions each. Additional Consortium courses have been offered, the latest, "Chronicles of the Sea," was taught by JSR and VCU faculty members.
Consortium courses provide opportunities for students from all of the Consortium institutions to study together and for faculty to work with colleagues from other disciplines and institutions. Both students and faculty note that institutional distinctions quickly disappeared in the courses. Given the Consortium's overall success, plans are being made to continue its activities without external funding.